Old Delhi Walking Tour: Rickshaw Ride, Spice Market & Street Food

4.80

(240 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Ever wondered what it feels like to step off the metro at Chawri Bazar and just get swallowed by Old Delhi? That’s how my morning started — one second on the slick, air-conditioned train, the next in a swirl of horns, chai steam, and so many voices I lost count. Our guide, Ankit, was already waving from the curb. He grinned and said something about “organized chaos” — I think he meant it as comfort? It worked. We dove straight into Chandni Chowk’s jewelry lanes, where gold glinted through shop windows and the air smelled faintly of incense and old metal.

I didn’t expect Jama Masjid to feel so peaceful after all that noise. You have to slip your shoes off — cool stone underfoot, pigeons fluttering overhead. Ankit pointed out calligraphy on the walls (I pretended I could read it), then led us through Dariba Kalan where silver anklets clinked with every step. Somewhere between Kinari Bazaar’s wedding ribbons and a 150-year-old parantha shop (I swear I’ll never forget that first bite — crisp edges, spicy potatoes inside), I realized I’d stopped checking my phone for the time. There was too much happening right in front of me.

The Sikh temple — Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib — surprised me most. We paused outside while volunteers handed out water to anyone passing by. Inside, the kitchen buzzed with people rolling dough for lunch; there was this smell of warm flour and cardamom drifting out. Our last stop was Khari Baoli spice market by rickshaw (hold tight — those alleys are no joke). My eyes actually watered from all the chili in the air but watching traders scoop turmeric from burlap sacks felt like seeing another world open up for a second.