The recreational activity most likely to appeal to visitors in the pre-monsoon months has to be a dip in one of Delhi's swimming pools . Other local diversions include bowling, golf , and even rock climbing , on crags on the outskirts of the city, during the cooler months.

 

Bowling Alley , Qutb Hotel , off Sri Aurobindo Marg tel 011/652 1010; Xanadu Bowling Lanes, South Delhi Club, Greater Kailash 1 tel 011/647 3988.

Delhi Flying Club , Safdarjang Airport tel 011/461 8161. Temporary membership available.

Delhi Gliding Club , Safdarjang Airport tel 011/463 6052. Call for details of a day's flying.

Delhi Golf Club , Dr Zakir Hussein Marg tel 011/436 2768. Busy and beautiful 220-acre golf course on the fifteenth-century estate of the Lodi dynasty, planted with over two hundred varieties of trees, which also acts as a bird sanctuary. Monuments and mausoleums, such as the ruined barakhamba on a hillock next to the seventh green, dot the grounds. Temporary membership is available.

Delhi Lawn Tennis Association , Africa Avenue tel 011/619 3955.

Delhi Riding Club , Safdarjang Road tel 011/301 1891. Morning rides start at 6.30am and afternoon rides at 2pm; open to the public by prior arrangement through the Club Secretary.

Delhi Tourism , N-36 Bombay Life Building, Middle Circle, Connaught Place tel 011/331 4229. Local activities such as rock climbing, paragliding and water sports, plus treks as far afield as Sikkim.

Indian Mountaineering Foundation , Benito Juarez Marg tel 011/467 7935. Official organization governing mountaineering and permits throughout India, with a library and an outdoor climbing wall. Some equipment can be rented here, and you can get information on local crags and climbing groups.