Delhi isn’t a city that people often rave about. It’s busy, noisy, dirty and full of people desperate to make a rupee or two off every unsuspecting tourist. It’s not uncommon to hear of people being scammed immediately upon their arrival to Delhi, and it’s often their first stop in India which can sour the initial impression. Most people don’t really consider visiting Delhi with kids, but there’s so many places to visit in Delhi for kids. If you’re prepared for the intensity, and know what to do, Delhi might just surprise you!
Delhi was our last stop in India, and I’m glad we saved it for the end. By this point we were used to the craziness that is India, and we were a bit savvier so were able to avoid being scammed. We also had an Indian SIM card in our phone (highly recommend), so we always had a map on hand and knew if we were going in the right direction or not!
An Unexpected Surprise – A Farm Stay In Delhi
The 5 Most Fun Places In Delhi For Youngsters
1. Visiting The Lotus Temple With Kids
2. The Taj Mahal’s Big Brother – Humayan’s Tomb
3. Salaam Baalak Street Kids Walking Tour
4. The Intense Chandni Chowk Market
5. The Water Show At Akshardam
More Places To Visit In Delhi For Kids (that we didn’t visit)
The Details:
– Where We Stayed
– Where We Ate
A Farm in Delhi? Omera The Farm Stay
We arrived into the New Delhi train station from Amritsar, and immediately went to our Farm Stay in Gurugram, on the outskirts of Delhi. It was SO nice to be away from the constant noise we’d become accustomed to. The girls were incredibly excited for the farm stay too. They were ready for a few days of just relaxing and playing, and that’s exactly what we did!
The farm provided a welcome respite from the craziness of travel. Although it’s technically not in Delhi proper, it’s likely one of the best places to visit in Delhi for youngsters. The only downside to our visit was that it was only 2 nights! I could’ve stayed there for a week, eating the delicious food and letting the kids run a bit wild. It was the most relaxed I’d been in months! We spent the mornings catching up on our computers (boring, I know), while the girls did Yoga, made crafts, read books and jumped on the trampoline. In the afternoon, we escaped from the heat by splashing in the pool, we followed the baby ducklings around, and planted seeds in the garden.
I would highly recommend this farm stay to anyone visiting Delhi. There’s a good-size pool, lots of play equipment, a trampoline, large field to run around and well-appointed rooms with tons of games and crafts. The food was incredible and our host very friendly and helpful. She came in both mornings and played with the girls without us even knowing the girls were awake!! There were only 2 rooms when we visited, so we had the whole place to ourselves. It was undergoing expansion, so I thought it was likely to grow, however the last time I checked it was unavailable on both booking.com and airbnb. You can find alternatives in Gurgaon on booking dot com.
Cost – $209.61CAD for 2 nights, full board for a family of 4. + 1000 rupees ($20) for staff tips.
Getting To & From – We used both Uber and Ola and found them to be about the same price. From the Delhi train station it cost 700 rupees on Uber (getting there), and 730 rupees on Ola (getting back).
Our Kids Chose the Most Fun Places In Delhi For Youngsters
Our time at the farm came to an end too soon, and we made our way back to Delhi. After checking into our guesthouse, Meditation Palace, we pulled out a book of things to do in Delhi, and each chose an activity. The city is massive, with an almost endless list of possible things to do. We wanted to take it easy and choose only a few of the best things to do.
Calais – Akshardam Water& Laser Show
Kacela – Humayan’s Tomb
Kyla – Salaam Baalak walking tour
Randy – the girls also wanted to go to the Lotus Temple, so Randy gave up his choice!
I also REALLY wanted to visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the main Sikh temple in Delhi, for Langar (free lunch). However, we sadly didn’t find the time. I found out afterwards that Calais was sad we didn’t get to go, as she was looking forward to it as well. I guess we needed to leave something for the next visit!
Visiting The Lotus Temple With Kids
After spending much of the year learning about different religions around the world, the Lotus temple was the perfect stop for us. We all enjoyed learned about the Baha’i faith at the Lotus Temple. After taking some pictures from the gardens, we made our way inside the temple. We arrived just in time for the morning prayer. The four of us settled into the pews at the back of the temple and listened as chanting and song filled the space around us. It was beautiful and haunting all at the same time. Once it was over, I left the temple with a feeling of stillness and sadness. It was as if this one simple thought had the power to change the world, but never would because of the stubbornness of man.
The Lotus Temple, also knows as the Baha’i House of Worship, is a temple of the Baha’i faith, and provides a good amount of information about the faith without being pushy or preachy. I suggest entering to the right side of the temple to read and learn about the faith on the bottom floor of the complex before going upstairs and inside the prayer hall.
You’re not allowed to take pictures inside the prayer hall, and you have to take your shoes off before entering!
I highly recommend coordinating your visit with one of the short (5-10min) prayer services, which occur daily at 10am, 12:00noon, 3:00pm and 5:00pm. Prayers from different religions are chanted or sung, and the acoustics of the lotus structure are quite impressive.
Cost – Free
Hours – 9:00am-5:30pm in winter. 9:00am-7:00pm in summer.
Getting To & From – The nearest metro stations are Okhla NSIC (magenta line) and Kalkaji Mandir (purple line). You can walk or take a short rickshaw ride from either station.
The Taj Mahal’s “Big Brother” – Humayun’s Tomb
The sounds of Delhi quickly washed away my thoughts as we left the temple grounds. We made our way back to the metro, and further into the heart of the city, to Humayun’s tomb.
Kacela chose Humayun’s tomb because it was the precursor to the Taj Mahal, and she wanted to see the place that the Taj Mahal was modeled after. When we were there, we learned that Humayan’s tomb was modeled after the tomb of his great-great-grandfather, Timur. We’d visited the tomb of Timur months earlier in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and we all thought it was pretty neat that we’d followed the inspiration for the Taj Mahal right from the beginning. This little connection made the whole experience so much more meaningful, and really reminded me how incredible travel can be!
The grounds and gardens are quite large, and there’s so much more to see than just Humayun’s tomb. As soon as we entered, we took a quick right to visit Isa Khan’s tomb and mosque. The crumbling architecture was in stark contrast to the large, manicured garden surrounding it. Both the tomb and mosque were almost empty of people, and it was easy to picture how magnificent this would have been in the 16th century.
The shaded walkway provided a bit of respite from the growing heat, and as we ducked through the Bu Halima gateway, the large red mausoleum came into view. Other than the colour of the building, the similarities to the Taj Mahal were instantly obvious. The entire complex was perfectly symmetrical, and I felt a bit funny walking down one side, throwing off the balance. The girl’s must’ve felt the same, because they walked straight up the middle, with one foot on either side of the small water feature.
The biggest difference from the Taj Mahal (other than the colour), was the number of people. There were significantly fewer people and it made the experience so much more enjoyable. We were able to leisurely wander around the building, poke our head inside the chambers, and not feel like we were bothering anyone else in the process.
The complex is massive and there’s quite a lot to see if you want to spend a significant amount of time here. If you’re really interested I’d suggest hiring a guide to walk you through the various different areas. If you’re short on time, skip the rest and head straight up the middle of the gardens to the piece de resistance…the grand tomb.
Getting to & from – Get off the metro at Jangpura (purple line), then take a rickshaw to the entrance (no more than 100 rupees). You can also take the train to Nizamuddin East train station and take a rickshaw or walk from there.
Hours – Sunrise to Sunset (generally!)
Cost – 250 rupees per foreign national, kids up to 15 are free. A guide costs a further 250 rupees, or you can rent an audioguide for 100 rupees.
An Added Bonus – Lunch And a Children’s Park!
By the time we finished wandering around Humayan’s tomb, it was way past lunch and we were starving! I found a BBQ place on google (BBQ Nation, which is apparently quite popular in India!) and we enjoyed an incredibly filling lunch/dinner and our second non-vegetarian meal of our entire trip to India! The food was delicious, and made even better by the fact that there was a great park right down the street. Randy and I sat on a bench in the shade and let our copious amounts of food digest while the girls played the afternoon away.
Look at this GREAT park!!
Cost – The Park was FREE!!
Getting To & From – It’s located across the street SE of Jangapura station. Coordinates: (28.5821080,77.2406330)
Salaam Baalak Street Kid’s Walking Tour
A slum tour is a popular thing to do in both Delhi and Mumbai, but I didn’t think the girls were quite ready for the reality of the New Delhi slums. Instead, I opted for a tour with Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT). Our tour guide was a former street-kid who walked us through what it was like to grow up on the streets of Delhi. The tour took us through the side streets around the New Delhi station, and gave us a glimpse into the lives of the approximately 100,000 street kids in New Delhi, including the 2500 kids living in and around the New Delhi train station.
We started at the train station, but quickly found ourselves dodging random liquids and “land mines” (our affectionate term for dog poop) at the entrance to a narrow alleyway. Once we turned in, the ground was a bit cleaner. Both walls were lined with photos of various Hindu Gods, which seemed rather out of place. As the alleyway narrowed, our guide explained that many people used to urinate on the walls, and because the alley is so narrow it made quite a mess. Someone decided to put the paintings on the walls because they believed it would stop people from using the alley as an open-air toilet, and they were right!! Personally, I think they just chose either end of the alley instead, but it was easier to avoid in a larger space!
As we continued our walk the stench in the air grew stronger. Large garbage bins, spilling over with all sorts of trash, lined the side of the road. We had made it to the “garbage street”. Many of the street kids earn a meagre living by collecting garbage and selling it on this street. It’s a little like recycling, but not quite as clean. Just like as home, some garbage is valuable, and some is not. The kids learn what to collect, and will bring their haul to this street to sell for a meagre 50-100 rupees/day ($1-2CAD).
After learning a bit about how life as a street kid in Delhi, we had the opportunity to see a bit of what Salaam Baalak Trust is all about. This incredible company is dedicated to getting kid’s off the streets, and offers 13 contact enters and 5 shelter homes in Delhi. We visited one contact centre, near the train station, where a group of kids ranging in age from about 5-15 were hanging out for the day. They’d receive a free lunch, as well as education, medical care and counselling.
The emphasis of SBT is always to encourage the child to return to their family, if it’s both possible and in the child’s best interest. However, this isn’t always a possibility, and in these cases there are shelter homes available. Our last stop was at one of these homes, near the the train station. We had a few minutes for the girl’s to play and interact with t