From Wikitravel

Gurgaon (गुड़गांव) is a suburban city of Delhi is in NCR.

[edit] Understand

Not long ago a sleepy suburb of Delhi, Gurgaon now boasts over a million inhabitants, slick office complexes housing companies ranging from Accenture to Xerox, and more shopping malls per square mile than anywhere else in India. Alas, the infrastructure is still struggling to catch up with the boom and there's plenty of dust and traffic jams, but it's still an exhilarating glimpse into the India of the future....

[edit] Weather

Gurgaon has the typical north Indian climate, almost the same as that of Delhi.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International is just across the border of Gurgaon, a fact which no doubt adds to its popularity. Check the weather to plan your travel.

[edit] By train

Gurgaon has a small rail station on the Delhi-Jaipur railway line, but it only receives about five trains a day.

An extension of the Delhi Metro may reach Gurgaon as early as 2010.

[edit] By bus

DTC and Haryana Roadways buses runs down National Highway 8 in Delhi. Buses to Gurgaon can be best boarded at Dhaula Kuan (on the Inner Ring Road). Alternatively, there is a small dedicated Gurgaon-bound bus terminal at Karol Bagh near the unmissable 100-foot Hanuman statue, a five-minute walk west of Jhandewala Metro station or a short cycle rickshaw ride (Rs.10) from Karol Bagh metro station. Buses cost Rs. 16 one-way. Also Haryana Roadways, Mewat and Kamal (Private buses) runs from Sarai Kale Khan to Gurgaon Bus Stand whole day. Also there is frequent service of DTC buses between Gurgaon Bus Stand to Badarpur Border via Mehrauli and Khanpur.

[edit] By road

National Highway 8 connects Delhi to Gurgaon and Jaipur. With the recent opening of 8 lane expressway, travel time from Delhi to Gurgaon has been cut down to less than 30 minutes. However, be aware that office hour peak times may still cause you a lot of heartache and delay on the road. The 8 lane expressway is still not complete and has (in certain places) massive bottlenecks. It's best to avoid exiting Gurgaon (to Delhi) between 6pm and 9pm. The road is additionally still victim to water logging while heavy monsoon rain.

Starting from the bus stop "IIT Gate" south of the IIT flyover of the Outer Ring Road in Delhi you can get all day and night (because of 24h service for call centres) jeeps and cars with yellow plates carrying you for Rs. 10 (Aug 2007) to places like the Bristol hotel or the IFFCO chowk. Sitting in these cabs at peak times means to use the normal back bench of a car with 3 to 4 other people and without AC, but at off times you travel in the comfort of a taxi without paying more than Rs. 10!

[edit] Get around

Public transport within Gurgaon is, in a word, terrible. However there are some intracity mini-buses which go from Gurgaon Bus Stand (near Police Lines) to Mall region and ahead on the MG (Mehrauli-Gurgaon) road. Cost is Rs.6 per head. Ladies don't need to worry about travelling in these buses as most often than not, the conductor ensures that the lady gets a seat.

Cycle Rickshaws are not bad actually - they demand Rs.5 per head for a distance of 1.5-2kms. So it helps when you can't walk but would like to still get there.

[edit][add listing] See

Sultanpur bird Sanctuary is about 15 km from Gurgaon . You can spot a variety of migratory birds around a natural lake.

Sohna lake is about 10 km from Gurgaon. It is best to visit after rainfall and during winters.

[edit][add listing] Do

See Movies

• PVR - Sahara Mall (2 Screens) and Metropolitian Malls (9 Screens). Tickets would cost you around Rs.140 on weekdays and around Rs.175 on weekends. Good thing is that there are lot of late shows - the last show starts almost at 12 midnight!
• DT Cinemas - DT City Centre and Mega Mall. Tickets would cost you around Rs.150 on weekdays and as much as Rs. 200 on a big opening on weekends. Late shows too - last show starts around 11pm!
• Wet and wild resort - About 15 km away on the Jaipur highway ,lookout for turn to left before Manesar. Chill down your summer heat , water games and sports are great fun. Don't forget to take you swim wear. Very affordable outing.

[edit][add listing] Buy

Shopping malls abound in Gurgaon, mostly along the central thoroughfare of Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road. Best way to get there is via private mini-buses from Gurgaon Bus-stand near Jain Temple and say "Mall". One way ticket costs Rs.5.

• Chantik Furniture Boutique, [1] - An upscale, plush furniture boutique that will meet and exceed all your furniture requirements. 40,000 sq. ft. of ethnic Indonesian (sea grass, wicker, rattan, banana leaf & water hyacinth), modern (straight line), office and garden furniture. Interior decorating also done at no additional cost. Come by today to pick up something you would have never thought would have made its way to India!
• DLF Grand Mall [2] - Land Mark the book store
• DLF Mega Mall [3]
• DT City Centre, MG Road, [4]. Pharmacy, Pizza Hut, Ruby Tuesdays, cineplex.
• Gold Souk [5]. Specializes in high-end jewelry.
• MGF Metropolitan, [6] MG Road. One of the largest and most popular malls, anchored by a large PVR cineplex (9 Screens). Food court on the 3rd floor and a good selection of upscale restaurants.
• MGF Plaza, [7] MG Road (near NH-8). Devoted to furniture and home decoration, but there are some good restaurants on the top floor.
• MGF Mega City, [8] MG Road (near NH-8).
• Sahara Mall, [9] MG Road. Currently the king of the heap. Features a perennially packed two-level Big Bazaar supermarket. Awesome pubs and restaurants on the top floor which are open till quite late.
• Galaxy Mall, [10] National Highway 8, Hotel plus mall for exclusive ethnic items.

[edit][add listing] Eat

[edit] Budget

• Haldiram's, Sahara Mall GF/1F, MG Road, [11]. The local mega-outlet of the famous manufacturer of Indian sweets, but the emphasis here is on the fast food, especially their versions of Delhi chaat. Try the Raj Kachori, a crispy bowl filled with stuffing, yoghurt and spicy chutneys. All chaat are under Rs.50, or you can get a full daily thali for Rs.90. Like usual Indian confectioners, Haldiaram's sells only vegetarian food.

• Kwality, DT City Centre 2F, MG Road. Tandooris, biryani, chaat and Indo-Chinese semi-fast food at semi-cheap prices. Most meals under Rs.100.

• Om Sweets, Sector 14 and Sector 31 markets , Gurgaon. Famous for sweets like dodha ,rasmalai, rasgulla etc. Gol gappa , jalebi ,kulfi and paneer tikka are some of the favourites . Indian cuisine is good, only vegetatian food is available .

• Bikanerwala, Near Leisure Valley , Gurgaon. Great ambience and assortment of indian dishes like chole bhature , lassi , kulfi , dosa, chinese food, pizza . Indian cuisine is good, only vegetatian food is available. Try their Alphonso ice-cream in summers - a very exotically-packed ice-cream inside a mango!

• Saleem's, DLF Phase - 4, Super Mart - 1. Specialists in tandooris, kebabs and Mughlai dishes. They have outlets in C.R. Park and Kailash Colony markets in Delhi also.

[edit] Mid-range

The MGF Metropolitan mall has a decent air-con food court on the 3rd floor, where you can get a pretty good feed for around Rs. 100.

• Deez, MGF Metropolitan 3F, MG Road, tel. +91-124-4066660. Mouth-meltingly soft chicken, mutton and veg biryanis. The "medium" size pot (Rs.249) will easily feed three. Free delivery for orders over Rs.125.

• Khaaja Chowk!, MGF Plaza 3F, MG Road (near NH-8). Simultaneously retro and modern, you can choose to dine at glass tables or inside a pimped-out autorickshaw. The speciality here is Indian street food, and the Great Indian Chaat Platter (Rs.130) is worthy of the name. Veg and non-veg options, lunch sets around Rs.150, in the evening around Rs.200/head.

• Wow! Italia, MGF Metropolitan 3F, MG Road, tel. +91-124-4018551. Decent pasta and excellent pizza made in a wood-fired oven. Around Rs.200/300 for most 8"/13" pizzas (less for veg, more for seafood or ham). Free delivery for orders over Rs.200.

[edit] Splurge

• Baujee ka Dhaba, MGF Metropolitan 3F, MG Road. A branch of the famous restaurant in Delhi's Hauz Khas, this serves up glorious North-West Frontier food (kebabs, biryani etc) in over-the-top traditional surroundings, all heavy copper plates, tribal fabrics and plastic garlic hanging from the ceiling. Even if you have lentils coming out your ears, don't miss their dhaba dal. Rs. 300.

• China Club, Lobby Level, Tower C, Global Business Park, MG Road, ☎ +91-124-2566000. Fancy Chinese restaurant with waiters in bowties and round tables, serving up actual Chinese food (as opposed to the Chindian variety) for a premium price. Try the Szechuan double-cooked pork. Rs. 500.  edit

• Chor Bizarre, MGF Metropolitan FC 1-5, MG Road [12]. The local branch of the acclaimed chain, serving up Kashmiri food in eclectic surrounding like a chor bazaar (thieves market). The buffet is laid out inside an old car! Figure on Rs. 300 for a full meal.

• K2, MGF Plaza 3F, MG Road, tel. +91-124-4379151. The two K's stand for "Korea" and "Karaoke", the mainstays of this hip red-and-black Korean-run restaurant-lounge. Catering largely to Delhi's small Korean expat community, the food is authentic (they even have beef!) and fairly reasonably priced. Rs. 300-500.

• Nazaare Pind De, SCO 28 Sector 31. Punjabi fine dining.

• The Odyssey Restaurant & Nightclub, 3rd Floor, Sahara Mall, Gurgaon, MG Road. [13], 0124-4048031/32/33. One of the most famous and classiest restaurants in India. Multi cuisine; Indian, Iranian, Chinese, Continental and Thai. Chefs were flown in from Iran and Thailand to make the food more authentic. Try their Chelo kebabs and Dahi kebabs. Their desserts are also to die for!

• Oz, MGF Plaza 3F R-02, MG Road, tel. +91-124-5019528, [14]. Stylish Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant, oddly located on the top floor of a quiet furniture mall. The menu covers Arabic and Italian favorites, with fairly decent mezze (plate for two Rs.400) and a select of grills and pastas. Bar-lounge with DJ for drinks afterward. Rs. 400.

• Grover's, SCO 28 Sector 31. Cool icecream parlour.

[edit][add listing] Drink

Most of Gurgaon's nightlife spots are tucked away — where else? — on the top floors of malls.

• TGI Friday's, Metropolitan Mall, MG Road, [15]. Yes, it's just like every other TGI Friday's on the planet, but this is still a favorite way to start off an evening. Food is decent but expensive, so most stick to happy hour beers. Open noon to midnight.

• Chinese and Thai Cafe, on the 1st floor of JMD plaza, opposite Sahara Mall. The destination for all you lovers of Rock Music. The best place in town for some head banging!

[edit][add listing] Sleep

Demand far outstrips supply in Gurgaon and prices are terribly inflated; it's hard to find any halfway decent bed for the night for under $200. If comparing prices in Gurgaon and Delhi, remember that Delhi hotels charge tax on the rack rate, while Haryana (Gurgaon) hotels don't.

[edit] Mid-range

• Lemon Tree City Centre [16]

• Lemon Tree Udyog Vihar [17]

• • The Good Part - serviced apartments profesionally run by these two guys - neat, clean, supreme service - a good idea

[edit] Splurge

• Crowne Plaza Gurgaon, Site 2, Sector 29 (off NH-8), ☎ +91-124-4534000, [18]. Modern business hotel opened in 2007. US$300.  edit

• Park Plaza Gurgaon, B Block, Sushant Lok, tel. +91-124-4150000, [19]. $300+.

• Radisson New Delhi, National Highway 8, [20]. This is actually located in Delhi, but it's conveniently located on the highway between Gurgaon and the airport. Rooms facing the highway are noisy.

• Trident Hilton Gurgaon, [21]. Looking like a space-age cross between the Taj Mahal and a UFO cult, this supermodern hotel defies hyperbole and is head and shoulders above the competition. Two good restaurants and bar. If you can afford it, about the only negative is that there are no shopping or other facilities within walking distance. $400+.

• Westin Sohna-Gurgaon Resort & Spa, Karanki Road, Sohna-Gurgaon, tel. +91-124-4068031, [22]. Opened October 2007. Despite the name, the hotel is located a solid 45-minute drive south of central Gurgaon.

[edit] Get out

• Delhi - just a short hop away
• Jaipur - Rajasthan's fabled "pink city", a 5 hour drive down NH-8

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!