Qutub Minar

Started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1192 as a victory tower marking the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, the Qutub Minar is a 72.5-metre fluted sandstone-and-marble minaret in Mehrauli, South Delhi. Aibak only built the first storey; his successor Iltutmish added three more, and Firuz Shah Tughlaq replaced the top after lightning damage in 1369, giving it the five-storey profile visitors see today. The surrounding Qutb complex is older than the minaret itself. The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, built from columns scavenged from 27 demolished Hindu and Jain temples, is one of the earliest extant mosques in India. The Iron Pillar — a 7-metre wrought-iron column from the 4th-century Gupta period — stands rust-free in the courtyard, a metallurgical curiosity that pre-dates the Muslim conquest by 700 years. The unfinished Alai Minar, intended to be twice the height of Qutub Minar, was abandoned at 24 metres after Alauddin Khalji's death. UNESCO inscribed the complex in 1993. Climbing the minaret has been prohibited since a stampede in 1981 killed 45 schoolchildren, but the grounds reward an unhurried walk — particularly in winter when the lawns fill with picnicking Delhi families.