Daily
1 hour and 45 minute walking tour
9am or 1pm or 3pm from Connaught Place
10am or 2pm or 4pm from Harkesh Nagar Okhla Metro Station
Rs 1000 per person
Rs 5,000 for a private tour
(up to 6 people)
Minimum: 2 people
Maximum: 6 people
(For larger groups, please contact us
Leave any preconceptions at the door on this Delhi slum tour and prepare to learn how many Delhiites live.
Sanjay Colony is a small slum built on 25 acres of land located in the south of Delhi near the Bahai Lotus Temple and Iskcon temple. Spend a couple of hours walking around and visiting small-scale businesses, a small temple, a mosque and residential areas. Learn about working and residential life and witness how despite the challenging living conditions it remains an area charged with positive energy and strong community.
By the end of the tour you will understand how our NGO, Reality Gives, is working to support local NGOs and bring its excellent Mumbai programs to Sanjay Colony.
Have extra space in your suitcase? We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that allows travelers like you to make a lasting impact in the community at your travel destination. If you save just a few kilos of space in your suitcase for the projects supported by Reality Gives, you’ll make a priceless impact in the lives of our local children and families. Please click here to see what supplies are needed for our project/projects.
Many Sanjay Colony families work in the clothing industry. See how materials are painstakingly separated to be recycled and then observe the many factories making the finished items.
Visit a small Hindu temple where you will learn about the importance of religion in the residents’ lives.
Uncover the realities of residential life as you wander the narrow lanes with your guide.
Learn about education in Sanjay Colony, what local NGO’s are doing to fill the gap and what Reality Gives is doing to support the local education ecosystem.
In addition to getting an overview of the maze-like tour route, you will get a stunning view of Sanjay Colony!
Connaught Place or
Harkesh Nagar Okhla Metro Station
Connaught Place
Please meet outside Gate 1 at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. (Photo)
Harkesh Nagar Okhla Metro Station
Please meet outside of gate 2 at Harkesh Nagar Okhla Metro Station (Photo)
Harkesh Nagar Okhla Metro Station
9am / 1pm (Connaught Place) or 10am / 2pm
(Harkesh Nagar Okhla Metro Station) – 11:45am / 3.45pm
Kavita took me on a tour through he native Sanjay Colony and showed me the water supply, sewage, public restroom, hindu temple, community center, primary school, recycling plant and the top view of the illegal slums in Delhi. But most importantly she shared her way to this job and the satisfaction she gets from showing her home area to foreign visitors! I’m so happy I’ve done this! It was the best experience in delhi and I’ve met the most amazing guide in my entire life! Please, go for this tour, you won’t regret it. All the guides come from this colony and they are trying to make a change to their community by proving this services to visitors.
We had a great experience. Such a learning tour, full of information, nice stories and lovely contacts with people leaving in the slums. Worth while doing this tour to have an authentic view of the life in the slums to remove potential prejudices and learn how much dignity and generosity you find there. The guide, Hema, is fully of enthusiasm and very knowledgeable to give invaluable insights to make the visit very exciting.
Our time with Heme was great. She is passionate and inspiring and it was lovely to interact with the kids and people of Sanjay Colony.
This tour offers an authentic look at a part of Delhi that visitors really should see if they want the full experience of the region. Our guide, Kavita, had grown up in the colony. She knew the people we met, and they welcomed us. The apparent needs of the people are many, but no one tried to hustle us or ask for money. They were busy working, tending children and cooking. After the tour, we couldn’t readily get an Uber driver because of holiday (Diwali) traffic. So Kavita helped us hire a tuktuk and even rode with us to make sure we reached the hotel safely. Very impressive.
So I gave this a 4 star review even though it’s not a 4 star tour. It is an unusual tour, to be sure, and I enjoyed it, but I have some criticisms.
First off the meeting spot is by metro entrance 1 at Rajiv Chowk – Connaught Place (CP). It would be great if that was on the ticket that came by email as it had no mention of where to meet. CP is HUGE – you can’t just show up there and find the meeting spot. CP is also swarming with touts so you have to be very careful and when someone there acts like they know where you’re going and who you are simply ask them what YOUR name is. The real tour guide will know. Make no mistake – you WILL get accosted by touts in Connaught Place.
The location of the meet is on their website and the photo of the meeting spot is old – the sign that you’re looking for is no longer there – it was removed.
Our guide – Sagar – was very nice. He was on time, he spoke English well, and he was passionate about the topic.
The tour starts with a metro trip out to the colony. What we didn’t know going in is that they don’t bring you BACK to the start point – they tell you how to get back and set you loose – or offer to help you get an Uber – which I suspect is what most people do.
All in all it was an educational few hours – I just wish the information about getting to the tour and back from the tour was far more readily available and accurate.
The other thing is that it ends with a visit to their NGO office and then their own office. I get it – it’s a charitable organization and they live on donations – but I just wasn’t prepared for that – I just wanted a tour, not a lesson about the unfairness of the human condition
Anyways – it’s worth the price and time commitment.
