Mohammed Shah's Tomb at Lodi Gardens, New Delhi

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Lodi Garden

Top choice in Delhi


Delhi's loveliest escape was originally named after the wife of the British Resident, Lady Willingdon, who had two villages cleared in 1936 in order to landscape a park containing the Lodi-era tombs. Today, these lush, tree-shaded gardens – a favoured getaway for Delhi's elite, local joggers and courting couples – help protect more than 100 species of trees and 50 species of birds and butterflies, as well as half a dozen fabulously captivating 15th-century Mughal monuments.

The twin tombs of Bada Gumbad and Sheesh Gumbad (both 1494), the bulbous Mohammed Shah's tomb (1450) and the fortress-like walled complex of Sikander Lodi's tomb (1518) are the park's most notable structures, but also look for Athpula, an eight-piered bridge spanning a small lake, which dates from Emperor Akbar’s reign.