Last updated 29 September 2026
Qutub Minar is open every day from sunrise to sunset, needs about an hour, and costs around ₹600 for foreign visitors and ₹35 for Indian citizens. You cannot climb it — the interior has been closed to the public since 1981.
It is also the oldest thing most visitors see in Delhi by a wide margin. Construction began in 1199, four and a half centuries before Shah Jahan laid a stone at the Red Fort. The part of the city people call Old Delhi is, in fact, the newest of Delhi's historic capitals; this is the first.
Timings, tickets and how long to allow
Because it stays open on Mondays, Qutub Minar is one of the sights a Monday itinerary is built around when Red Fort, Akshardham and the Lotus Temple are all shut.
Late afternoon is the best time to come. The complex is red sandstone and it takes low light far better than midday sun, which flattens it completely.
| Open | Sunrise to sunset, every day |
| Closed | Never — open all week, including Monday |
| Entry, foreign visitor | around ₹600 |
| Entry, Indian citizen | around ₹35 |
| Climbing the minaret | Not permitted |
| Time to allow | 1 – 1.5 hours |
| Nearest Metro | Qutab Minar (Yellow Line), then a short auto ride |
The minaret itself
At 72.5 metres it is the tallest brick minaret in the world, tapering from about 14 metres across at the base to under three at the top. Qutb al-Din Aibak began it in 1199 and only completed the first storey; Iltutmish added three more and Firoz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top after lightning damage — which is why the material changes as your eye travels up.
The bands of Arabic inscription carving around it are the reason to look closely rather than just up. They are Quranic verses and records of the builders, cut into sandstone eight centuries ago and still crisp.
The interior staircase has been closed since 1981, when a power failure during a school visit caused a stampede on the stairs. There is no arrangement under which visitors climb it, and anyone offering you access is not offering anything real.
The Iron Pillar, and the mosque around it
In the courtyard of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque stands a seven-metre iron pillar dated to roughly the fourth century, five to six hundred years older than anything else on the site. It has barely rusted in sixteen centuries, and the composition of the iron — high phosphorus, forming a protective film — is still studied. It is fenced now, after decades of visitors wearing it smooth by trying to encircle it with their arms.
The mosque itself was built from the material of demolished Hindu and Jain temples, and the builders made no attempt to hide it. Carved temple columns hold up the colonnades with the figures on them defaced but plainly visible. It is uncomfortable and it is the most historically legible thing in the complex — you are looking directly at the moment one rule replaced another.
The Alai Darwaza gateway nearby is one of the earliest true domes in India. The Alai Minar, a stump in the north of the complex, was begun by Alauddin Khalji as a tower twice the height of the Qutub and abandoned at 25 metres when he died.
Getting there
Qutab Minar station on the Yellow Line is the nearest, and it is a ten to fifteen minute auto ride from there rather than a walk. By road it is about half an hour from central Delhi and, usefully, about thirty minutes from the airport — which makes it the single best choice on a short layover.
Pair it with Humayun's Tomb for an afternoon: both are Mughal-era or earlier, both photograph well in late light, and they sit on the same side of the city, which in Delhi matters more than it should.
Common questions
What are the Qutub Minar timings?
Sunrise to sunset, every day of the week including Monday. Allow an hour to an hour and a half. Because it does not close on Mondays, it is one of the monuments a Monday itinerary in Delhi gets built around, when the Red Fort, Akshardham and the Lotus Temple are all shut.
Can you climb the Qutub Minar?
No. The interior staircase has been closed to the public since 1981, after a power failure during a school visit caused a stampede on the stairs. There is no ticket, permit or arrangement that allows a climb, and anyone offering access is not offering anything real.
How much is the Qutub Minar entry fee?
Around ₹600 for foreign visitors and ₹35 for Indian citizens, though the Archaeological Survey revises fees periodically, so treat those as indicative. The gates take digital payment rather than cash. Tickets are rarely a queue problem here in the way they are at the Red Fort.
How old is the Qutub Minar?
Construction began in 1199 under Qutb al-Din Aibak, making it around eight centuries old and the oldest major monument most visitors see in Delhi. The iron pillar in the mosque courtyard beside it is older still — dated to roughly the fourth century, some sixteen hundred years ago, and still barely rusted.
Why has the Iron Pillar not rusted?
Its composition. The iron has an unusually high phosphorus content, which forms a thin protective film on the surface and has kept it largely intact for around sixteen centuries. It is still studied by metallurgists. It is fenced off now, after generations of visitors wore the surface smooth trying to encircle it with their arms.