Agra:- The city of Taj

we arrived in agra by bus from doing our Mathura visit.we first boarded our train from Bandra terminus i.e the nizzamudin express.We started our Agra-jaipur-rajasthan journey from the train first,the train departed at 4:35pm.We all were much exited to visit the city of Taj.All were very curious to get the glimpse of the Taj,which was very wonderful.we received our first meal at 8:30pm which included Veg pulao,Salad,One Gulabjamun,Pickle,Pav-bhaji with Bread Slice and Raita.Personally i did not liked it very much.the quality was not so maintained.the flavours were not coming.after that we had our sleep and got up with a view of fog from our seat,we then got freshened up and got ourselves packed to step out at mathura.it was very cold outside.then we catched our bus visited a local restaurant over there and had the Mathuras Kachoris with Bhaji.

           
       

 One of the biggest surprises of the Agra was the Taj walk,also known as the Taj protected forest,which is just located before reaching the east gate.
          Then we started heading towards our hotel which was around 45 minutes from the restaurant from our hotel we had a chance to see that Taj itself which was 10 minutes away from our hotel.

        Taj,you have two options available with you for heading towards the Taj from the main gate, you can just walk to the main gate directly which takes 10minutes or take a vehicle which costs 10Rs per head.you can prefer the one which makes you more comfortable.

      We headed towards our main destination the



              The view which we got when our eyes spotted Taj was indelible.Our eyes were blessed when we had the glimpse of the Taj.We cant't forget it throughout our lifetime.you should go early in the morning to catch the amazing sunrise or get the view of Sunset in the evening.it will surely make your day.

   ABOUT THE HOTEL

           Our hotel in agra was my favourite property for the 2days.We stayed at a place called "BHAVNA'S CLARKS INN" which is a Boutique hotel with a familiar touch. Aside from being a beautiful property,it was also withing walking distance from the great Taj mahal,while simultaneously being in a quiet area off the Taj East Gate.
   

  Lastly they served breakfast,lunch and dinner in a communal dining area where guests could mix and mingle,while swapping tales across the India
      If you're on a tighter schedule,you can still pack into a day or two,especially if you hire a rickshaw driver to take you around.
          So either way you will enjoy your visit

Exporing The Agra Fort!

We reached to the second monument famous in agra after the great Taj Mahal,as it is just 2.5 km from the Taj Mahal.After visiting the Taj mahal, every visitor gets the attraction of the famous monument the Agra fort.It is one of the best Heritage build by the Mughals, it is one of the elegant piece of architecture.Also it is declared  as the heritage property by the world Heritage site.Before entering the fort we took our ticket then searched for the guide, who will give us the grasp of the Agra fort.Headphones were not allowed that's the reason I had to go back to our vehicle to keep it.


 



        The fort can be reached from any part of the city.You can find buses, cabs, rickshaw and other road transportations to reach Agra Fort from any part of the city. Tourists usually visit Agra fort along with Taj Mahal as it is just 2.5 km away from Taj Mahal.

              The fort was in ruins when Akbar took over it and he built the fort entirely with red sandstone. It took eight years to complete this massive fort. However, his grandson, Shah Jahan deliberately brought down many structures to dust to make room for marble structures. This was considered to be a massive revenue waste during his reign. Later, his son took over the fort and imprisoned him in the very same fort. It is said that Shah Jahan requested to be imprisoned inside the fort, in a tower, from where he could spend rest of his life watching Taj Mahal  from the tower.
           When the fort was in Aurangazeb’s control (son of Shah Jahan), there wasn’t many changes to the structure. A moat was added to the walls to increase the defense. After Aurangazeb’s death, there were no strong rulers to take Mughal reign under control. Smaller kingdoms fought with the reign and it wasn’t too long before Agra when under the control of Marathas. Over the next century, the fort went to many dynasties, which made little to no changes to the structure of the fort.

Later, British took over the fort and used it for military purposes until independence. They set up barracks inside the fort and destroyed many monuments to make room for the army. After independence, the fort came under the control of Government of India.

This was one of the early forts of Mughal and it was mainly built for military purposes. This colossal fort had 70 feet tall walls, which still stands. These walls were designed for defense purposes. The walkways and entrances are specifically made narrower to make it hard for enemies to plunder into the fort at once.

The fort also has many tunnels through which royal families can escape to the shore of River Yamuna in case of unfortunate events. The entrance and the routes of the tunnels were passed on only to the royal heirs and it is assumed that there are numerous other secret passages in the fort that are yet to be discovered.

In terms of architecture, it is a fusion of Hindu and Islamic styled architecture. There are also theories about Agra Fort being inspired by the grand Gwalior fort. Each structure inside the fort has a unique style. You can find Gujarati structures, Bengali styled monuments and so on.

What you can see inside the Agra Fort!!

1)Jahangir’s Palace

2)Khas Mahal

3) Musamman Burj

4) Diwan-i-Khas

5) Sheesh Mahal

6) Shahjahani Mahal

7) Jahangir’s chain of Justice

Ticket cost for Indians:

• Cash tickets – INR 50 per head
• Cashless tickets – INR 35 per head
• Sound and light show – INR 70 per head
• Children below 15 years – free

Ticket cost of foreigners

• Cash tickets – INR 650 per head
• Cashless tickets – INR 550 per head
• Sound and light show –INR 200 per head
• Children below 15 years – free