DELHI: SEVEN CITIES, SEVERAL WALKS

WINDOW TO THE PAST: Mehrauli Archaeology Park in Delhi (Pic: Bivash Bannerjee)

The national capital offers the widest range of walking options among all Indian cities. From heritage to archaeology, bird watching to culture, there are walks here to suit everybody’s taste.

Different from tourist-style guided tours, walks see participation of like-minded people from within the city who view this form of exploration as a way to stay fit. They come from different professions and different backgrounds but share the same curiosity about the city’s heritage and environment.

Delhi Bird, a bird watching society, organises big-scale walks on the Big Bird Day every year in February; Delhi Greens, a group of nature enthusiasts, organises eco tours; Salaam Baalak Trust conducts street walks in the Paharganj and New Delhi railway station area, while institutions such as Intach and Habitat Centre chalk out schedules in advance about Heritage City Walks in Shahjahanabad or Old Delhi, Nizamuddin and Hauz Khas.

There is no professional organisation yet in Delhi that conducts walks for a fee. Says Vikas Bhardwaj, an expert in conducting heritage walks in the Old Delhi area, “The interest in exploring the history and culture of a place through leisurely-paced walks is growing.” Popular tracks are the Mehrauli-Qutub Minar area, the Red Fort-Jama Masjid stretch and the tribal and folk art museum.