Qutub Minar
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Qutb Minar And Its Monuments, Delhi (1993) · New Delhi, Delhi
A fluted tower of red and buff sandstone about seventy-three metres high in south Delhi, begun around 1199 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first sultan of Delhi, and finished by his successors. It is the tallest brick-and-stone minaret of its age, carved in bands of Quranic inscription, and a victory monument for the arrival of Islamic rule in north India. Around it lie the ruins of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, built partly from the carved pillars of demolished Hindu and Jain temples, which you can still see; the Alai Darwaza, a delicate domed gateway; the stump of the Alai Minar, an even bigger tower left unfinished; and the Iron Pillar, around sixteen hundred years old and still barely rusted, which metallurgists study to this day. It is a World Heritage Site. The tower has been closed to climbers since an accident in 1981. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park next door, free and little visited, holds hundreds more tombs and ruins. Go at opening, or in the late afternoon; the tower is at its best against a clear sky.
Seth Sarai, Mehrauli, New Delhi, Delhi, 110030, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual ASI pattern is sunrise to sunset, EVERY DAY, roughly 7 in the morning to 5 or 6 in the evening depending on the season, with ticket sales ending about half an hour before closing. Evening illumination and night viewing have been offered in some periods with later ticketing. The tower itself cannot be climbed at any time. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is open-access in daylight. The traps: winter smog hiding the tower, school-group crowds on weekday mornings, and walking the Mehrauli park late in the day.