Delhi Walking Tours: The Best Local Companies to Book With
Walking tours are a great way to familiarize yourself with a new destination, and Delhi is the perfect city for this.
There’s a lot going on in Delhi – amazing food, ancient monuments, hidden gems and bustling bazaars. There’s no better way to discover these than by exploring the city on foot with a local expert.
These are the best walking tour companies in Delhi. Their tours are excellent, all you have to do is choose which one to take!
Delhi Walking Tours: the Best Local Companies to Book With
In a crazy city like Delhi, it’s an excellent idea to take a walking tour when you arrive. Not only will you see and learn something new, it will help you feel more comfortable so that you can explore on your own after.
Plus the guides are a wealth of local knowledge. You can ask them anything, and get insider tips on shopping and restaurants.
1. Delhi By Cycle
I am a big fan of Delhi By Cycle and have taken their cycle sightseeing tours around Delhi, but they also conduct fabulous walking tours.
They have a real knack for showcasing the hidden gems of Delhi, and are super friendly and knowledgeable. I explore Delhi relentlessly, and they introduced me to a few spots even I was unaware of.
I highly recommend the Mehrauli Walk – you will see spectacular off the beaten path sites and get to walk through an urban village.
2. A Chef’s Tour
A Chef’s Tour specializes in food tours in South East Asia, not just Delhi, but it’s one of the best food tours in the city.
The Old Delhi food walk is a 4 hour extravaganza for your taste buds. You’ll try all sorts of local specialties, but also experience and learn about this most historically significant part of Delhi.
Besides the copious amounts of food, the best part of the tour is the guide, Gajendra. He knows every nook and cranny of Old Delhi and will bring the old city alive for you.
3. Unfold Delhi
This Delhi walking tour operator has been around for a while, but doesn’t maintain a website. The walks are kind of an insider secret and very popular with the expat crowd.
Unfold Delhi walks are conducted by Moby Sara Zachariah, a local historian and Jibin George, a local photographer and history buff. Walks are always different and range from well known sites to completely under the radar gems.
The fee is INR 600 per tour – it’s a great deal. Before booking a walking tour somewhere else, check their Instagram page to see if they have something coming up when you are in Delhi. These walks are a real treat.
4. Delhi By Foot
Delhi By Foot specializes in historic tours, many of which examine particular dynasties in Delhi’s past.
All of their tours are really good, but there’s two in particular I highly recommend: An Evening With Djinns of Delhi in Feroz Shah Kotla Fort, and Sufiyana Silsilas and Heritage in Nizamuddin Basti.
Both of these tours take you to mystical sites steeped in legend. And in Delhi legend is not just folklore, it’s almost always based on fact.
5. Delhi Heritage Walks
Delhi Heritage Walks is one of the first walking tour providers in Delhi and has long been a favourite of mine. They specialize in historic tours which highlight monuments left by each of Delhi’s ruling dynasties.
Tour leaders are local historians and academics, specializing in the culture and history of Delhi.
I recommend the Jama Masjid and Lanes of Old Delhi walk. The tour takes you into Jama Masjid, Delhi’s largest mosque built in 1656, and the meandering lanes and markets of Old Delhi.
6. Free Walking Tour Delhi
Delhi has an excellent free walking tour company that will not only show you the sites, but tell you the stories behind them. It’s these stories that truly make the sites come alive, and what you’ll remember after the tour is over.
I really like the New Delhi Walking Tour. This is the only walking tour in Delhi that focuses on this part of the city. The tour takes you to important sites that many visitors miss. Check all their tours on the Free Walking Tour Delhi website.
7. Delhi Walks
Delhi Walks is another well established local company that offers a number of different walking tours in Delhi.
The Old Delhi walks are exceptional. The guides are terrific – they have lots of historical knowledge about the markets and labyrinth of lanes around Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid.
The tours I recommend are From Shahjahan With Love, Bazaars of Old Delhi, and the Old Delhi Food Affair Culinary Walk.
8. The Sausage Tree Nature Walks
Take a walking tour with the Sausage Tree Nature Walk to escape the hustle of the city and enjoy Delhi’s nature. Over 23% of Delhi is covered in greenery, and the city is home to more than 250 species of trees, and 150 species of birds.
Kavita Prakash conducts the walks, and her knowledge of local flora and fauna is vast. Her tours are fascinating, and you’ll probably never walk through a park quite the same way again.
There’s no website, but you can check the Sausage Tree Nature Walks Facebook page for upcoming tours, or reach out to Kavita directly.
How to Get to the Delhi Walking Tours
It’s very easy to get around Delhi. The best way is by Delhi metro. It’s an excellent system – clean, safe, cheap and efficient.
But if you’re only a few km from where you want to go, the best ways are auto rickshaw or Uber. Both are reliable and widely used in Delhi (Uber even has an auto rickshaw option).
If you’re headed into Old Delhi, the metro is the best bet. Traffic is truly awful in Old Delhi, and Uber drivers often don’t want to go there.
Where to Stay in Delhi
In Delhi, where you stay matters. You want to be near the sites and in a safe area. These are excellent properties in the best areas of Delhi:
- The Imperial (luxury): Delhi’s finest heritage hotel and my personal favourite. Superb location on Janpath.
- Lutyens Bungalow (mid-range): Heritage boutique property in one of the best areas of the city next to Lodhi Garden.
- Prakash Kutir Bed & Breakfast (budget): Guest house in residential South Delhi neighbourhood. Easy to explore the whole city from.
Last Words on Delhi Walking Tours: The Best Local Companies to Book With
You’ll have a great time with any one of these walking tour companies in Delhi. They’re all really good, and will help you get used to the city so you can explore independently the rest of the time.
