Agra -fort agra-delhi agra-Agra travel Guide

Agra is a city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, some 201 km from the Indian capital city of New Delhi.

Agra has the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings and tourist destinations in the world, and two other UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Agra Fort in the city and Fatehpur Sikri nearby.

The city has little else though. Pollution, especially smog and litter, is rampant and travellers are pestered by swarms of touts and hawkers at every monument, mosque, temple or palace. That said, the sites are some of the wonders of the world and no trip to India is complete without at least one visit to the Taj.

History of Agra:
Agra has found its mention in the famous Hindu epic Mahabharat as the forest of Agraban close to Mathura. Badal Singh founded the city in 1475. Sikandar Lodhi made Agra his capital city. Later, Babur defeated the Lodhis to capture the city situated on the banks of River Yamuna and thus, the long association of Mughals with Agra started. The Mughal love of architecture translated into beautiful monuments such as Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandra. The glory of Agra was at its peak during the reign of Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan. Akbar made it the center of art, culture, commerce and learning and Shah Jahan saw it in full bloom. In fact, it is said that it was Akbar who laid the foundation of the modern city that we see now in 1558 and was known as Akbarabad. Most of the buildings belong to the period between mid-16th century and 17th century and were of high quality. These monuments were built in the contemporary Mughal style. Mughlai cuisine and the skilled craftsmen can still be seen in the narrow lanes of the city as a reminiscent of the lost times.

Get in

Agra is 200 km southeast from New Delhi and is one of the points of the tourist's Golden Triangle of Agra-Delhi-Jaipur. Agra is also very well connected via rail and road with other nearby cities and tourist destinations.
By plane

Service to Agra's Kheria Airport (IATA: AGR ICAO: VIAG) is not very regular. As of November 2008, the city is served by Kingfisher Airlines and Air India Regional, who both fly on the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur tourist triangle route. The flight time to either is less than an hour.

By train
Agra is on the main train line between the Delhi-Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi-Chennai routes, and many trains connect Agra with these cities every day. Some east-bound trains from Delhi also travel via Agra, so direct connections to points in Eastern India (including Kolkata) are also available. There are close to 20 trains to Delhi every day, and at least three or four to both Mumbai and Chennai. There are three stations in Agra:

* Agra Cantt (Station Code : AGC) is the main railway station and lies southwest of the Taj and Agra Fort, both of which are a short ride from the station by car, auto-rickshaw, or cycle rickshaw. There's a prepaid taxi stand right outside that charges a flat Rs.120 to any hotel in the city.The station has a pretty good Comesum food court that also sells cheap, hygienic takeaway snacks (sandwiches, samosas, etc).

* Agra Fort station (Station Code : AF) near Agra Fort, is infrequently serviced by the interstate express trains. The station serves trains to the east (Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Kolkata) some of these trains also stop at Agra Cantt.

* Raja Ki Mandi (Station Code : RKM) is a small station. Some of the trains which stop at Agra Cantt also stop here. The station has a laid-back and lazy atmosphere, but springs into life at the arrival of Intercity exp and Taj express.

* Agra City is in the heart of Agra. A relic of the meter gauge era, this station is not particularly useful.

Delhi to Agra Close to 20 trains connect Delhi and Agra each day with journey times varying from 2 hours to 5 hours. The best options are the Bhopal Shatabdi Express (departs New Delhi at 0615 arriving Agra Cantt at 0812; departs Agra Cantt at 2030 arriving New Delhi at 2230, daily except Friday) and the Taj Express (departs Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin at 0715 arriving Agra Cantt at 1007; departs Agra cantt at 1855 arriving Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin at 2200, daily).

Agra/Jaipur The journey to Jaipur (Station Code : JP) takes around 4 hour by train no. 2988 which leaves Agra Fort Railway Station at 6:25 PM and reaches Jaipur at around 10:20PM.

The luxury train - 'Palace on Wheels' stops at Agra on its eight day round trip of tourist destinations in Rajasthan and Agra.
Day-tripping to Agra by rail

It is easy to visit Agra as a comfortable day trip by train from Delhi. Rise early in the morning and hop on to an AC chair car seat on the Bhopal Shatabdi (6:15AM) at New Delhi Railway Station (conveniently close to the backpacker hangout of Paharganj). Breakfast is served on the train (included in the fare), usually an omelet with a couple of slices of bread and coffee or tea. Arrive refreshed in Agra and, depending on your budget, either rent a car for the day or use rickshaws to get around. A visit to the Taj, followed by Agra Fort doesn't take a great deal of time. Add a visit to Akbar's tomb and/or itmad-ud-daulah (auto-rickshaw or taxi required), and you'll still have time for a comfortable lunch and some r&r before catching the return train at 8:30PM where you can dine in the comfort of your seat (dinner is included in the fare). With a hired car, it is even possible for the hardy soul to swing by for a visit to Fatehpur Sikri for the complete Agra visit!
Fog mess

Agra and Delhi are notorious for their thick winter fog which reduces visibility to almost zero. If traveling in late December or early January (the fog season), travelers should be aware that, because of the reduced visibility, all trains slow down and travel time goes up. The Bhopal Shatabdi, for example, may arrive in Agra well after 10AM, and might return to Delhi well after midnight.

By bus
A number of buses connect Agra with New Delhi. It takes around 4-5 hours to reach Agra by bus. There are basically three interstate bus stands:

* Idgah Bus Stand is the primary bus stand for intercity travel, in the heart of the city, 8 km from the Taj.
* Bijlighar Bus Stand (also called Powerhouse Bus Stand) located near the Red Fort, 6 km from the Taj.
* New Bus Stand at transport nagar, 12 km from the Taj, is only for other state's bus services (i.e. all except U.P. Roadways).

By road
* From Delhi: NH2, a modern divided highway, connects the 200 km distance from Delhi to Agra. The drive is about 4 hours, a large chunk of which includes navigating the clogged roads around Delhi to get to the highway. The primary access to the highway is along Mathura Road in Delhi but, if coming from South Delhi or Delhi Airport, it is easier to take Aurobindo Marg (Mehrauli Road) and then work up to NH2 via Tughlakabad. While the highway is divided, it is worthwhile keeping an eye out for trucks, cars, and bullock carts heading the wrong way!

It is also possible to hire a car with a driver (a big car for five persons from/to the Delhi airport costs 3500 INR). But beware! If you need to get from Agra to the airport in order to catch the plane you need to be sure of your driver (there are situations when the driver covers the distance of 200 km within 5.5 hours and you can not encourage him to drive a bit faster than an autorickshaw).

* From Jaipur: National Highway 11, a two lane undivided highway, connects Agra with Jaipur via the bird sanctuary town of Bharatpur. The distance of around 255 Km can be covered in around 4 hours.

* From Gwalior A distance of around 120 km, takes around 1.5 hours on the National highway 3 (Agra- Mumbai Highway)

* From Lucknow / Kanpur NH2, the divided modern highway, continues on to Kanpur (285km, 5 hours) and from there to points East ending in Kolkata. From Kanpur, NH25 heads for the city of Lucknow (90 km, 2 hours).

Get around
Auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws are available every where. Agree fares clearly in advance.

Automobiles are not allowed near the Taj Complex, so one has to use Tongas, electric buses and electric tempos to get to the Taj.

The best way to experince the city is to take a walk on the Mall Road (Sadar). The street is full of handicraft and leather goods shops. You will also find plenty of food items quite unique to the city.

car (Local)
You can easily visit Agra by car. These are some of the car rental services available:

* Enterprises Car Rental
* Hertz Car Rental

You can either book a taxi from hotel or directly book one outside the railway station. There is government authorized taxi stand. 950Rs/day for 12 hours. It maybe more costy to book through hotel. It is better to negotiate with the driver directly

In Addition to that there are certain other points which one should take care - 1 - You can hire a camel-cart on negotiations basis (the price should not exceed 50 INR)to reach Taj Mahal compound from Taxi Stand or Parking. 2 - Never buy anything from the shop these cart pullers are taking you to, they are cheaters. 3 - If you are 2 persons, then let 1 person go directly to fetch tickets and other person to stand in the line. However, there is a condition, if you are a foreigner, then you will easily get entry in Taj, but if Indian, then you have to stand in endless queue, so stand your second partner in the Q. 4 - There are swindlers all around Taj, they will prompt you for easy entry in Taj, but they are big time cheaters, as they charge some 250 INR (please calculate in USD) per head for entry, and what they simply do, they will put you in front of some other guy in Queue. You feel frustrated that why you paid so much money for this job. 5 - Food around Taj is very costly, specially for Indians, so please carry your own food around, which you can only take when out of Taj, no eatable is permitted inside Taj, which makes sense. 6 - You can't take cigarettes, bidis, any eatable, anything which can be a potential weapon, so avoid carrying any such thing, otherwise it will eat up more of your precious time.


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