Humayun’s Tomb and Sunder Nursery in one unhurried morning

A Mughal garden tomb, a restored nursery next door, and Lodhi Garden fifteen minutes away. The greenest half day in Delhi.

Humayun’s Tomb was built in the 1560s, commissioned by the emperor’s widow, Bega Begum. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first great garden tomb in India, the plan the Taj Mahal later refined. It is also one of the calmest places in the city.

The tomb

Buy the ticket online to skip the queue at the gate. Walk the long axis through the gateway first, so the tomb appears the way it was meant to, framed and growing as you approach. The red sandstone and white marble change colour through the morning, and the light is softest before ten.

Humayun’s Tomb at the end of its approach path — The approach, built so the tomb grows as you walk towards it. Photo: Aamir Ahmad, Unsplash.

Humayun’s Tomb beside a garden water channel — Water channels divide the garden into the Mughal fourfold plan. Photo: Barun Ghosh, Unsplash.

Sunder Nursery

Next door, Sunder Nursery was a colonial plant nursery that has been restored as a park, with Mughal-era monuments set among lawns, a lake and old trees. It has its own entrance and ticket. Bring water and something to sit on; there is shade everywhere.

Lodhi Garden

A short auto ride west, Lodhi Garden is free to enter and full of walkers, joggers and families from early morning. The tombs inside belong to the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, so the buildings are older than Humayun’s by a century.

Timing

Go on a weekday if you can; weekends are busier.
October to March is the comfortable season for walking outdoors.
Khan Market is close to Lodhi Garden for lunch afterwards.

Humayun’s Tomb and Sunder Nursery in one unhurried morning

The tomb

Sunder Nursery

Lodhi Garden

Timing

Old Delhi on foot, before the shutters go up

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