The India Expo Mart is located in the rapidly developing industrial and tourist hub that is Greater Noida. There are several tourist attractions on the anvil for the city, the most noticeable being a night safari and an amusement park. In the meanwhile, if you are a visitor at the Mart, you can make use of Greater Noida’s proximity to Delhi to check out some great tourist spots that are a must-see for anyone coming to this part of India.

Red Fort

The Red Fort gets its name from the reddish color of its walls, which comes from the red sand stone that was used to build it. The Red Fort is an imposing structure with a 3 km perimeter and walls varying in height between 18 metres towards the river side and 33 metres towards the city side. It is the largest of the historical monuments that dot old Delhi, and is located in the north-eastern side of what used to be the original city of Shahjahanabad.

The Fort was built by the 5th Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan (who also built the awe-inspiring Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz) between 1638 and 1648 A.D. As history tells us, he was overthrown and imprisoned inside Agra Fort by his own son, the ambitious Aurangzeb, before he could shift the capital of his empire from Agra to Shahjahanabad.

The Red Fort is a mammoth architecture with all the trappings that the nerve centre of Mughal governance would have – massive halls for the Emperor to hold public audiences (in the Diwan-i-am) as well as private audiences (in the Diwan-i-Khas whose centre of attraction used to be the Peacock Throne), domed palaces in marble, plush private quarters, elaborately designed gardens, as well as the Moti Masjid, a mosque that was built later by Aurangzeb. The entrance to the Red Fort is through the impressive Lahore Gate, which is named thus because it faces Lahore, now in Pakistan. It has retained its grandeur despite being attacked by the Persian Emperor Nadir Shah in 1739 (who took with him the famed Peacock Throne), and again by the British soldiers in the first war of independence in 1857.

Today, independent modern India continues to consider the Red Fort a bastion of Indian might. The Prime Minister addresses the nation even today from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day. More than 400 years after it was built, the Red Fort continues to be an impressive reminder of the grandeur of Mughal architecture.

Jantar Mantar

The Jantar Mantar was another marvel of its time. The name is derived from Sanskrit, and literally means the ‘Magic Device’. Located in Connaught Place, the Jantar Mantar is one of five observatories built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the other four being at Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura. The Jantar Mantar at Delhi was originally built at Dar-al-Khilafat in Shahjahanabad sometime during the early 1700s.

Besides being a solid platform, literally, for conducting astronomical studies, the Jantar Mantar also gives us insights to the scientific advancements of the time in our country. The Jantar Mantar has inside it several abstract structures that were used to keep track of the movements of the various celestial bodies.

Qutab Minar

Built by the first Emperor of the slave dynasty Qutbuddin Aibak, the Qutab Minar remains one of the most popular tourist spots of Delhi. It was built to commemorate the victory of the Afghan invader Muhammad Ghori over the Rajputs in 1192, and was completed by his viceroy, Qutbuddin Aibak, who laid the foundation stone for the Minar in 1199.

The Qutab Minar has 5 floors, all of which were bult over three phases. Qutabuddin Aibak completed the first floor. The second, third and fourth floors were completed in the year 1230 A.D. by Aibak’s son-in-law, Shamsu’d-Din-Iltutmish, who succeeded him to the throne. In the year 1368, the Minar was struck by lightning resulting in the crashing of the topmost floor. This floor was later replaced with two floors, by Feroze Shah Tughlaq in 1370 A.D. While the first three floors are made of red sandstone, the next two floors are made of marble as well as sandstone.

Reaching up to a lofty height of 72.5 metres, the Qutab Minar is the tallest stone tower in India. It has a base diameter of 14.32 metres, and is about 2.75 metres wide at the top. There are a total of 379 steps leading from the ground floor right to the top. The Minar is located just outside the central courtyard of the Quwwatul Masjid, one of the oldest mosques in India. It also houses the tombs of Iltutmish and Alauddin Khilji.

Humayun's Tomb

Built in red and white sandstone, Humayun’s Tomb is India’s first garden-tomb. It is believed to have been designed by Hamida Banu begum, the wife of Humayun, the second Mughal Emperor of India. Many people believe it to be the prototype based on which the Taj Mahal was built.

Humayun’s Tomb contains the tomb of his wife, and also the tombs of Isa Khan, the architect of the Taj Mahal.

Safdarjung's Tomb

This was built in the year 1753-54 A.D. and contains in it the tomb of Safdarjung, the viceroy of Awadh. It was constructed during the reign of Muhammad Shah. Safdarjung’s tomb is the last enclosed garden tomb. It is based on the same style as Humayun’s Tomb.

This structure also has within it smaller pavilions such as the Moti Mahal or Pearl Palace, Badshah Pasand or the Emperor’s Favorite, and the Jangli Mahal or the Palace in the Woods. Besides, the Tomb complex also had a madrassa where learned Muslim scholars taught Quranic studies to eager students.

Purana Qila

Though many of the monuments seen currently in this complex are from the times of Sher Shah Suri, this place is believed to be originally Indraprastha, the almost-magical capital city that the Pandavas built. The Pandavas are legendary figures from Hindu folklore, and their conflict with their cousins, the Kauravas forms the crux of the Mahabharata.

The mosque with an octagonal two-storied tower is believed to be the place from where Humayun fell to his death. At the foothills of the Purana Qila is a lake with boating facilities. There is also a small archaeological museum just inside the main gate.
 

India Gate

Straight down the road from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the officla residence of the President of the Republic of India, India Gate is a 42-meter high arch war memorial. It was built in memory of the soldiers who laid down their lives during the Afghan war and the two World Wars. The India Gate is located amidst lush green lawns and bears the name of the 85,000 Indian Army soldiers who died during the wars. Below the arch is the memorial to the Unknown Soldier. A flame, the Amar Jawan Jyoti, burns all through the year here.

Jama Masjid

The Jama Masjid is another architectural landmark of Delhi. Built in the year 1423 by Sultan Ahmed Shah, the Jama Masjid is a mosque made from yellow sandstone. It is located in the centre of the old city of Delhi and combines the best of the Hindu and Muslim architectural styles.

The Masjid is a huge complex, with 15 domes supported by 260 pillars. It also has a huge paved rectangular courtyard that is 75 metres by 66 metres.

Feroze Shah Kotla

The ruins of Ferozabad, the fifth city of Delhi, constructed by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1354, can be found at Feroz Shah Kotla. Feroze Shah was a great builder, and this is apparent in the many splendid palaces, mosques and gardens seen here. Kotla was the inner citadel of Ferozabad, built like Windsor, with great palaces and a magnificent mosque. One can still see the pyramidal structure topped by the Ashoka Pillar brought from Topra, and the three-tiered baoli or step-well.

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Built on an area of 330 acres, this palatial building is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India. Before that, till 1950 it was the official residence of the Governor-General of India. It was called Viceroy’s House then. After India became a republic and had its first president, it was renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan was designed by the illustrious British architect, Edwin Landseer Lutyens. It is a mixture of the Mughal and Western styles of architecture. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the highlight of Lutyens' New Delhi and was completed in 1929. It has 340 decorated rooms and a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m²), and has been built using 700 million bricks and 3 million cubic feet (85,000 m³) of stone. The usage of steel is very minimal in this architectural marvel. The Rashtrapati Bhavan also has an impressive garden called the Mughal Gardens, which is open to the public for a short while in February when the flowers are in full bloom.

Chandni Chowk

Situated opposite the Red Fort, Chandni Chowk or the Moonlight Square is a market that buzzes with activity all through the year. Jahanara, the daughter of the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan, laid out the area where water in a pool reflected the moonlight and then flowed into a channel that flowed through the avenue. This is where the name Chandni Chowk came from.

Chandni Chowk is a crowded place and normally there is a maze of traffic that one has to negotiate almost every second. Here you can shop for everything under the sun, from electronics to exquisite jewellery. Besides, it is also probably the only market place with a profusion of places of worship catering to all the major religions of India. You can find, in the same 2 km stretch of road between the Red Fort and the Fatehpuri Masjid (built by one of Shah Jahan’s wives), seven Hindu and Jan temples, three mosques, two churches as well as two gurdwaras.