MUST VISIT PLACES OF AGRA

At a distance of 6 km from Agra Cantonment Railway Station, Taj Mahal, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, is located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra of Uttar Pradesh State. Taj Mahal was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983 and it is also counted among the seven wonders of the modern world. It attracts around four million visitors annually. Taj Mahal is the face of Agra Tourism and among the must include place in your Golden Triangle tour packages.

Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628-1658), in the memory of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. The construction of the monument was completed in 1653. The Taj Mahal was constructed under the supervision of architects Abdul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. It took 21 years for the Taj Mahal to be constructed .....

At a distance of 6 km from Agra Cantonment Railway Station, Taj Museum is one of the most popular museums in Agra and is located in the ground floor of western Naubat Khana, also known as Jal Mahal, with in the Taj Mahal complex.

The museum was established in 1982. It is a double storied building having a quadrangle projection outside and is built on a raised platform. It is a big museum comprising of two floors and has three galleries along with a chief hall. The museum displays various exhibits relating mostly to the construction of the Taj Mahal and to the period of its builders. Totally 121 antiquities are on display, which are broadly categorized as Mughal miniature paintings, manuscripts, government decrees, specimen of calligraphy, arms, utensils, plans and drawings of Taj Complex, paintings, specimen inlay work, marble pillars, etc.

In main hall the paintings of Shah Jahan and his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal both on ivory, encased in ornamental wooden frame, replicas .....

At a distance of 4.5 km from Agra Cantonment Railway Station and 2.5 Km from Taj Mahal, The Agra Fort, also known as the Lal Qila or Red Fort, is situated on the banks of Yamuna River in Agra, It is among the prime places to visit in Agra City. Uttar Pradesh. The Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage and one of the best forts in India.

Agra Fort was originally a brick fort known as Badalgarh, held by Raja Badal Singh, a Hindu Rajput king (1475 AD). Sikandar Lodi was the first Sultan of Delhi to shift his capital from Delhi to Agra. After Sikandar Lodi died in 1517, his son Ibrahim Lodi held the fort for 9 years until he was defeated and killed in the battle of Panipat in 1526. Several palaces, wells and a mosque were built in the fort during the Lodi period.

After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, the victorious Babur stayed in the fort, in the palace .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Buland Darwaza or the Gate of Magnificence serves as the main entrance to the Jama Masjid Complex Fort in Fatehpur Sikri of Uttar Pradesh. This massive gate is the highest gateway in the world and it was built in 1576 AD by Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat.

Buland Darwaza is an astounding example of the Mughal architecture. It is made of red and buff sandstone, decorated by white and black marble. One needs to climb a flight of 42 steps in order to reach the gateway, which stands tall at a height of 40 m. The total height of the structure is about 54 m (176 feet) from the ground level. It is a15 storied high gateway acting as the southern entrance of the city of Fatehpur Sikri. It took nearly 12 years to build this magnificent gateway.

It is semi octagonal in plan and two smaller triple storeyed wings on either side. It has three kiosks on its top surrounded by thirteen smaller domed kiosks. There are .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Jama Masjid or Jami Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India and situated on the highest point of the ridge in Fatehpur Sikri Complex. This is one of the most notable tourist attractions to visit in Fatehpur Sikri as part of Agra tour. This mosque was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.

The Jami Masjid was built by Akbar in 1571-72 AD. This is also called Friday mosque. It is the congregational mosque and was perhaps one of the first buildings to be constructed in the complex. It was built under the supervision of Sufi Saint, Sheikh Salim Chishti and his descendants.

The structure of the Jama Masjid is in a rectangular form and is placed on an elevated platform. The mosque has a large courtyard and has gateway entrance from North, South and East. There are series of square shaped chhatris topped by beautiful brackets situated on the other three .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Jodha Bai's Palace (or Jodha Bai Ka Rauza) is one of the largest buildings in the complex of Fatehpur Sikri. This Palace was constructed by Akbar for his favorite wife, Jodha Bai who was a Rajput Princess.

According to history, after Akbar conquered Malwa he faced strong resistances from the Rajput kings. Akbar dealt with the problem diplomatically, allowing them to keep their kingdoms and getting into marriage alliances with the princess of the Rajput clan. He married Jodha Bai, sister of Man Singh, the powerful ruler of Jaipur. She was his favorite queen and allowed to worship Hindu deity in her palace.

Jodha Bai Ka Rauza is an excellent example of the fusion of Hindu and Muslim architectures. The palace has distinct Gujarati and Rajasthani architectural patterns. The palace building consists of a rectangular block with a single magnificent gateway on eastern side, which .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Panch Mahal is five-storey architectural monument located on the northeast direction of Jodha Bai's palace inside the Fatehpur Sikri Fort Complex of Uttar Pradesh.

Panch Mahal was built by Emperor Akbar primarily used as a recreational and pleasure palace by the queens and the other ladies of the court. This is also known as badgir or the wind tower. This pillared pavilion is made of red sand stone comprising of five pavilions, each of which is connected to the next floor by a flight of stairs. The ground floor of the building is made up of 84 pillars that supports the entire structure. As one climbs up the Panch Mahal, the size of the pavilions becomes smaller and the number of pillars supporting the upper floor decreases in number. The first floor has 56 pillars, 20 pillars on second floor, 12 on the third floor and 4 on the fourth level.

The top floor consists of a single dome with floral motifs on top. All the .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Diwan-i-Khas or Hall of Private Audience is located inside the complex of Fatehpur Sikri Fort.

Diwan-i-Khas is situated in the northeast corner of the royal complex with a huge and richly carved pillar in the center. It is a place where the Emperor meets his private guests and dignitaries. Also known as the jewel house, it is the most intriguing section of the palace complex.

This single storeyed square red sand stone building has four double-storeyed facades. The four beautiful kiosks at each corner of the building are in octagonal shape and have a circular dome with an inverted lotus on the top. The hall is surrounded by richly decorated square balcony.

Doors from all the four sides of the palace lead to a single hall, with a very high ceiling. Bridges which run diagonally from the corners of the gallery connect to a balcony supported by a Lotus shaped Throne Pillar. This stone column supports a flat dome .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience is located inside the complex of Fatehpur Sikri Fort. This is the first enclosure of the palace from the entrance.

Diwan-i-Am was constructed during 1570 to 1580 AD by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar. He heard the petitions of general public every morning in this hall. It is also used for public prayers and celebrations.

This building mainly consisted of three parts; front space for public, center space for the emperor and adjacent space for royal ladies. This is a rectangular structure multiple bays with a large courtyard in the front. The most impressive feature of this structure is the Throne Chamber facing east. It is said that it was so built because of Akbar's belief in sun worship. This chamber showcases a unique stone tiled roof. There are pillars corridors surrounding the three sides which can seat over a thousand audiences. To the west, is the pavilion with the Emperor's throne .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Archaeological Museum is situated about 100 m from Diwan-i-Am in Fatehpur Sikri Fort. The structure housing the Archaeological Museum is known as Treasury Building, a centrally protected monument. It was built during Akbar's period. It was in a dilapidated condition and Archaeological Survey of India restored it extensively during 2002-04.

The Museum showcases both pre-Mughal and Mughal artifacts excavated at Fatehpur Sikri. There are four galleries in the Museum. First Gallery displays the objects including micro lithic stone tools of pre-historic period collected during surface exploration from Rasulpur and Patsal near Fatehpur Sikri, Ochre Coloured Pottery, Painted and plain grey ware pot shreds, associated Black and Red ware shreds of Painted Grey Ware culture of early Iron Age, Kushana period from excavation near Hada Mahal and Red ware pottery of different shapes from excavation at Bir Chhabili Tila.

Jain sculptures .....

At a distance of 1 km from Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, Hiran Minar is located close to Caravanserai in Fatehpur Sikri Fort. It is believed that Akbar built Hiran Tower in the memory of his favorite elephant, Hiran. Alternatively, it is also believed that this tower served as a mile post and a light house for the night travelers.

With a height of 21.34 m, Hiran Minar is octagonal at the ground level and circular to the rest of the tower. This is built over an octagonal platform, which in turn stands on a square base. This tower is decorated with an alternate row of hexagons and six point stars. Earlier, elephant tusks were placed emerging from the center of each star, which are now replaced with stone tusks.

The tower is entered through a flat-topped door bordered by sand stone panel and flanked by closed arched panels. There are 53 steps leading to the top inside the tower. One can get a bird's eye view of Fatehpur Sikri from the top of the tower. It is believed that this .....