India GO
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Feroz Shah Kotla is what remains of the citadel of Firozabad, the city Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq founded in 1354 on the bank of the Yamuna. Inside are a 3rd-century BC Ashokan pillar raised on a stepped platform, a mosque still in use and a circular stepwell. Incredible India gives the hours as 8:30 to 19:00, entry is by a small ASI ticket, and on Thursdays people come to leave letters for the djinns believed to live here.
Firozabad, Delhi's fifth city, went up in 1354 under Feroz Shah Tughlaq, and what remains is a stepped, pyramid-like platform carrying a polished sandstone pillar of the 3rd century BC, an Ashokan column the sultan had floated down the Yamuna from Haryana and raised again here. Below are vaulted chambers that many Delhiites hold to be inhabited by djinns: on Thursdays people leave candles, incense and photocopied letters addressed to them. A small ASI ticket; the Raj Ghat memorials are close by.
A 14th-century citadel where letters to the djinns still arrive every Thursday
Delhi's fifth city
Delhi is often described as a sequence of cities built on one plain, and Firozabad is counted as the fifth. Feroz Shah Tughlaq placed it on the bank of the Yamuna to solve the water shortages that troubled earlier capitals, and the citadel was laid out in separate functional zones, an idea later Mughal forts took up. The cricket stadium next door stands on land that was once part of the same city.
What survives is a ruin: walls, the mosque, the stepwell and the pillar platform.
What to see
Ashokan pillar
A polished sandstone column set up by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC at Topra in Haryana. Feroz Shah had it brought down the Yamuna and raised on top of a stepped, pyramid-like platform. It carries inscriptions in Brahmi script.
Jami Masjid
One of the oldest and largest surviving Tughlaq buildings; Timur is said to have been impressed by it in 1398. It is still a working mosque.
Circular baoli
A round stepwell on the north-western side, unusual for combining the well and the tank in one structure.
Vaulted chambers
The dark chambers under the platform are, by popular belief, inhabited by djinns. On Thursdays people leave candles, incense and photocopied letters addressed to them.
Timings and entry fee
The monument is open 8:30–19:00, according to Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism). It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and entry is by ticket; the fee is small.
Delhi Tourism runs a Haunted Heritage Walk here on Saturdays and Sundays when a group forms (minimum 6 people): 17:30–19:00 in summer, 16:30–18:00 in winter, listed tariff Rs 800 plus 5% GST, booked through Delhi Tourism. Children under 15 are not allowed on it.
Rules and etiquette
Two living practices share the site with visitors. The mosque is used for prayers, so dress modestly, take off shoes where required and avoid prayer times. The Thursday visits to the djinns are devotion, not a show: people come with personal requests, so photograph the candles, not the people, and do not touch the letters.
❓ FAQ
What is Feroz Shah Kotla known for?
For the 3rd-century BC Ashokan pillar raised on its stepped platform, the Tughlaq-era mosque and stepwell, and the Thursday tradition of leaving letters for djinns in its chambers.
What are the Feroz Shah Kotla timings?
8:30 to 19:00, according to Incredible India.
Is there an entry fee?
Yes, it is an ASI-ticketed monument; the fee is small.
Why was Feroz Shah Kotla renamed?
The fort was not renamed. The cricket stadium next to it, long known as Feroz Shah Kotla, was renamed Arun Jaitley Stadium on 12 September 2019 in memory of the former finance minister and Delhi cricket association president; the ground itself keeps the Feroz Shah Kotla name.
Why do people leave letters at Feroz Shah Kotla?
By popular belief, djinns live in the chambers under the citadel. On Thursdays people bring candles, incense and letters asking them for help.