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Visiting the Humayun tomb was eye opening. The more we travel and see the largess of the world, the more the saying “It’s good to be the king” really shows you how wonderful life was for the chosen few. Emperor Humayun was no different.
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The tomb dedicated to Emperor Humayun in Delhi is further proof of that death doesn’t stop the grand life! We got to check out the emperor’s final resting place on our recent trip to India. I would say this is one of what to do in New Delhi for sure.
Humayun Tomb Delhi:
Humayun Tomb History
Humayun tomb is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India, as well as being one of the first. Construction began in 1565 A.D, nine years after his death.
Who built the Humayun tomb? That would be his widow, Bega Begam that commissioned the construction. We wanted to visit after seeing pictures of the site. The Humayun tomb Mughal style architecture looked fantastic and so we put it on our Delhi itinerary, and you should too.
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Tomb of Humayun history: The Emperor
Humayun was the second emperor of the Mughal empire and he succeeded his father. He ruled for almost ten years before being overthrown by an Afghan leader. He fled to Persia, and with the help of the Shah was able to regain Delhi. Unfortunately for Humayun, he fell down the stairs in a library and met his untimely death just a short while later 🙁 .
His wife Bega, who was Persian born, supervised the construction of the tomb with the help of Mirak Mirza Ghiyuath, a Persian Architect. The double dome was something that had never been done in India and was one of the Persian influences introduced.
The gardens are humongous! Humayun tomb is the first garden tomb in India and very Persian in influence. There are a lot of water ways and square gardens , we didn’t get to check it all out as my brother tired easily. What we did see was grandiose to say the least. There are other lesser known rulers and monarchs buried there as well, including the widow Bega Begam herself.
It’s interesting to note that she (Bega Begam) actually paid for the whole tomb herself, at a cost of 1.5 million rupees..a lot of money in those days. She was apparently devastated when he died. She had gone to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage and devoted her life thereafter to building the most magnificent mausoleum in the world in his honor.
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Issa Khan Tomb:
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The whole complex consists of 36 gigantic squares over like 30 hectares!! which are further divided into even more squares. A lot of walking 🙂 . The good thing they did at some point was to just break the walls of the squares somewhat so people could walk from one section to the next, otherwise it would have been way too much, especially on a hot day such as we had.
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Humayun Tomb Facts:
Human tomb was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1993. Over the years, the grounds had fallen to disrepair. A lot of the water channels were destroyed and when the British ruled India, there was tobacco being grown on the grounds, not to mention the various squatters that had settled on the land, including Muslim refugees migrating to Pakistan. After the UNESCO designation, it was taken under the wings of the Aga Khan trust who took over the reconstruction and restoration which was finally completed in 2003.
Tombs in Delhi: Humayun and Safdarjung
We had a great day checking out Humayun’s Tomb. Another one of tourist places near Humayun tomb is the equally awesome Safdarjung Tomb, which we have to save for next time. For even more amazing images of Humayun, check out this awesome website blog post.
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Humayun Tomb Information:
Humanyun’s Tomb Entry fee:
The admission price was about $3 per person converted. A must see in New Delhi, I would definitely recommend it. For local residents, the price was like 10 cents, so needless to say, a lot of locals were there but it doesn’t feel too bad since the grounds are open and you go at your own pace. Hopefully, you’v enjoyed getting some information on Humayun’s Tomb.
Humayun Tomb location in New Delhi:
Humayun tomb is located in the Nizamuddin neighborhood on Lodhi road.
Humayun tomb nearest metro station:
The nearest metro stop to Humayun’s tomb is Jor Bagh on the Yellow line or JLN Stadium on the Purple line.
Opening times of Humayun’s Tomb is 6AM – 5.30PM daily. Note that there is an extra fee if you intend to film.
Related Reading: Our differing opinions of New Delhi, India
Is Humayun tomb worth visiting?
In our opinion, yes. Humayun tomb is one of the finest tombs in New Delhi, and definitely should be part of your Delhi itinerary. Even the lesser known Issa Khan tomb is fantastic so you can just imagine. The Humayun architecture is unusual and one of a kind, at least as far as we’ve seen in our travels.
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Do you agree with me that it is good to be the king? Would you like to be buried in such an amazing paradise for posterity? Or are you a wallflower who prefers a little hole in the ground somewhere anonymous?
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As always, beautiful pictures!!! I would love to go to India someday!
Thank you! I’m sure you will get your wish soon enough 🙂
Gorgeous pictures and architecture. The detail is incredible! I don’t need a big to-do when I pass. Just cremate me and scatter my ashes in Hawaii. Seems like a good place to “retire.”
Thanks. I like your idea of “retirement”. Beauty would be all about. If someone did insist on building me this huge grand thing..l wouldn’t mind 🙂 .
Impressive Kemkem, I like a place that hasn’t been overly restored and looks kind of ruined.
Yeah, I’m all for just throwing my ashes somewhere. No need to build me a tomb Kemkem 😉
Frank (bbqboy)
I really did like this place. It was very popular with the locals, as it is so cheap for them. The visitor line was wicked short, as in 5 people. I’m not sure if it was the season, of if it’s not well known. We just asked the driver to show us his favorite places in Delhi. If l were to build you a tomb, l bet you wouldn’t hate it would you??? 🙂
As long as I’m not buried in it 🙂 The whole idea creeps me out. But you can build a monument to my name, that would be just fine “Here lies Frank, aka hot legs” 🙂
It sure is good to be king! If that’s how they prepared him for the afterlife, I can only imagine how nice his living days were 🙂 That second photo you posted… probably there for centuries, but it looks like it’s about to collapse 🙂 However, all the people are chillin’ there and taking photos, so I’m sure it’s completely safe.
And am I right? I think we just got the first photo of KemKem on this blog with a different hair style? 🙂
Hahah! Good eye C! Yes, new hairstyle 🙂 . Did it while home, it is just so much easier leaving my little itty bitty hair as is in Spain or while traveling..I am still dreading how terrible it is for me to unwind it all by myself 🙂 . These people lived large, and it’s an insane amount of space. I can’t wait to show the Taj Mahal. It is indeed good to be the king! Whole families go there to spend the day. It’s such a huge place, we walked a lot and my brother ended up chilling with the people when he got tired. It was built well for sure. Look how long it’s lasted, and it still looks pretty good to us.
“Death doesn’t stop the grand life…” Oh, you made me laugh! I wonder if his wife loved him as much in life as in death? Or maybe I wonder what kind of relationship they had in life. I won’t be gettin’ any of this, but I know I’m loved. :-)—-Good photo of you!—Terri
Thanks Terri :-). Yep, she loved him as much in life it seems. She was his senior (first) wife, and you know he must have filled his quota as a Muslim where you were allowed to have 5 wives. For her to have done that, l think she must have loved him very much, otherwise it was serious FU to the other wives, as in.. I was the first, and the only one who can do this..don’t even dare! ( I say this because l could totally see my mom doing something like that..hah hah)..like mine would be the name forever associated with his, and you all would be “the others!”. Love it!!!
LOL! I didn’t even stop to think that she wouldn’t be his only wife. Yeah. Well. Hmmm. What a woman.
Hahahah!!! Oh yeah..in those days, men married..a.lot. At least they had a cap of 5!!!. I had a classmate in high school whose dad had 33 wives!!!! We were aged 11 and her oldest brother was 66!!! And l can’t remember what number child she was. Her dad was super rich..but sheesh..can you imagine the headache??? Women of course are only allowed one husband at a time :-).
Get out! Man! My little Western world view is trying to wrap my head around that!
It is pretty mind blowing when you are not used to it 🙂
What a beautiful place to be buried! Talk about making a grand entrance into the afterlife. I would be content in a plot overlooking the ocean somewhere. I love your braids, by the way! I’ve been catching up on your posts – so sorry to hear about your brother, and I’m hoping he makes a speedy recovery.
It sure is a grand entrance 🙂 , surprised they didn’t send him off with servants..! Wouldn’t say no to such a send off :-), and it’s kind of nice that people get to enjoy the space. Thanks for asking about my brother, he is doing better, and hopefully will get to go back home at the end of the month for 3-4 months before going back for more surgery. Loving the braids so far l must say, even though it will be torture taking them off by my lonesome 🙂 .
Wonderful photography. You make India look so good.
This place looks almost too good to be a tomb.
Thank you 🙂 , for the comment and compliment!!! I like your comment about making India looking good..hahahah!!! It’s like a giant park ..
It’s great to be king until there’s some revolution and everyone wants you dead. I’d much rather be behind the scenes, you get most of the privileges and none of the responsibility. The tomb is magnificent, she must really have loved him if she dedicated that much time and money to have it built.
Haha! True .. It is great till somebody wants you dead !!! Sometimes it is nice to be in the shadows enjoying the good life. I think l would rather be remembered as a good person, no bells and whistles . But it would still be nice to have this 🙂
it’s certainly a surprising place in India. I specially loved the angles and lights in your pictures. I hope to gather the courage to visit India one day
Thank you for the compliment 🙂 . I still have mixed feelings about India , l guess l am still processing it in order to make a call on how l feel. I hope you get to visit, you don’t need courage..it’s really not as bad as you might imagine it, it’s just different, at least for someone from a first world country. There were plenty of places like this though, so it has it’s beauty.. Thanks for the comment.
I’m on the fence about India. We don’t like hordes of people and puking and diarrhea are no fun. Every blog I’ve seen on India somehow involves food spewing out of bodily orifices. We LOVE Indian food but just prefer seeing it cooked under hygenic conditions. Am I being harsh?
But maybe one day…still curious about the place.
Frank
You are not being too harsh l think. I know people are all “eat local”…. We were like f**k that!!! We saw the streets and were certainly not going to risk it no matter how delicious it smelled. I am going to write a post about my feelings of India once we are back in Seville and have access to the computer. I hate the ipad…
This place is amazing. I am going to delhi after some time. This is such an incredible post. Great to share this information thanks.
Thanks for reading. Hope you have a good time.