Nitya Choubey

Diwali’s done, and the mithai boxes are down to the ones nobody wanted. Normally this is where the city sinks into a hangover, but our calendar for November 9 to November 15 has other ideas. Kunal Kamra starts his run at KOPA on Wednesday, so you can spend midweek arguing about politics with a drink in hand instead of your relatives. Friday brings Adam Port’s melodic house to Okhla and the India International Trade Fair to Bharat Mandapam, which is the perfect place to keep shopping after you swore you’d stop. ANOTR make their Delhi debut at JLN Stadium on Saturday, and Sunday is the perfect culinary landing at Kahaani’s twelve-chef food weekend or a Korean food festival. Pick your poison.

India’s capital is steeped in history, heart and soul, and the best museums in Delhi reflect exactly that. There are the sprawling, old-school heavyweights; the neatly curated, moderately packed ones; the artsy corners, the weird themed museums, the sobering ones, and the science-y ones. The city is anything but boring, and these museums are just as entertaining for people who don't identify as nerds. What's also wonderful is that most of them are cheap, or completely free. Sure, you could Google all of them yourself, but that's exactly the problem: you likely can't see everything, especially if you’re visiting. So we've rounded up the best of the lot. Here are Delhi's finest museums, all worth carving out time for in your itinerary if there's a history buff hiding inside you. Editor's note: Don’t go into this guide thinking of museums as one thing. Everything here is either centuries-deep or so specific it borders on eccentric (yes, there's a toilet museum). They've been picked to cover a real range, and we’re sure there’s something here that’ll appeal to any kind of visitor.  Delhi’s best museums at a glance 📖 Best history museum: National Museum 🙃 Weirdest museum: Sulabh International Toilet Museum ❤️ Best for a date: Crafts Museum 🎨 Best for art lovers: National Gallery of Modern Art 👤 Best for solo travellers: Museum of Archaeology, Red Fort 👶 Best museum to explore with kids: National Science Centre Also read: Craving more of the city beyond its museums? Trade gall

Diwali’s at our doorstep before we could even begin to smell it, and with it comes the annual, firecracking question of What To Give. Each year, the sweets arrive in tins and the tins are stacked in the corner of the kitchen, where they wait to become doomed receptacles for something else (buttons, receipts, a single mysterious bunch of keys).  So this guide’s about gifts that are meant to leave an impression, handpicked by the Time Out India team. Gifts that'll excite, titillate, and actually be used over and over again, rather than ending up regifted or emptied out into the toilet the next day. Some are made of wood, some are made to be lit, and one is made to be worn by a man who swears his wardrobe is fine. A few are for the people who live inside films the way other people live inside cities. One is for the cousin who arrived at the party late because she needed her coffee fix and still another for the friend who’s skipping it entirely. Grandparents are accounted for. So are bosses and forbearing Diwali party hosts! Recommended: Looking to do some in-person market crawling? These Diwali bazaars and Mela in Delhi in 2026 have craft items that make for fabulous presents. 

  November in Delhi is for making plans, and then making more plans. It’s a criminally underrated month, sandwiched between oh-so-mighty October and turn-my-life-around December. But with the weather FINALLY on our side, the city’s cultural calendar is filling up faster than you can say Diwali.  This month, you could spend an afternoon looking at contemporary art, an evening dancing to international electronic music, and the next day debating politics over Kunal Kamra’s latest comedy set. Or you could simply follow your appetite, which will take you from regional food at Sunder Nursery to the sprawling stalls of Horn OK Please. The trick, as ever, is figuring out how to fit it all in. Adam Port of Berlin-based collective Keinemusik is bringing his melodic, groove-heavy sound to the capital, while Amsterdam duo ANOTR are set to make their Delhi debut. For those who prefer their live music with a few decades of film history attached, A.R. Rahman’s Wonderment Tour promises a journey through a catalogue that has soundtracked everything from first crushes to questionable karaoke choices.  Of course, not every outing needs to involve a ticket that costs a small fortune or a dance floor you’ll need the next morning to recover from. The India International Trade Fair returns to Bharat Mandapam, bringing together exhibitors from across India and abroad for the sort of expedition that begins with browsing handicrafts and ends with several unnecessary purchases. Dastkar’s Grand Handloom

Few cities in India carry a reputation for being haunted like Delhi. It’s actually not too much of a stretch if you think about it – almost every neighbourhood in the city’s lined with centuries-old tombs, crumbling ruins, and remnants of the seven ancient cities that preceded what we know as Delhi today. But a good share of the eerie atmosphere also comes courtesy of the Aravallis and the Delhi Ridge.  The Aravallis (incidentally one of the world's oldest fold-mountain systems) are lush with tangled branches, sparse foliage, and ancient ruins –  some modest, some monumental, and all dating to different centuries. They’re also one of author, podcaster and public historian Eric Chopra’s central motivations behind his book, Ghosted: Delhi's Haunted Monuments.  Read further: The Aravallis have a lot more on offer than spooky stories. Check out Time Out Delhi’s guide on the best things to get up to there.  Back in college at St Stephen's, Delhi University, he’d roam the fringes of the Aravalli forests in search of hidden monuments. Each spot often came with something else attached: spooky stories of ghosts, djinns and spirits, from the tale of a headless angrez to rumours of melting bodies. One of the city's finest qualities – feel free to disagree – is that you rarely have to work hard to get people talking. Wait a few minutes and chances are you'll be handed a bizarre anecdote, a local legend or a popular myth. The city carries a bag full of them. Many of Eric's ghost stories b

Not very long ago, exercising in Delhi meant a resigned jog around the colony park or a gym membership that peaked on January 3. On any given Sunday now, Delhi parks are doubling as Instagram content studios. Mornings see the Noida Expressway service road literally overtaken by runners in matching kits, and the Aravalli foothills are full of Gurgaon-ites who have discovered, somewhat to their own surprise, that they enjoy the outdoors.  Is this part of a new culture? I think it's just the chronically online iteration of our desire to touch grass – community in this form has ridden the boomer yoga wave, the millennial football-in-the-evening, the Gen Z looksmaxxing – it’s really something that I hesitate to call a trend. The appeal isn't necessarily about becoming an athlete, either. These clubs have made exercise feel less like another item on the self-improvement checklist and more like a reason to leave the house. A Sunday morning run can become breakfast with strangers, and a cycling group can turn a familiar stretch of NCR into a route you’ve never noticed. And there’s plenty to choose from. Delhi NCR now has running clubs for beginners and marathon hopefuls, cycling groups that range from leisurely rides to serious road training, and hiking and trekking communities that head out towards the Aravallis and beyond. Some are competitive, some are resolutely social, and some seem to exist primarily because nobody wants to make plans one-on-one anymore. Whether you want to r

Birdwatching is a high brow pastime: False. A boring pastime: FALSE. Ask any long-time Delhiite. Birdwatching is part of city life.  Sure, the capital has lost some of the species it once had, but it's still home to more than 400. That's enough to send even seasoned birders reaching for a field guide (which, by the way, the city has put together itself).  Even the Delhi Zoo has taken to hosting a weekly birdwatching programme, held every Sunday from 6.30am to 9.30am. Beyond monitoring bird populations, it aims to get the public involved in conserving Delhi's birdlife. According to the National Zoological Park, citizen participants have confirmed sightings of more than 100 bird species within the zoo grounds alone. Not bad for a place most people associate with tigers and school picnics.  (Fancy joining the walk? Register for the next one on the zoo's website or the NZP Sathi app.) But if, like me, you don’t want a schedule to decide when you go looking for tweets and feathers, we’ve got you covered with this list. In Delhi, the most dramatic wildlife encounter isn't a leopard crossing a highway. It's a kingfisher flashing its electric-blue cape across the city's lakes.

My day begins with workplace conflict. How the hell does one pace their booze for a drag show that begins at 1 am? A tribute to Dolly Parton, in Delhi’s hottest of queer bars Kitty Su, no less. Nitya and I find ourselves in a back-and-forth all afternoon. This would be her first drag show ever. Serious work’s at hand. An espresso martini will keep us awake! No, I don’t like espresso martinis. I’ll drink something else. Let’s do (gatekept regular spot). That’s too far man. I’ll go wherever in CP. I’ll go to Mars. No we are not doing beer!!! It takes until 9pm to agree on (gatekept regular spot) and scram. It doesn’t take long for Nitya, bedazzled up herself without any prior instruction, to get over the fact that I’ve chosen to wear a blazer over a leather skirt and thick eyeliner. We pick our cocktails in a quick consultation, take to the dance floor, and eventually, find ourselves perched on the outdoor stairs to the terrace… trying to chase hints of winter in the Delhi air. ‘I feel like it’s going to be pink and loud with glitter everywhere when we reach. The show will obviously be late because queens need to dress up and get ready to lip sync, right?’ She pauses to drink. I neither confirm nor deny. When we reach The LaLit a little after midnight, we are greeted by silence. The five-star-hotel entrance sort of silence. It is broken only by Nitya’s wondering if we’ve reached far ahead of time. We are soon escorted to Kitty Su through a small door near the dining area. The t

We’ve made it to the month we Delhi folk wait for all year: October. It’s the one month the weather behaves – the sun’s bearable in the afternoon, the evenings are beset with a delicious chill, and night-time – well, night-time’s for being out and about, whether it’s to participate in the glut of incoming festivities, or just catch a drink at the neighbourhood bar.  So what’s October got in store for us? Well, all we can say is – we hope you haven’t skimped out on your festive wardrobe. Delhi’s got barely any time to catch its breath between Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, and Halloween. Durga Puja, especially, is a big deal in Delhi, with scores of people turning up to the pandals lining most neighbourhoods. Pandal-hopping and garba nights not your cup of tea? No fear. The glorious weather brings us some pretty cool concerts. Purana Qila is set to turn stage to vocalist Amrita Kaur as she takes over the historic fort for her Dusk to Dawn concert, while dancers including Saswati Sen bring classical Indian dance to the same dramatic setting with the Indraprastha Nritya Mahotsav.  And more on the music front: Raftaar for rap lovers, Rahgir for those who like their music heavy on lyrics and light on frills, and Gurdas Maan for a generous dose of Punjabi folk.  The best place to be right now, however, might just be Mandi House, which is hosting not one but two major theatre events: the BRICS International Theatre Festival and Natya Kumbh 2026. Add standalone shows such as Ratna P

After just three days into my month-long stay in Ladakh, I realised this was no ordinary Himalayan getaway. Ladakh is far less polished than the rest of the Indian north. It's landscape after landscape of pure rugged beauty – of rogue mountains shaded brown to deep violet, of winding rivers and starlit skies, great swathes of sand and snow. And it's on this pretext that I'd say there's no better way to experience the Himalayas than on a bike. While several folks feel, fairly rightfully, that nothing beats driving through the mountains in the comfort of a car, there's nothing quite like experiencing Ladakh with absolutely no barrier between you and the terrain. That, and the adrenaline rush. Don't get me wrong – touring Ladakh is tough and not for rookies, especially on a bike. The weather's dry, and oxygen levels and low enough to upset your gut or trigger Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) on day one. Facilities that a city girl like myself would take for granted, like ATMs, petrol pumps and food joints, are few and far between. There are empty stretches where you spot absolutely nobody for as for as your eyes can see. But that's precisely what makes Ladakh an outstanding destination to tour – not just for Indian travellers, but also for visitors from abroad. And the views are, of course, the icing as well as the cherry. Towering mountains pierce through the clouds, turning golden or steel grey, depending on the light. The rivers and waterfalls are so young that they're almost fo

Delhi is one of the most polluted capitals in the world, but it has one significant green lung fighting back: the Aravalli Ridge, India's oldest mountain range. Clean air is just one of its gifts. The Aravallis also give Delhi its birdwatching trails, its treks and campsites, a dozen lakes (seasonal ones included), and a couple of  (we really think) haunted monuments. The range runs through Haryana and Rajasthan before petering out in Delhi as a residual ridge. Inside the city, it stretches from the south, near Gurugram, up to the north around Azadpur, before giving way to the younger Yamuna floodplains. Because it's a residual range, the elevation surfaces in three distinct stretches: the Southern, Central and Northern Ridges, in descending order of size. The Southern Ridge is the richest of the three, both in biodiversity and elevation. It's home to the PSR rocks near Vasant Vihar, Delhi's highest point, and to golden jackals, jungle cats, black kites and a very small, very shy population of Indian pythons. The Ridge has also earned its own spot in a museum inside the Delhi Metro.  Here's how to spend a weekend in the Aravallis without spending much at all. For more greenery, check out our guides to the best parks and gardens in Delhi and the best underrated weekend getaways from Delhi.

Wake up long before September ends, please. We might not be talking about it yet, but the winter lull will be sooner than you think. Not that it’d stop us – but this month’s calendar is especially jam-packed with a bunch of stuff. Start with the music, because there's a lot of it. Ankur Tewari lands at The Piano Man touring Mr Faarigh, nine new tracks that lean into longing and travel the way his writing always has. Over at The Dome, inside a ballroom with fifty foot ceilings and enough Art Deco detail to make you forget you're in a hotel, an evening of Rafi classics is being staged with live vocals and a full ensemble. Purple Cassette closes out a nationwide tour on home turf with a garage rock set. And if you'd rather lose a few hours to something stranger, Mandragora's psychedelic house sets. The sheer scale of South Side Story will also happily oblige with some more range. The theatre asks for more patience this month, and rewards it. Virasat, staged at Sunder Nursery, spends four generations watching a family come apart, through cooking and cleaning and the small negotiations of daily life rather than any single dramatic moment. Malavika Sarukkai does something even rarer with Dance with Space: instead of just performing Bharatanatyam, she talks you through how it's built. Solanki, a former maths teacher who now makes a living being funny about fatherhood and gym delusions, brings his set to Kamani for anyone who'd rather laugh. Want to go somewhere that doesn’t involve

A casual stroll around Khan Market might just lead you to a store decked with enough curious knick-knacks to make you stop by. And curious is putting it mildly. Perched atop the Allied Stores signboard is a rather eerie ensemble: a scarecrow, a dead bride mannequin and a ghost. The entire signboard is swathed in bandages. The entrance is just as abundantly cluttered, brimming with ghostly embellishments. Yet, there's enough breathing room to tell you this is, in fact, a toy store. Tiny mannequins peek out from the shop, perched atop tastefully designed skulls. Pumpkins and lanterns are up for grabs, while a holder displays an assortment of tridents and other long toy weapons. Right in front sits the store's showstopper, a life-sized ghost priced at a cool ₹18,000. A chat with the owner revealed that these pieces are sourced directly from the United States and are of superior quality. That's also easy to tell from the materials and intricate detailing of each of these items. The store has been in business since the turn of the century, making it one of the first few in India to recognise Halloween as a thing. And if the owners are to be believed, you won't find their products anywhere else in Delhi. What does the shop sell? A little bit of everything. The first half of the store is devoted to Halloween, while the other half stocks a more generic assortment of toys. Still, the store screams Halloween, and in unison, thanks to some rather fun ceiling decorations. Throughout the

Lehchen is a short walk from Leh Market. It's tucked away on the first floor, right above 1984 Pizza House. A little gate to the right of the pizzeria leads to a low-ceilinged staircase, with portraits of some seriously dashing historical figures. This includes Che Guevara and Bob Marley, put on the same wall. At the entrance, a neon-lit Lenchen logo glows against the otherwise slate-grey backdrop, setting the tone for what’s to come. Step in and your eyes first land on the handsomely lit bar, which looks a little like someone’s kitchen slab. Alongside the usual suspects like whisky, you’ll spot jars packed with ingredients, some of which may not look particularly familiar. Then, let your eyes wander through washed-out walls, wooden furniture and framed caricatures to find the perfect spot for yourself. If the weather is playing nice, grab a seat on the balcony for the view of a silent street below. It’s the same balcony you noticed when you first spotted Lenchen. Like most balconies in Leh, this one also comes with intricate shingkos (traditional Ladakhi wooden carvings) that make the otherwise simple grey outdoors look a little edgier and classier. Since I visited the bar during the monsoon, the balcony looked even more tempting. When it comes to Ladakh, it hardly rains in this cold desert. And even when it does, it’s usually just a drizzle. So don’t miss one if you catch one. The owner, Tsewang Gyatso, welcomed me and took me to the other section of the bar, which was bree

Delhi’s Air Force Museum, tucked away in the Palam neighbourhood, is a walk into a whole different era. With more than 50 real fighter jets bearing marks from actual wars, the museum will leave you in awe. The collection was the first of its kind in India and is located inside the Air Force Cantonment area of the capital. Tickets are affordably priced. After entering, your first encounter is with the War Memorial, dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lives in various wars. There are a total of four galleries, one of which is open-air. The indoor galleries tell you everything you need to know about army rankings, vintage cameras and photographs, radar systems, and fancy rifles. Don’t forget the missiles and aircraft suits. Hardly any of these exhibits are models; many were actually used by some of the Air Force. Outside in the open gallery, parked magnificently, are several aircraft. There are also captured army tanks and vehicles from other countries like Pakistan. Finally, the last gallery gives you a glimpse into the history of the wars between India and Pakistan. After wandering around these galleries, you can catch your breath at the Longwala Lounge, which has plenty of options for snacks. There is also a souvenir shop where you can buy small aircraft-model keychains, along with dashing leather jackets and jerseys. The highlight's obviously the open-air gallery, which houses multiple aircraft. There's almost everything from small missiles and fighter jets to carrier a

Adjacent to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Lutyens' Delhi, the National Museum is a massive heavyweight in the city's cultural scene. Maybe it's the location on Janpath, a few minutes from India Gate, that makes it hard to skip… or maybe it's the collection, spanning over 5,000 years of history. The museum’s literally as old as the nation itself, conceived to bring together the country's most significant artefacts under one roof. The collection runs to nearly two lakh works: door panels, bronze statues, embroidered fabric, stone carvings. Three floors chronicle the history of the Indian subcontinent, each dedicated to a different theme and time period. It’s large enough that it rarely feels crowded, but you should still expect some rush on national holidays and weekends. Why you should go to the National Museum The dusky Gandhara Buddha statue will instantly steal your heart. So might the famous dancing girl figurine from the Indus Valley civilisation, the twinkling bead jewellery, or the Tibetan thangkas. The Mughal miniature paintings offer a glimpse into the lives of medieval kings you'll find yourself envying. The National Museum library, meanwhile, is a specialised storehouse for academic, curatorial and educational work – a serious space, less touristy and more scholarly. Time your visit right and you can also catch a special film screening on the ground floor. Time Out tip: End your day with a walk down Kartavya Path, leading up to the iconic Rashtrapati Bhavan.

History always sits at arm's length in most museums, kept behind glass and artefacts. At the Partition Museum, it doesn't. Tucked inside the bustling campus of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, this powerful space tells one of the most defining stories in the history of the Indian subcontinent: the Partition of 1947. The museum itself is a relatively modest collection of personal belongings, photographs and moving oral testimonies. You can wrap it up in half a day, or a full one if you're the kind who reads every label on the wall… we'd recommend the latter. Unlike museums that try to narrate entire centuries, this one zooms in on the lives of a handful of anonymous individuals: people uprooted overnight, forced to leave behind homes, communities and, in many cases, loved ones. It's history on a deeply human scale. What's inside the Partition Museum? Follow the museum's six galleries chronologically, and you'll travel through one of the most defining moments in South Asian history. One standout exhibit is a recreated train coach, modelled on the trains that carried refugees across the newly drawn border between India and Pakistan. And true to the museum's focus on personal stories, its audio-visual installations prove the point further: voices of survivors are documented throughout the galleries. This makes the museum especially poignant today, with many eyewitnesses to Partition now in the twilight of their lives. Documenting these stories has become a race against forgetting, p

Situated on the prominent India Gate Circle, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is a dome-shaped, lightly art deco-ish vintage building in the Lutyens' Delhi style. You’d slow down just walking past it. Step inside, though, and the grandeur gives way to something more intimate: room after room of India's most significant modern and contemporary art, over 17,000 works deep. The National Gallery of Modern Art is easily the best place in the city for an introduction to art, or even for a slow date, given its central location. Why go?  There are art installations, 3D paintings and fine artworks from A-listers like MF Husain (often called the Picasso of India), Rabindranath Tagore, and other masters like Raja Ravi Varma and Jamini Roy, alongside portrait virtuoso Amrita Sher-Gil, whose gaze-heavy paintings have a way of stopping you mid-step. Bright shades of tangerine and green run riot through much of the Indian contemporary work on display: bold colour that feels like a deliberate departure from the muted pastels and brutalism of the West. Time Out tip: Grab an ice cream and enjoy it by the India Gate, a few minutes' walk from the museum, as the evening light turns golden. It's practically a ritual for Delhiites.

Eccentric is truly the word to use. This museum houses enormous steam engines, vintage monorails, regal locomotives, and royal coaches. Centrally located in Chanakyapuri, the National Rail Museum's open-air galleries practically bleed history, with a hundred life-size, quirky exhibits ranging from carriages and salons to wagons and special-purpose vehicles. Indoors, the galleries showcase artefacts, signalling systems, track models, photographs, and toolkits, alongside audiovisual shows and interactive displays. Why go to the National Rail Museum? The star attractions are the Fairy Queen (the world's oldest working steam locomotive!) and the Patiala State Monorail Trainways locomotive. Don't miss the Joy Train ride that loops around the museum grounds; it’s more appealing to adults than you think. Visitors can peek through vintage windows and climb inside bogies dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, or catch a ride at the charmingly designed 'Museum Junction'. Round it off at the IRCTC cafeteria, the perfect feather in a cap for a wholesome day out. Time Out tip: The museum wraps up earlier than most others in the city, so plan for the day.

This is where science drops the lab coat to mingle with everyday life in Delhi. Plonked next to Pragati Maidan and Bharat Mandapam, the National Science Centre is the city's geek gateway. Six galleries within the complex are packed with science demonstrations and live experiments – stuff you can touch, try and tinker with. You'll get exhausted just thinking about the range of themes the centre covers: human biology, physics, chemistry, information technology, space, emerging innovations, and a bit of history. And NSC is in the process of building out even more! Since its inception in 1992 by the National Council of Science Museums under the Ministry of Culture, the multi-floor space has been a popular destination for school tours, families, and geeks alike. Why go to the National Science Centre? The major crowd-pullers include the science show, the space fantasy ride, optical illusions, the mirror maze, and, of course, the newly built galleries on mining and mass media. The 3-D show, the well-stocked library, the cosy planetarium and the workshop space will keep you plenty busy. If you do find time, there's a cafeteria worth checking out. Time Out tip: You'll be running to and fro inside the centre to catch various rides and shows. The ticket counter can help you work out a tailor-made schedule. If you'd rather not rush, arrive early, and keep note of the floor number for each show.

Founded in 1972 and going strong, Akshara Theatre’s evolved in identity multiple times over. Originally a traditional theatre space, it now hosts all kinds of performances: standup shows, classical dance, workshops, television interviews, you name it. Their billboard’s always chockablock with posters telling you exactly what’s happening that week.  The space includes a modest indoor theatre, a decent-sized amphitheatre, and two other indoor performance spaces, as well as a library, a shooting and editing room for television, and a classroom that hosts theatre classes and workshops, all in a single acre of land. Don’t go by size: Akshara’s a behemoth on the Delhi performance scene. It’s a beautiful space too, with vaguely brutalist metal and stonework that makes the venue feel cool and airy even on the hottest summer day. Time Out tip: You’ll find loads of tea and snack stalls right outside the theatre – especially handy since there’s no food or drink served inside.

The Laugh Store comedy club’s a giant of the Delhi comedy scene. The ‘Hall of Fame’ right outside the club displays the pictures of A-listers who performed over the last decade: Kenny Sebastian, Akash Gupta, Manik Mahna, and many many more.  The 100-seater venue’s got a superb sound system, theatrical lighting, and a stage best suited to open mics. It’s got two outlets: one in Dwarka, and the other in Gurugram, but I’d say the latter’s more happening. Food and drink are available at affordable prices, and they’ve got a good happy hour menu too.

Sanjay Van is one of Delhi’s largest green spaces – a sprawling, almost hulkish forest that straddles Vasant Kunj and Mehrauli – two neighbourhoods that are constantly abuzz. The forest, then, is a lovely contradiction, because it’s one of the least crowded spaces in Delhi.  The area – a protected forest, by the way – actually forms part of the residual Aravalli ranges, and the terrain reflects that lineage. No two trails look alike. Some stretches are flat and easy while others will slope sharply uphill, dip into uneven paths, or wind around water bodies. Giant rocks left behind by the Aravallis jut out of the earth in several places, and loads of natural water drains zig-zag through the forest. You can imagine the wildlife here, then –  silverbills, flycatchers, parakeets, cuckoos, egrets and sparrowhawks. The massive acreage allows you to shape a nice day out of it – a picnic in one of the clearings or by Neela Hauz lake (with some duck watching to go with!), cycling through the winding trails, a bit of a hike, even.  Time Out tip: Remain watchful of monkeys and stray dogs, even though guards patrol the area. They’re usually harmless if left undisturbed, but carrying a wooden stick can help keep them at bay when needed. Rough walking shoes advised.  Entry The main entry point is near the Qutab Institutional Area in Mehrauli. 

Sunder Nursery's arguably the most popular outdoor space in all of Delhi. A 90-acre heritage park located adjacent to Humayun's Tomb and across the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, the nursery's served a bunch of different purposes over the centuries. What began as a garden – Azim Bagh – built by the Mughals in the 16th century was transformed into a nursery by the British during colonial-era India in their attempt to cultivate a range of different species of plants. It was finally opened to the public in 2018 after extensive renovations in its current, full glory. You'll find traces of every bit of this history in the park today: all of the 15 monuments inside date back to the Mughal era, of which six are UNESCO heritage monuments. All of them – including the Sunder Burj, Sunderwala Mahal, Lakkarwala Burj and the tomb of Mirza Muzaffar Hussain – sit comfortably within the landscaped sections of the park, instead of being cordoned off. Some are large, central, and lit up at night. Others are tucked into the woodsier corners of the park. The entire space, in fact, harkens back to the Mughal pleasure garden: central fountains, paved walkways, symmetrical lawns, shaded paths. The site, by virtue of it sitting inside the larger Humayun's Tomb complex, is incidentally a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  You'll find traces of the nursery too: the entire left wall of the space has thousands of plants on offer, with some bulbs and seed varieties starting at a throwaway ₹15. There's some sort of r

A decade ago, Delhi crowdfunded a custom Jamaican-style sound system. Today, it travels across India playing festivals, streets, block parties and jungle gigs, from Goa Sunsplash and Magnetic Fields to sessions in tribal Meghalaya. A mobile book stall and assorted goodies come along for the ride. This is the Bass Foundation Roots (BFR) sound system, co-founded by Begum X, singer with the Indian band The Ska Vengers, and Indian reggae artist Taru Dalmia, aka Delhi Sultanate. The hand-built rig is a 10-foot-tall, 13-foot-wide wall of speakers, plus record players, analogue valve equalisers, state-of-the-art amplifiers and a whole world of vinyl. It draws on the Jamaican sound system tradition that emerged across the Caribbean in the 1940s and '50s. BFR throws regular dances to bring people together through reggae, and it gets Delhi out of its homes and onto the dance floor. Photograph by Nitya ChoubeyVinyl records at the BFR Sound party What's a BFR sound system dance party? In the simplest terms, it's a reggae dance party. Unlike clubs, BFR sessions always happen outdoors, under the open sky. Where clubs and concerts offer anonymity, these parties are community-first and all-inclusive. Picture a generous dance floor, a sound system playing strictly vinyl, and plenty to poke around while you're there: stickers, hoodies and books on sale, from Angela Davis to Ambedkar. Sessions usually run five hours of non-stop music, interspersed with live trumpet, trombone, melodica, rap a

 What's India's Gen Z reading these days? And are we reading at all? A new report by the National Book Trust (NBT) has some answers. Based on a survey of visitors to the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) in January 2026, it found young readers dipping into psychological thrillers such as The Silent Patient and Yellowface, Korean fiction like The Vegetarian, and the poetry of Kabir and writings of B.R. Ambedkar. The study, commissioned for the first time by the NBT, an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Education, examines the reading and purchasing habits of younger audiences.   International fiction is peaking Psychological thrillers such as Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient and Rebecca F. Kuang's Yellowface emerged as popular picks, alongside Han Kang's International Booker Prize-winning The Vegetarian and Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny. Clearly, South Korean literature, much like its music and cuisine, is steadily building a fan following in India. The fascination with fiction (translated or otherwise) doesn't stop at Korea. Japanese titles, too, found their way into readers' shopping bags (and hearts), with Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Satoshi Yagisawa's Days at the Morisaki Bookshop drawing considerable interest. Self-help books were also in high demand, like Morgan Housel's The Psychology of Money. The NBT attributes this to young readers' increasingly cosmopolitan tastes and their curiosity about cultures beyond their own. Do young reade

Diwali shopping is a norm across India, but in Delhi, it's also a sport. Who are we to complain when the city has given us so many options to shop? The capital's bustling markets are fine, but come Diwali, several grand and small melas pop up to ease you into shopping. There are colourful stalls, handcrafted home decor, statement jewellery, indie fashion labels and regional food, both at cheap and expensive sides. We'd say go for the sustainable goodies, which comes packed in sometimes pretty expensive jute bags and sometimes in loose, muddy newspaper. Despite the top court's guidelines against stocking up on firecrackers, folks in this city, and elsewhere, are buying them left and right. So here's a list of all the melas in Delhi that aren't selling ‘em at all. Because as much as Delhi needs a banging Diwali, it also needs gorgeous air to breathe the next morning onwards. Blind School Diwali Mela 2026 This mela is an annual Delhi Diwali tradition that needs little introduction. Organised by the Blind Relief Association, the Blind School Diwali Mela has been a city favourite since 1980 and is back with its dose of festive shopping and food. Back then, it was just a modest showcase of handmade candles and diyas, which has now grown into something much bigger. So, expect more than 250 stalls featuring designer clothing, footwear, jewellery, handbags, home décor, festive accessories and gourmet food. Don't leave without checking out the Association's own collection of handmade c

  Jantar Mantar is back in the headlines, and this time, it’s surprisingly not about protests or politics. The cherished 18th-century monument in central Delhi is set to join the India Biennale 2026, turning its stone structures into a backdrop for exhibitions, performances and curated experiences. The first India Art, Architecture and Design Biennale was held at the Red Fort in 2023 and drew a fair bit of attention. The 2026 edition, however, is being pitched as a far bigger affair, because it’s bringing together creative voices from more than 20 countries, including France, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland and Sri Lanka. Jantar Mantar’s proposed inclusion comes shortly after the surrounding area was notified as a no-protest zone. The monument had served as a designated protest site for more than three decades before being stripped of that honour by the government on October 12.  Where else is the India Biennale 2026 taking place? Some of the other planned venues span some of Delhi’s most recognisable monuments, including Purana Qila, the Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Hauz Khas, Agrasen Ki Baoli, Humayun’s Tomb, Lodhi Garden, Mehrauli, Qila Rai Pithora, Safdarjung Tomb, Sabz Burj, Firoz Shah Kotla, Sakri Ghumti and Choti Ghumti. The programme will also spill into cultural institutions, including the National Museum, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, National Gallery of Modern Art, Lalit Kala Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi. By spreading the action across monuments, museums,

Who knew Patna was silently harbouring a cultural underdog? The city's Bihar Museum has earned a spot among the world's top 10 museums, beating even Paris' Louvre. According to a fresh list put out by travel guide Worth a Journey, the Bihar Museum ranked ninth among the world's 100 best museums in 2026. It's the only museum from India and from Asia to make it to the top 10, beating even the Met in New York.  Here are other museums that occupy the top five spots: Mexico City's Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid's Museo del Prado, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, Saint Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum and Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. What's inside Bihar Museum? Located on Bailey Road in Patna, the Bihar Museum is a treasure trove of historical artefacts, sculptures, coins, manuscripts and folk art. Its collections cover India's history from ancient times to 1764. The galleries are arranged across different historical periods, from the Mauryan era to the Mughals and the Sur dynasty.  The museum's Diaspora Gallery, for instance, explores Bihar beyond its geographical boundaries, offering a glimpse into the state's far-reaching cultural legacy. Travelling with little ones? The Children's Gallery features displays spanning animals, folk art, culture and science, giving younger visitors plenty to explore beyond the usual museum walkabout. Like this, there are separate sections for similar artefacts. One of the whole collection's biggest draws is the Maurya

Delhi residents can now book and pay for liquor online through a new government-run app, though they will still have to collect their orders from a physical store. The Delhi Liquor Booking app allows users to browse brands, check stock availability and make payments digitally, with home delivery not available. Launched by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), the service is currently available at 208 liquor outlets across the capital. The initiative aims to reduce queues outside liquor shops, ease pressure on payment counters and improve transparency in pricing and billing. But there's a catch – customers must collect their orders from their chosen outlet within 48 hours of payment. How does the Delhi Liquor Booking app work? It's very simple. Select an outlet, pick your preferred brand (if it's available there), bottle size and quantity, and pay online. Once the booking is complete, the app generates a QR code. Take it to your selected liquor shop within 48 hours, have it scanned and collect your bottles. The bonus of booking online is that you won't discover that your preferred label has sold out only after making the trip to the store. There’s a guarantee now – and anybody who frequents Delhi's liquor stores knows that they run through stock pretty quickly, with rare shipments of foreign alcohol disappearing almost as quickly as they appear.  Also, if you happen to change your mind before collection, you can cancel your order. Once

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and Delhi NCR is making a whole weekend of it. Between Friday, October 30 and Sunday, November 1, you can bounce between two venues on a party bus, catch Anjunadeep-linked producer Anyasa at an open-air gig, spend two days at a horror convention with live sets by Seedhe Maut, or walk into a Gurugram bar without paying a cover charge. There's a Noida option too, if crossing the river feels like a bridge too far. Tickets range from free entry to ₹10,499, so whether you're going all out on a costume or just looking for an excuse to go out, there's a party for you. Here are six Halloween events worth getting dressed up for. Halloween Bus Crawl by P0lluti0n If you've ever fantasised a Halloween with a runway moment and drag, this crawl from P0lluti0n (a DJ duo we love) has you covered. And even if you haven't, we still think this is simply unmissable. The night starts at Method, an art gallery we love, then a party bus carries the crowd across town to Auro (a bar we love) for round two, so you get two spots for the price of one. Six DJs playing all genres (their words, not ours!), a runway hosted by Phares Wheel, games, drinks and bites. Dress to impress, because there are prizes for the best costume. When: Friday, October 30, 2026, 4pm–1amWhere: Method (4pm–9:30pm), then party bus to Auro (till 1 am)Nearest metro station: Lajpat Nagar on the pink line for MethodTickets: ₹1,500 Nightvibe Open Air Halloween with Anyasa  If your idea of Hallo

As my little group trekked through the dense foliage of the Aravallis, the sheer anticipation of reaching Mangar Lake, shrouded within the dry groves of Mangar Bani in Faridabad, might’ve killed me. Even if it was a downhill walk.  I spent it busy. I peppered our excursion leader, Sachin Sharma, with random questions. 'Don't think there are many venomous snakes here,' I said, surveying the semi-parched forest around us. 'Oh, there certainly are,' he said. Sachin founded Delhi Outdoors this year. Every Sunday, he and a team of trained professionals take groups out to trek the Aravallis, rock climb, longboard, slackline and swim. Of all the activities on offer, I was most excited about the lake. 'Often, when we uproot rocks, we disturb the snakes resting underneath them…' Sachin continued. He mentioned the common krait, one of India's notorious Big Four venomous snakes.  I told myself to chill. Kraits are primarily nocturnal, after all. Still, I missed my shoes. A lot. The rocky terrain didn’t help. We barely encountered a soul on our way, save for two locals who stopped to ask where we were headed. Residents of Mangar are quite protective of the water body. Rightly so. After half an hour of negotiating slopes, scrambling over rocks, pushing through tall grasses and dodging thorny trees, the lake finally began peeking through the landscape. The ancient Aravalli rocks seemed to cradle Mangar Lake's still waters. As far as the eye could see, we had the entire landscape to o

We’re in the thick of October’s festival season, which, in Delhi-NCR, means food festivals, big-ticket automotive showcases and a calendar that’s bursting at the seams. Joining this line-up this year is Nykaaland 2026, bringing a generous dose of beauty and glam to the capital. Nykaaland 4.0 is bringing three days of makeup, immersive brand experiences, live music and enough beauty content to keep your camera roll busy all weekend. From October 23 to 25, 2026, the festival will transform the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in Okhla into a fairytale-inspired beauty district, complete with illuminated palace facades, heart-shaped carousels and sprawling, immersive brand hangars. Please note: unlike some local conventions where you can simply rock up and buy a ticket on-site, Nykaaland requires advance booking. Tickets are (or were, depending on demand) available exclusively on BookMyShow. Whether you’re hoping to get your hands on Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty drops, crack the code to Nykaaland’s freebies or sing along to Sukhbir’s Punjabi music, here’s your insider’s guide to making the most of the festival. What are the need-to-knows? Expect more than 70 global and homegrown brands setting up massive, interactive booths. And no, this isn’t just a shopping expedition. You’ll also get to test products, score exclusive drops and network directly with brand managers. Some global cult favourites making an appearance include Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty, which makes its official festival debut,

Delhi, you know how stacked our October calendar already is, but if your idea of a perfect weekend involves shopping, eating your way through a food festival and discovering indie artists, consider The Lil Flea a no-miss. After making a triumphant comeback to the capital in 2025 following a five-year hiatus, the beloved market is returning to Delhi from October 23 to 25, 2026, taking over the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium for three days.  The bohemian-themed festival's only getting bigger this year. In fact, we'd even go as far as to dub it more a treasure hunt with a soundtrack than a standard shopping-and-eating trip. Here's everything you should know.   The music at Lil Flea 2026 The music lineup is spread across all three days, with a mix of indie acts and established names. Friday, October 23, features Neon Nights, Gini and OutStation, followed by Tsumyoki. On Saturday, October 24, catch Divya Belwal, Mansa Jimmy and Rashmeet Kaur. The festival wraps up on Sunday, October 25, with Gin and Tonic, Sutej Singh and Indian Ocean closing out the weekend. The shopping at The Lil Flea 2026 The Lil Flea isn't just a market where you impulse-buy. It's a curated platform for independent labels, emerging designers, food entrepreneurs and creative communities to reach their audience. Expect more than 300 homegrown labels on the JLN Stadium grounds. Not everyone wants to spend a festival weaving through shopping stalls all day, so the 2026 edition is expanding its

In big news for Chandigarh folks, the city's Sukhna Wetland has gone global. Last week, the Ramsar Convention added the much-loved water body to its list of Wetlands of International Importance, giving one of the city’s favourite hangouts some well-earned international recognition. India’s Ramsar tally now stands at 103, following the addition of Sukhna, and Uttar Pradesh’s Sauj Jheel. But what exactly is this list, and why does it matter? Well, the Ramsar Convention is an international treaty dedicated to the conservation of wetlands, and its list recognises water bodies that are particularly important for biodiversity, wildlife and the environment. Think of it as a global stamp of recognition for wetlands worth protecting. The Chandigarh Administrator hailed the designation, applauding the people of Chandigarh, conservationists, experts and the Forest and Wildlife Department for their years of work protecting the wetland. What’s the Sukhna Wetland? Sukhna Lake – a manmade lake – might be one of Chandigarh’s most recognisable landmarks, but its appeal goes far beyond leisure. Nestled at the foothills of the Outer Himalayas, in Punjab, the wetland spans nearly 565 acres and packs an unsurprisingly rich biodiversity into the urban landscape. Its mix of open water, shoreline vegetation, scrubland and forest makes it an earnest refuge for wildlife, particularly migratory birds travelling along the Central Asian Flyway. The wetland provides vital

Delhi goes all out for Dussehra, and Ramlila is a big part of the celebrations. In the days leading up to the festival, venues across the capital stage performances from the Ramayana, building up to Ravan Dahan on Vijayadashami, when effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhkaran are set alight. Many grounds also host melas, with food stalls, festive crowds and plenty happening beyond the main event. You know the drill from childhood: trailing around the Ramlila ground, candyfloss or freshly roasted peanuts in hand, craning your neck to catch a glimpse of the Ravan effigy going up in flames. Well, there's no need to leave that memory in the past. This year, Dussehra falls on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, and Delhi has plenty of places to relive the experience, whether you're after a grand Ramlila production or a neighbourhood mela with a good view of Ravan Dahan. Here are the best Ramlila grounds and places to watch Ravan Dahan in the capital. And this time, you might just get a view without having to stand on your tiptoes. Ramlila Maidan | Old Delhi Ramlila Maidan is one of Delhi’s best-known addresses for Dussehra, with a history of hosting the capital’s annual Ramlila stretching back to the 1930s. The celebrations here are organised by the Shri Ram Lila Committee, bringing the Ramayana to life through traditional stage performances before culminating in Ravan Dahan on Vijayadashami. Expect towering effigies, fireworks and crowds gathering for one of the city’s major Dussehra sp