There are extraordinary riches scattered around Mehrauli (free), with more than 440 monuments – from the 10th century to the British era – dotting the forested park and the village behind it. In the forest, the most impressive are the 16th-century Jamali Khamali Mosque, attached to the tomb of the Sufi poet Jamali, and the time-ravaged Tomb of Balban.
To the north is Quli Khan's Tomb, a Mughal-era tomb converted into a monsoon-season residence by the East India Company's Thomas Metcalfe in the 19th century. It overlooks lakeside Metcalfe Boathouse, once a Lodhi-era tomb. Nearby, the lovely Cafe Stone, with views of the Qutb Minar, is a great place to pause for a bite. To the west is the 16th-century Rajon ki Baoli, one of Delhi’s finest step-wells, and more ruins are scattered through the forest.
Wild pigs scamper about the forest, while bright-green parakeets and large black kites swoop from tree to tree. Troops of monkeys clamber across the ruins, especially at dusk. Stone pillars with the names of the main sights carved onto them guide you along the maze-like network of dusty forest pathways; don't come here too late in the day, as it can be easy to get lost.
You can walk to the park from Qutb Minar metro station by crossing the pedestrian overpass over busy Anuvrat Marg, then heading north for 500m.
More historic monuments are scattered through the busy streets of Mehrauli village, southwest of the Qutb Minar, but they are more difficult to locate. They include Adham Khan’s Mausoleum (Bhool Bhulaiya), on a busy intersection; just west of here stretch the pre-Islamic walls of Lal Kot. To the south is the crumbling Zafar Mahal, the last palace built by the Mughals, and Hijron ka Khanqah, a Lodhi-era burial ground for hijras (the transgender, intersex and eunuch community) that is beautifully maintained by the hijra community today. South again is the Lodhi Jahaz Mahal ("ship palace").
