Safdarjung's Tomb

Safdarjung's Tomb is the last of the great Mughal garden-tombs of Delhi — a stately sandstone-and-marble mausoleum set in a formal charbagh (four-quartered garden) at the western end of Lodhi Road, often called the 'last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture'.

• Built in 1754 for Safdarjung, the powerful Nawab-Wazir of Awadh and a leading figure of the late Mughal court, it is one of the capital's most rewarding heritage sites precisely because it is so uncrowded: a monument of Taj-lineage grandeur that you can often have almost to yourself.
• The tomb rises on a high terraced platform at the centre of a walled garden, its bulbous dome and corner towers reflected in the axial water channels that divide the lawns into four.
• You enter through an ornate two-storey gateway; inside, the main chamber holds the graves of Safdarjung and his wife, and the façades carry the marble panels, arched recesses and plaster ornament of the final Mughal style.
• Pavilions along the garden walls — named Moti Mahal, Jangli Mahal and Badshah Pasand — complete the composition, and the raised terrace gives long, photogenic views back down the garden to the gateway.
• For vegetarian travellers the tomb is superbly placed.
• It stands beside Lodhi Garden and a short ride from Khan Market and Pandara Road, so it is easy to pair a visit with a morning walk and an excellent vegetarian breakfast or lunch at one of Delhi's densest clusters of pure-veg cafés.