Best Travel to Agra
It's the city that figures on the itinerary of every tourist to India. Agra is the city of the Taj Mahal, the marble mausoleum that stands testimony to the love of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. There can be no thoughts about the fact that a destination India tour is incomplete without a trip to Agra.
But there's more to this little town bustling with cycle rickshaws, cattle, colorful clothes, tourist-savvy hawkers, busy industry workers and laid-back poets. Resurrected by Sikandar Lodi a long time after the city was pillaged by Mahmud of Ghazni, Agra flourished under the Mughal king Akbar, and reached the pinnacle of her prosperity under his grandson Shah Jahan. The town sits on the western bank of the Yamuna and though the river has slowed down to a sluggish trickle over the years, Agra still retains some of its old-world charm and luxury.
On your trip to Agra, save the best for the last - if you're lucky, you might even get one of those rare moonlit views of the Taj Mahal. The Agra Fort is a good place to begin your tour of Agra. The red sandstone fort will remind you of the Red Fort in Delhi. The Agra Fort was once a palace for Jahangir, but as you walk through its stately halls, you can never forget that Shah Jahan spent the last few years of his life as a prisoner here.
As you walk up the Fort to the Musamman Burj, you can spot the Taj Mahal across the banks of the Yamuna. Here was where Shah Jahan spent the twilight of his life, gazing at the mausoleum he had built for his dear wife. Not even the bustle of tourists around you can detract from the solemnity of this moment.
You can also walk to the Diwan-i-Am and the Diwan-i-Khas, the halls of audience of Shah Jahan. The Moti Masjid inside the Agra Fort is not open to visitors, but you can take a walk around the complex and marvel at the architecture and serenity of the place.
The Taj Mahal is your next stop in Agra. If this is your first visit to the Taj, there's only one thing to remember - everything that's been said about it is at best clichéd, and inadequate. This mausoleum to Mumtaz Mahal is poetry in marble. And you'll find yourself stopping before every marble screen, every bit of inlaid wall to marvel at the work of the craftsmen who created this.
The red sandstone entrance to the Taj has verses from the Koran inscribed on it. The four minarets of the Taj, its vaulted arches, the inlaid semi-precious stones are just a preamble to the central dome of the Taj. Right below this dome are the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. These are just for display though - far below in a locked basement; hidden from the human eye, the Mughal king and his begum lie in their actual tombs, united in death.
