Qutub Minar: Timings, Tickets, History & Tips 2026

The Qutub Minar is where Delhi's history starts, centuries before the Mughals and the Red Fort. This fluted red sandstone tower has been standing since the twelfth century, and the complex around it holds the first mosque built in the city and an iron pillar that has resisted rust for over 1,600 years. It photographs beautifully in the late afternoon, and it is an easy, rewarding stop on the New and South Delhi half of a Delhi day. Here is how to visit it well.

The Qutub Minar is open all seven days of the week, with no weekly closure, roughly from 7 AM to 5 PM, with last entry about half an hour before closing. Unlike the Red Fort or the Taj Mahal, there is no day to plan around here. Late afternoon is the nicest time, when the low sun turns the sandstone gold and picks out the carving on the tower, and the light is best for photographs.

Fees are set by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and were as follows as of July 2026.

Buy online through the ASI portal to skip the counter queue, or pay at the gate. Confirm the current rate before you travel, since ASI fees change. There is a small extra charge for a still camera at some ASI sites, so keep a little cash handy.

No, and it is the question everyone asks. The staircase inside the tower has been closed to the public since 1981, after a stampede on the stairs, and it has stayed shut for safety since. You admire the Qutub Minar from the ground, walking around its base to read the bands of carving and calligraphy that spiral up its five storeys. The reward of the visit is the complex around the tower, not a climb, so come for the whole site rather than the view from the top.

The tower is the centrepiece, but the Qutub complex is a field of early Indo-Islamic ruins worth an unhurried walk. The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque beside it is the earliest mosque built in Delhi, raised using stone from earlier temples on the site. In its courtyard stands the famous Iron Pillar, a fourth-century column that has barely rusted in over 1,600 years, a puzzle that still interests metallurgists. Nearby are the ornate Alai Darwaza gateway and the stump of the Alai Minar, an even taller tower that a later sultan began and never finished. Together they tell the story of the Delhi Sultanate, the era before the Mughals.

Qutb-ud-din Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, began the Qutub Minar in 1193 to mark the arrival of Muslim rule in northern India. He built only the first storey; his successor Iltutmish added three more, and Firoz Shah Tughlaq later rebuilt the top. The result is a 73-metre tower of red sandstone and marble, tapering as it rises, carved with inscriptions and geometric bands. The Qutub Minar and its surrounding monuments were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

The Qutub Minar is in Mehrauli, south Delhi. The nearest metro is Qutub Minar station on the Yellow Line, from where it is a short auto-rickshaw ride to the complex. The metro is the easiest way to reach it and connects smoothly to the rest of the city. It pairs well on the same day with Humayun's Tomb, the other great garden monument on the New and South Delhi route.

Carry a photo ID; foreign visitors need a passport. Large bags and food are best left behind, and there are security checks at the gate. Handheld photography is allowed and encouraged, though tripods and drones are not. Wear comfortable shoes for the gravel and grass of the complex, and carry water and sun cover in the warmer months, since the site is open with little shade.

We are Experience My India, and the Qutub Minar is a fixture on the New and South Delhi half of our Delhi trips, usually paired with Humayun's Tomb and a stop at India Gate. We handle the tickets, the timing for the best afternoon light, and a guide who can read the complex's layers of history for you. For the full list of what to see in the capital, start at the things to do in Delhi hub. Photographers should also see our tours for photographers. See live prices on our Delhi Agra tour packages, or message us on WhatsApp for a quote.