Soon, ‘Haunted’ walks in the dark in Delhi

“We have received a lot of responses from tourists and locals participating in heritage walks. Ever since the program was launched, a lot of queries are coming from people about the rumoured haunted places and many have asked us to conduct tours there and the department is exploring the idea of haunted or ghost walks,” said an official from the Tourism department.

The first such walk will start with the Malcha Mahal, situated in the heart of the Capital in the Ridge near Chanakyapuri. The 14th century monument is a Tughlak-era hunting lodge and is located inside the forest area, about 1.5km far from the main road.

“It was built in 1325 by the then Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq and was used by him and his associates as a hunting lodge. But in 1985, Begum Wilayat Mahal of Awadh, claiming that she was the royal member of Oudh started living here. It later came to be known as Wilayat Mahal. It is said that she used to live alone with about 10-11 dogs without any electricity or water connections. She later died by suicide in 1993 and her children later occupied the lodge,” said Atul Pandey, Tourist Information officer, Tourism department.

While there are tales of the lodge being haunted, officials say visiting the lodge after sunset is a chilling experience in itself. “It is situated inside the forest area away from the main road and has 6-7 rooms, steep steps leading to the terrace. Deer, monkeys, bats and owls are common. It is going to be an interesting and unique experience for the tourists,” said the official.

While the first such walk will be at Malcha Mahal, another hunting lodge near Karol Bagh — Bhuli Bhatiyari ka Mahal, Feroz Shah Kotla and Tughlaqabad Fort will be added on pilot basis. After assessing the response, more parks and monuments will be added, said the officials.

“While Bhuli Bhatiyari ka Mahal is located in the Ridge, there is a belief that there is the presence of djinns in Feroz Shah Kotla. People still visit and tie threads and locks here. Delhi is a transit point for tourists… They mostly stay in the city for a day and visit Lotus temple, India Gate, Qutub Minar, War Memorial and few other places and the visit ends… But these types of initiatives will help in promoting tourism as well as create employment and revenue,” said the official.

Officials said that the first of its kind initiative will be off the ground in about 15 days… Some of these monuments come under Delhi Government.

Like the Heritage walks, there will be around six ‘haunted’ walks at one monument each day. Each group will have 20 members each alongside one walk conductor or guide. “It will be a 2-3 hours walk. Storytellers or walk conductors, historians or registered tour guides, including one tourism department official will be there who will start with the history of Delhi, the monument and tell haunted stories about the monument,” the official said.

There will be a pick up point from where the tourists will be picked up in a vehicle. The walk will start close to the site and will be 1.5 km to 2 kms long. Once officially launched, people can book their walks at delhitourism.gov.in and ‘Dekho Meri DILLI’ Mobile app.

“At present, there are only 8 monuments which are open after sunset. This includes Sunder Nursery and Qutub Minar. Photography will be allowed and people can also make reels, take selfies etc,” said the official.

The charges will be similar like other Walks (heritage), Rs 1,000 per person which will include a walk conductor/ guide and a kit. The kit will have a torch, stick, jute bag with ‘haunted walk’ written on it, a cap, badge, band, water bottle, juice, seasonal fruit and muffin.