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Don't let
your first impressions of Delhi stick
like a sacred cow in a traffic jam: get
behind the madcap façade and discover
the inner peace of a city rich with
culture, architecture and human
diversity, deep with history and totally
addictive to epicureans.
Both Old and New Delhi exert a beguiling
charm on visitors. Lose yourself
unwinding the secrets of the city's
Mughal past in the labyrinthine streets
of Old Delhi before emerging into the
wide open spaces of imperial New Delhi,
with its ordered governmental vistas and
generous leafy avenues.
Delhi is located at 28°61'N 77°23'E, and
lies in northern India. It borders the
Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on the
south and Haryana on the west. Delhi can
be divided into three major geographical
regions: the Yamuna flood plain, the
Delhi ridge and the Gangetic Plains. The
low-lying Yamuna flood plains provide
fertile alluvial soil suitable for
agriculture. However, these plains are
prone to recurrent floods. With an
average altitude of 293 m (961 ft),[14]
the ridge forms the most dominating
feature in this region. It originates
from the Aravalli Range in the south and
encircles the west, northeast and
northwest parts of the city. The Great
Gangetic Plains are located in the south
of the city and cover most of Delhi.
Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is
the only major river flowing through
Delhi. Most of the city, including New
Delhi, lies west of the river. East of
the river is the urban area of Shahdara.
Delhi falls under seismic zone-IV,
making it vulnerable to major
earthquakes.
Most of the Delhi metropolitan area lies
within the National Capital Territory of
Delhi (NCT). The NCT has three local
municipal corporations: Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi
Municipal Council (NDMC) and Delhi
Cantonment Board. MCD is one of the
largest municipal corporations in the
world providing civic amenities to an
estimated 13.78 million people.[22] The
capital of India, New Delhi, falls under
the administration of NDMC. The
chairperson of the NDMC is appointed by
the Government of India in consultation
with the Chief Minister of Delhi.
When To Go
Summer in Delhi is no joke - from April
the temperature climbs relentlessly to
more than 45°C (113°F) in May and June
and the heat doesn't really abate until
October. Dust storms called loo sweep in
from Rajasthan with considerable fury.
The arrival of the monsoon, at the end
of June, brings intense humidity - the
murder rate usually peaks in this month.
From November to March is the best time
to visit, with cool but sunny weather.
Also, Holi, one of the most exuberant
Hindu festivals, takes place around this
time, in February or March. October sees
the end of the monsoon, but is
reasonably pleasant, although the days
can still be pretty hot. Nights can be
quite chilly in December and January.
Although it is India's national
language, Hindi is only spoken as a
mother tongue by about 20% of the
population, mainly in the area known as
the Hindi-belt, the cow-belt or Mimaru,
which includes Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. This Indic
language is the official language of the
Indian government and the states already
mentioned, plus Haryana and Himachal
Pradesh. |
