Lodi Gardens

Lodi Gardens — formerly Lady Willingdon Park — is a 90-acre formal garden in central Delhi laid out by the British in 1936 around four Tomb-period monuments: the Tomb of Sikandar Lodi (1517), the Tomb of Mohammed Shah Sayyid (1444), the Bara Gumbad and the Sheesh Gumbad (both 1490s) and the Athpula bridge (Akbar-period, 1605). The park is laid out in the English-Mughal hybrid style of inter-war Delhi: rolling lawns, formal flower beds, and meandering paths under massive jamun and silk-cotton trees. The 16th-century tombs have been heavily restored — the Sheesh Gumbad's blue-tile decoration is particularly striking. The Bara Gumbad has the rare combination of an attached mosque (one of the earliest extant in Delhi). Joseph Stein Lane, the park's western edge, is named for the architect of nearby India International Centre. The park is Delhi's central morning-walk circuit — Sundays see joggers, dog-walkers, families, and yoga groups. The on-site Lodhi Garden Restaurant (in the Bara Gumbad) is a notable lunch destination. Free entry. Best months are October to March; avoid the post-monsoon mosquito season.