Zafar Mahal

This late Mughal palace in Mehrauli served as a summer retreat for the dynasty's final emperors, who came during the monsoon and to attend a nearby Sufi shrine. Its towering three-storey gateway, wide enough to admit an elephant, is the most imposing surviving feature, built of red sandstone with marble accents. Behind it lie ruined pavilions and a marble enclosure holding royal graves, including the intended but unused burial plot of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who died in exile. The crumbling structure captures the twilight of Mughal rule.