Aura of India: Districts of Delhi: What Each Area Holds for a Visitor

The domed pavilions and madrasa of Hauz Khas in South Delhi, seen across the old reservoir with dead branches standing in the water

Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India, CC BY 2.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Delhi from the Yellow Line metro, which runs under the old city and out past the Qutub, on an October morning.

Delhi redrew its districts in 2026, but a visitor still reads the city by its walls, its avenues and its ruins.

Old Delhi and Central

Since 1 January 2026 Delhi has had thirteen revenue districts, drawn to match the zones of the city's municipal corporation. The new Old Delhi district, with the sub-divisions of Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazar, is the walled city that Shah Jahan built in the seventeenth century as Shahjahanabad. It holds the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, the lanes of Chandni Chowk, the spice trade of Khari Baoli and the wholesale stalls of Sadar Bazar. Go early, on foot or by cycle-rickshaw; the Yellow Line stops at Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazar, and the Violet Line at Lal Quila and Jama Masjid.

The Central district is now the area of Karol Bagh and Patel Nagar, west of the old city. Karol Bagh's market sells clothes, shoes and wedding wear, and its side streets are full of mid-priced hotels. The Blue Line runs through it.

New Delhi and the south-east

The New Delhi district covers the area of the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment. This is the planned capital of the 1920s and 1930s, often called Lutyens' Delhi after its chief architect, Edwin Lutyens: Kartavya Path running from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, the round arcades of Connaught Place, the National Museum on Janpath, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and the tombs of Lodhi Garden.

The South East district, with Jangpura, Kalkaji and Badarpur, begins just beyond. Here are Nizamuddin, with Humayun's Tomb, Sunder Nursery and the dargah, or shrine, of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya; the white petals of the Lotus Temple at Kalkaji; and, at the far southern edge, the broken walls of Tughlaqabad.

South: Mehrauli and Hauz Khas

The South district, with the sub-divisions of Mehrauli, Malviya Nagar, Chhatarpur and Deoli, holds the oldest standing layer of the city. The Qutub Minar rises over Mehrauli, and the Mehrauli Archaeological Park spreads tombs, step-wells and mosques through scrub woodland beside it. A few kilometres north, Hauz Khas has a medieval reservoir lined with the fourteenth-century arcades of a madrasa, a college of the Delhi Sultanate. The Yellow Line serves Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar, Saket and Qutab Minar stations; Chhatarpur's large temple complex is one stop further.

East, west and the outer districts

Across the Yamuna, the East district holds Akshardham, the carved Swaminarayan temple beside the river, on the Blue Line, and the wholesale garment market of Gandhi Nagar. North East, which now includes Shahdara, is dense and residential, with little for a visitor. To the north, the North and Central North districts hold Delhi University's North Campus, the wooded northern Ridge, the Tibetan colony at Majnu-ka-Tilla by the river, and Coronation Park, where the Delhi durbars of 1877, 1903 and 1911 were held.

The West district, around Rajouri Garden and Janakpuri, is a place of neighbourhood markets. South West holds Dwarka, the airport and the Yashobhoomi convention centre on the Airport Express line. North West and the new Outer North district, around Rohini, Narela and Bawana, are housing and industry on the edge of Haryana, seldom on a visitor's route.

Why the map changed

Until the end of 2025 Delhi had eleven revenue districts, and their borders did not match those of the city's civic bodies. The Delhi government redrew them by a notification of 25 December 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026. Each of the municipal corporation's twelve zones became a district, the area run by the New Delhi Municipal Council became the thirteenth together with the Cantonment, and the sub-divisions rose to 39. Shahdara district was removed; Old Delhi, Central North and Outer North were created.

For a visitor, little changes on the ground: addresses, metro stations and monuments stay where they were. The change matters if you need a district office, and when older guides place Chandni Chowk in 'Central' or 'North' Delhi.

Districts at a glance

Old Delhi (Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar): the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid and the old bazaars.
New Delhi (New Delhi, Delhi Cantonment): Kartavya Path, India Gate, Connaught Place, Lodhi Garden.
South East (Jangpura, Kalkaji, Badarpur): Humayun's Tomb, Nizamuddin, the Lotus Temple, Tughlaqabad.
South (Mehrauli, Malviya Nagar, Chhatarpur, Deoli): the Qutub, Mehrauli's ruins, Hauz Khas.
Central (Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar): markets and mid-priced hotels.
East (Gandhi Nagar, Vishwas Nagar, Patparganj): Akshardham and the garment market.
North and Central North (Burari, Adarsh Nagar, Badli; Model Town, Shalimar Bagh, Shakur Basti): the university, the Ridge, Majnu-ka-Tilla.
South West (Dwarka, Najafgarh, Matiala, Bijwasan): the airport and the convention centre.
West (Rajouri Garden, Janakpuri, Vikaspuri): neighbourhood markets.
North West, North East and Outer North (Rohini, Shahdara, Narela): mostly residential and industrial.

From the old city to the Qutub, one metro line crosses seven centuries; the district lines are new, the layers are not.

Plan your visit

Which district to sleep in	The New Delhi district, around Connaught Place, or Paharganj by New Delhi station, leaves Old Delhi, Lutyens' avenues and Nizamuddin each a short metro ride away. Karol Bagh, in the Central district, is the cheaper base on the Blue Line. For a slow day at the Qutub and the Mehrauli ruins, the South district's Hauz Khas is closer.
Crossing districts by metro	One Yellow Line ride joins Old Delhi, Connaught Place in the New Delhi district, and Hauz Khas and the Qutub in the South. Change to the Violet Line for the Red Fort, and to the Blue Line for Karol Bagh and, across the Yamuna, Akshardham in the East. Inside Old Delhi's lanes, walk or take a cycle-rickshaw.
A district a day	Day one, Old Delhi. Day two, the New Delhi and South East districts side by side: India Gate, Lodhi Garden, Humayun's Tomb and the Nizamuddin dargah. Day three, the South: the Qutub, the archaeological park and the Hauz Khas tank. A fourth day fits Akshardham and the museums; Akshardham and the Lotus Temple usually shut on Mondays, so check first.
Districts to leave out	North West, North East and Outer North are mostly housing and industry, and the West is neighbourhood markets. South West matters to a visitor only for the airport and the Yashobhoomi convention centre.
Walking days and the air	Old Delhi and Mehrauli are walking districts, so give them the cooler months, October to March, and the mornings with the lowest air-quality reading; smog settles over the city from late October into January.
Flights, trains and hotels	Airports, railway stations and hotel areas for the whole city are in the Delhi travel guide.

Open Delhi, India in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Which Delhi districts are new since 2026?

Old Delhi, Central North and Outer North, all created on 1 January 2026, bringing the count to thirteen. The other ten keep their old names (Central, East, New Delhi, North, North East, North West, South, South East, South West and West) but cover redrawn ground, so an older guide's district for a sight may be wrong.

Which district is Chandni Chowk in?

Old Delhi, a district created in 2026. It has two sub-divisions, Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazar, and holds the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid.

Which district has the Qutub Minar?

The South district, which includes the Mehrauli sub-division along with Malviya Nagar, Chhatarpur and Deoli.

Is Shahdara still a district?

No. Shahdara district was removed in the 2026 reorganisation. Shahdara is now a sub-division of the North East district.

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Districts of Delhi: What Each Area Holds for a Visitor