[swarnava.ch]

Introduction:
What comes to your mind when you are planning a holiday stop over in Delhi ?
A day trip ? May be book a cab for the whole day and plan to visit all touristy places like Red Fort, CP, Qutub Minar, India Gate, New Parliament Building etc. etc. etc. you get the gist right ? There are so many options actually it will take atleast a few days to cover all of them. Each of these monuments are historical heritage for our country and the excitement would be understandable.

So I was planning something similar and finally when we reached Delhi, one of our relatives suggested something, which at first sounded unbelievable and exciting both at once.

Basically he suggested that its possible to book a tour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, if we can book an advance slot online and this will include a guided tour of the internal areas of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. We were just overjoyed and could not really believe this would be possible.

So I will try to give you a short summary of the process and experience of booking a curated trip to visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan so that you can take your family members on this one in a life opportunity.

Process:
1. Log into the page - https://rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in/
2. Click on the link "Visit" and then select "Main Building" from the options.
3. On this page on the Top Right, you will see an option for "Book Now".
4. You can choose as an Individual Booking or a School / Group Booking.
5. Check for the available dates and slot, Choose Pax (Children Below 8 Yrs go free) Adults are charged a nominal fee of 50Rs per head.
6. Keep your ID car handy to register the details. You must carry the same during your visit for authentication.
7. Finally you will get a Pass at the end which you can download as pdf and show on your phone or print a copy and take with you.

Now to some important stuff which is not very clear specially if you are visiting Delhi from outside and not very familiar with the place.

1. When you want to navigate to Rashtrapati Bhavan, you can go to Gate 38 if you want to get dropped via Cab / Taxi and walk the remaining 500 mts to the inner compound. Vehicles are not allowed inside from here but this is the nearest point to reach from the Rajpath side. In case you are driving your own car, You can then navigate to Gate 39 where cars are allowed inside to the inner parking.

2. Photography was allowed in the general parking and Infront of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (called the "Forecourt") it self but be careful and don't use your cameras without checking. Anyways it will be collected later before the actual visit starts. Photography is not allowed inside the Bhavan.

Our Visit and Experience:
We arrived at the appointed date, 1 hour early due to our excitement. Everything was streamlined and it was a bit overwhelming to be honest the moment we stepped in through the gates.

Police and Army at every corner for security, the place itself was magnificent and neat and clean. It was everything we had always seen on TVs. We went straight to the reception, our tickets were scanned, documents checked again, and we were guided to the waiting area.

We were like kids in a candy store, still taking time to believe where we were standing. There is a wall with Photographs of all the Presidents of India arranged in order. There is a gift and memorabilia shop as well where you can buy some stuff.

Now our names were called, our bags kept in the locker, issued Visitor IDs and we were put in a group which was escorted with a volunteer and a security officer. The volunteer was quite nice and well read fellow who knew about the history of the place and did justice to the tour.

It is very difficult to capture the beauty of the rooms and places we visited in a few sentences, but a short summary of some of the important things we saw is as follows:
1. In general, what strikes you the most would be: the magnificent galleries, beautiful craftmanship of the decorations, lights and chandeliers and finally the various statues and artifacts which are displayed at every corner which were either installed by previous presidents or they had received as gifts from foreign dignitaries. The stories associated to each of them points to a moment in history.
2. Darbar Hall: We saw the famous Darbar Hall where the President hosts award ceremonies or Swearing-in ceremonies for incoming new governments. You would have seen on this on TVs numerous times but believe me, TV shots does not do justice to the place when you see it in person. This is right under the main dome of the Rashtrapati bhavan. In the center of the Hall, against the wall is a statue of Buddha from 5th Century AD. Link to the official page here.
3. Banquet Hall: This is also known as the State Dining room. The Banquet Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan can seat up to 104 people at one time. It is used by Presidents to host banquets for their visiting counterparts. The walls are decorated with beautiful paintings and intricate woodwork and craftmanship. There is also a system of how the food is served to the guests by the chefs and how the timings are matched with a small light based signalling system, how to food is plated and served. Link to the official page here.
4. Ashoka Hall: One of the most fascinating and ornately decorated rooms of Rashtrapati Bhavan is the Ashok Hall. Interestingly, this huge artistically done up space that is now used for important ceremonial functions, was erstwhile used as the State Ballroom. The Ashok Hall is used for presentation of credentials by Heads of Missions of foreign countries and as a formal place of introductions for the visiting and Indian delegations. The ceiling and the flooring of this room both have a charm of their own. While the floor is totally wooden and has springs beneath its surface, the ceilings of Ashok Hall are decorated with oil paintings. Taken from the official page, the most interesting story here is

The centre of the ceiling has a leather painting showing an equestrian portrait of Fath Ali Shah, the second of seven Qajar rulers of Persia, hunting a tiger in the presence of his twenty two sons. This painting, which is measured at 5.20 metres in length and 3.56 metres in breadth, was gifted to George IV of England by Fath Shah himself. During Viceroy Irwin's tenure, this gifted piece of art was brought from London’s India Office Library and affixed on the ceiling of the State Ballroom, as it was then known. One might call it an optical illusion, 3 D effect or just the excellence of the painter, but when one sees the eyes of Fath Ali Shah in the painting from any corner of the Room, he appears to be focusing on the viewer only.

5. There were also the Tungabhadra Hall, North Drawing Room, Library etc. that we visited next and each room, decorated with ornate paintings, lights and looks like a room of a king's palace.

Now while I do not have pictures of this part of the trip, as its not allowed to take pictures inside the compound, you can see the video here for an idea.

YouTube video

We also learned from our guide that when our president is in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indian Flag is hoisted at the top of the Central Dome and when She is away, the flag is not hoisted.

Anyways at the end of the tour, we submitted our badges, collected our bags and took some final parting shots in the Forecourt with the full view of the place. Few pictures to keep this moment in our mind.




We finally booked an Uber and left form Gate 38 again and left. I have to admit, I was as excited as my son was. My best Delhi sightseeing trip was now complete.

Summary:
My intent in sharing this blog was to create awareness about this wonderful opportunity with fellow history buffs and our T-Bhp community members so that more and more people get an opportunity to admire this important icon of our country.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[saubi2299]

Rashtrapati Bhawan is grand and magnificient. Your post reminded me of visit around 10 years back as probationers who went to call on the President. We were escorted to the Ashoka Hall, from where 2 of us wandered to the 1st floor. Even though no one was stopping us, we were in awe of the place and didn’t dare to venture much.

[kshastry]

Good information. I quickly checked. Looks like there are no slots available till Dec 23. Slots of 2024 are not opened yet. So is this something needs to be booked months in advance? Any idea whether one can show up and get a pass at the venue (without prior booking?)

[IamNikhil]

I have had the honour and pleasure of having been a part of multiple events at Rashtrapati Bhavan. These memories will be cherished forever. As part of my earlier job in the Events industry, the most memorable will definitely be the State Visit of the then President of USA, Mr. Barack Obama in 2015. Having explored the sanctum sanctorum of the Rashtrapati Bhavan over multiple visits through the years, I have always been awed with the sheer elegance and magnificence of the entire estate. A big salute to the original architects, Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.

Successive Indian Presidents have done a commendable job in enhancing the beauty and grandeur of Rashtrapati Bhavan, while making it more accessible to the common public as well.

[gauravdgr8]

A thorough and nicely explained thread

Must visit for anyone visiting Delhi and having time at hand. I have visited once during the Flower show and must say it is not to be missed.

[swarnava.ch]

Originally Posted by kshastry

Good information. I quickly checked. Looks like there are no slots available till Dec 23. Slots of 2024 are not opened yet. So is this something needs to be booked months in advance? Any idea whether one can show up and get a pass at the venue (without prior booking?)

That is interesting, till about a few days back, there were slots available in November / December as well. Is this due to this blog

But on a serious note, No you cannot visit on a walk in basis unfortunately. You will be stopped at gates for a confirmed booking otherwise they would not allow.
One reason for slots getting full is that its now vacation season - Dussehra, Diwali and Year end, all School exams are over so I am guessing more and more people have booked out. Additionally the total number of people allowed in a day is not huge - I guess due to logistics and security involved.

I would say just try your luck again once the New Year 2024 Slots open.