The Qutb Minar

The Qutb Minar is a tapering minaret of red sandstone and marble, a little over seventy-two metres, built in five stages from the end of the twelfth century onward, each stage under a different ruler and in a slightly different manner, which is why the balconies and the bands of carved inscription do not quite line up with each other. It stands in a walled complex of ruins: the earliest congregational mosque in the area, whose arcade was assembled from carved columns taken from older buildings on the site, the enormous unfinished stub of a second tower that was meant to be far larger, and an iron pillar around seven metres high that has resisted rust for well over a thousand years.

What you actually see

• The minaret - five stages of fluted red sandstone and marble with carved inscription bands.
• The iron pillar - a slender ancient column in the courtyard, notable for not having rusted.
• The reused colonnade - mosque arcades built from carved pillars taken from earlier structures.
• Alai Minar - the squat unfinished base of a second, much larger tower that was never continued.

When to go

October to March is the season; Delhi from April to June is severe and the site is open ground. Early morning is best for both light and quiet, since school groups arrive by mid-morning on weekdays and families fill the lawns at weekends. The complex is also floodlit in the evening, though access after dark is limited.

Honest expectations

You cannot climb it. The internal staircase has been closed to the public for decades, so the visit is entirely from ground level and takes about an hour. Fencing keeps you back from the iron pillar and parts of the mosque. Foreign ticket prices are much higher than local ones, and winter smog can reduce the tower to a grey outline.

Nearby

Mehrauli archaeological park with its scattered tombs and stepwell is adjacent, and the Lotus Temple is a short drive.