Places to visit in Mehrauli

The Southern district of Delhi Mehrauli or Mihirawali is a constituency of legislative assembly of Delhi. Delhi is made up of Mehrauli and six other ancient cities. This district is named ‘Mehrauli’ after the name of his founder King Mihir Bhoja of Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty.

Mehrauli is encircled by Hauz Khas, Vasant Kunj and Tughlakabad. The area is located close to Gurgaon.

Well known architect AGK Menon designed Mehrauli according to British style. The most important attraction in Mehrauli is Qutub Minar. Qutub complex built by Qutub ud din Aybak is the classic piece of architecture visited by tourists round the year. The famous Qutub Festival is held every year for 3 days at this UNESCO world heritage site in November-December. This is very popular festival organized by Delhi Tourism to showcase the cultural art forms of India.

The holy Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki Mosque of 13th century situated near the Qutub Minar Complex is the venue for the popular 3 day annual flower seller’s Phoolwalon-ki-sair Festival. The festival is organised by Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan. It is yet another celebration of brotherhood and friendship. The graves of deceased Mughal emperors are also built in dargah complex surrounded by marble enclosure. In the erstwhile days small Moti Masjid was built by Bahadur Shah I on the left of the main mosque for private prayer.

The worn out tomb of one of the ruler of Slave dynasty Balban constructed around 13th century is seen here. This is an imperative structure which is built in Indo-Islamic architectural style. There is an Archeological Park in Mehrauli. The tomb of Balban's son, Khan Shahid, is located near it.

The Jamali Kamali mosque of the Sufi saint Shaikh Jamali Kamboh Dihlawi was built adjacent to the mosque in 1536.

Emperor Akbar constructed a tomb known as Adham Khan’s Tomb in 1566 which is now known as Bhulbhulaiyan. It is named so for its passages are like maze in which one could get lost. The monument also served as residence, rest house and even as a police station during the British period. Muhammad Quli Khan tomb near Adham Khan's tomb was the residence of Mughal Governor-General, Sir Thomas Metcalfe.

The Iron pillar at the Quwaat-ul-IUslam mosque near Qutb Minar is proving the fact that iron rusts when exposed to sun, air and rains wrong. It is still standing unaffected; with same pride and gleam as it was 1600 years back on the day it was cast.

The famous iron pillar was built by Sultan Ala-Ud-din Khilji. The inscription in Brahmi script on it suggests that it might belong to Chandragupta II of the Gupta Dynasty.

The inscription on itself says that originally the pillar was installed on the Vishnupada hill and was learnt that Anangpal Tomar brought it to Delhi and erected it here near the Qutub minar.

The mighty pillar weighs six tones and is about 42 cm in circumference. It is a mystery for scientists and specialists. It has been the popular topic for many new researches and analysis.

The Yogmaya Temple near the Qutub minar complex is also another popular place in Mehrauli