Full Day City tour of Delhi's temples and spiritual places with a local guide

Thanks to my wonderful guide Madhvendra (Mona) Singh, I had an absolutely unforgettable first day in Delhi. Touring on my own, I would have been impressed but overwhelmed. What Madhvendra gave me was a precious gift: the necessary background knowledge, context, and insight to start to get a sense of Delhi’s rich religious and cultural diversity. This gave me valuable tools for making the most of the rest of my 10 days in India. I had a million questions and was looking for in-depth information. Madhvendra’s knowledge was impressive. He provided fascinating detail about a huge variety of topics, from architecture to food to arts and crafts and music. All of the temples were amazing, but three stood out for me for different reasons. I was absolutely captivated by the Jain temple in Old Delhi. It was a perfect jewel – small-scale, and exquisitely decorated on every surface. I wanted to spend more time there, and Madhvendra accommodated that request, providing detailed information on the Jain religion and the origins, materials, and techniques used in the incredible decoration. I’m glad that photographs were not permitted, because what I took away was a focused and indelible memory of an ascetic religious tradition surrounded by art, sumptuous colour and design, and extraordinary craftsmanship. I was touched by the faith put into action that was so apparent in the communal kitchen of the Sikh temple, all run by volunteers. And the Akshardham Temple could only have been built in India. What other country could call upon thousands and thousands of superb and creative artisans in hundreds of different skilled trades? Madhvendra called it India’s Gift to the World, and it truly is a living example of creativity and skill that has been honed, perfected, and passed down over thousands of years. Whether it was textiles, carving, painting, music, literature, or drama, this sense of India’s ancient and living creativity resonated throughout my entire trip. The rickshaw ride through Old Delhi was an extraordinary experience for all the senses, and Madhvendra kept me fascinated and entertained by his answers to my questions about all the things I was seeing. He taught me how to navigate the crowds and stay safe by walking on the left, and even took me to some specific places that I had researched but were not on the official tour. For example, I wanted to visit the Gulab Singh Johrimal store, the oldest perfume store in Delhi. He got me there quickly and efficiently, and good-naturedly provided an opinion on a men’s perfume I wanted to buy for my husband. There are many other examples of Madhvendra going above and beyond. When I got a call that was supposedly from my bank, he saved me from potential fraud by warning me to hang up and not provide information over the phone. I also asked his advice about navigating New Delhi on my own, and he showed me how to use the metro (which was incredibly modern and clean), and showed me some apps to download. While Madhvendra was the perfect guide for a solo middle-aged female traveler like myself, my husband and teenage/young adult children would have adored him as well. He was smart, hip, globally aware, adaptable, generous, humorous, and warm-hearted. I could not have asked for a better introduction to India or for a better host, and I will always be grateful.

This tour was the perfect blend of fascinating and eventful, yet not overly exhausting for someone being for the first in India and, additionally, alone. I was taken by car from one destination to the next and offered water, which made the tour very fitting for a first day. I saw many beautiful places which satisfied my curiosity, but at the same didn't get overwhelmed by the hot temperatures, noises and smells I wasn't at all accustomed to. I learnt a lot about Hinduism and despite asking numerous questions, Suraj was prepared to answer each and every one of them. Not only that, when he realized that we would be finished with the tour earlier than expected, he extended it by showing me the site of Gandhis death and telling me all he knew about the place. I'm very glad I chose this tour!

The tour was very informational. Got to see all the temples listed on the description and each temple was so different from each other making it a lot of fun! The guide was there to pick me up way before scheduled time and I had plenty of time to see all the temples to my liking. The only reason why I didn't give 5 star is because the tour guide seemed to have memorized what to explain to me so he seemed uncomfortable or offended when I asked questions that I genuinely wanted to know about the culture. Even so, the tour guide was still great and I learned so much from the tour!