Monuments In India

Agra Fort

Location	Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Built in	In Between 1565 and 1571 AD
Built by	Akbar
Main Attraction	Diwan-i-Am, Khas Mahal, Shah Jahani Mahal, Anguri Bagh
Current Status	Under UNESCO
Architecture	Hindu and Islamic architecture
Nearest Metro Station	No Metro Services
Open	All Days
Entry Fee	Citizens of India and visitors of SAARC and BIMSTEC Countries - Rs 10/head. Others - US $ 5 or Indian Rs. 250/- per head (ASI)
Days Closed	Monday

Agra fort is the most popular monument in the Agra, Uttar Pradesh and it is the famous UNESCO World Heritage site of India. It next to the most popular monument named Taj Mahal, which is about 2.5 km far in the region of northwest. This fort is commonly served as a walled city of Agra. In the battle of panipat, Mughals in year 1526 taken all the treasure at that time, which also includes a diamond named Koh-i-Noor diamond. There was a Ibrahim palace, in which the Babur stayed. He also manufactured a step well commonly named as baoli in this palace. In year 1530, the emperor Humayun was crowned. But later on Humayun got defeated by the Bilgram in the year 1540. After that, this fort was ruled over by the Sher Shah and his children. Later on the Hindu King 'Hem Chandra Vikramaditya' defeated the Sher Shah and taken over the charge for some time and then it was recaptured by Humanyun. In the year 1556 when the second war of the Panipat was held, then the Mughal emperor Akbar defeat the Hindu King Hem Chandra.

History

This fort was originally held by Sikarwar Hindu Rajputs and was a brick fort. After the capture by the Ghaznavide force in 1080 AD it came into light for the first time. The first Sultan was Sikandar Lodi who migrated from Delhi to Agra and resides in this fort from 1488-1517. Due to this Agra was being considered as the second capital and the Sultan governs the country from Agra. In 1517 the Sultan got died in this fort and after him his son Ibrahim Lodi, possessed this fort till 9 years and lost it after being defeated and killed in 1526 in the battle of Panipat. During his period many wells, palaces as well as mosques were constructed by him within this fort during his rein.The Mughal after the Panipat's first Battle took the possession of the fort as well as the enormous treasure of the fort that also consists of the famous diamond which was later on given the name as Koh-i-Noor. In Ibrahim's palace Babur use to stay generally and built a step well named as baoli in that palace. Humanyun became the king in 1530. In 1540 Humayun was overwhelmed by the king Sher Shah Suri in Bilgram and the fort remained with him till 1555 and after that Humanyun evoked it. Hem Chandra Vikramaditya who is a famous Hindu King commonly popular as Hemu defeated the army of Humanyun followed by the Iskandar Khan Uzbek and rule over the Agra. There was a large amount of treasure that the Hemu captured from this fort and he proceeded to win Delhi from the Mughals. Later on during the battle of Panipat in year 1556, under the commands of Akbar, Mughals defeated the King Hemu finally.

Akbar made it a capital in year 1558 after arrived in Agra by realizing the central situation. According to the records of Abdul Fazal, this was a fort made of brick called as 'Badalgarh.' Later on Akbar rebuilt this fort again as it was in a ruined condition, with red sandstone brought from the area of Barauli in state Rajesthan. There was a bricks in the inner core of the surface as foundation was laid by architects and the external surface was coated with sandstone. For completing this, about 1,444,000 builders were worked for about 8 years on it and it was completed in 1573.

The site of this fort was got in current state at the time of Shah Jahan who was the son of Akbar. Shah Jahan was a legend who established the Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan ordered to manufacture this monument with the gold, precious gems, and white marble unlike as his grandfather done.

Some of the buildings were destroyed by him in order to build some new buildings of his own.

During the end of the life of Shahjahan he was detained by Aurangzeb who was his son within the fort boundary. It is a belief that Shahjahan was died in the tower of marble balcony named as Muasamman Burj from where Taj Mahal can be viewed.

During the insurgence of 1857 this fort was the spot for the battle against British and leads to British rule end in India.

Architecture

The fort was developed by the semicircular plan covering the area of about 94-acre. The chord of this fort lies parallel along the river. The walls of this fort are about 70 feet high. At intervals there are circular bastions along with embrasures, battlements, machicolations along with string courses. There are 4 gates in this fort in its all four sides out of which one opens towards the river called as Khizri gate.

The two other gates are named as "Delhi Gate" and the other one as "Lahore Gate." The other name for Lahore Gate is Amar Singh Gate that is named after the name of Amar Singh Rathore.

This site is the remarkable example of the architectural history. According to the recordings of Abul Fazal there are about 500 buildings that have been designed in Bengali and Gujarati beautiful designs in this fort. Out of these buildings some were destroyed by Shah Jahan for the purpose of making palaces of white marble. Some other buildings were demolished by the British during the period from 1803-1862 for the purpose of building barracks. Only 30 buildings of Mughals are remaining towards the south east side that has facing towards the river. Out of these buildings, Delhi Gate, Akbar Gate and the "Bengali Mahal" palace are the representatives of Akbari buildings.

The Amar Singh Gate was renamed by the British as the Akbar Darwazza or the Akbar Gate. The design of this gate is same as that of Delhi Gate as both of them are made of the red sandstone. Bengali Mahal is being built by the red sandstone that has been divided into the Jahangiri Mahal and the Akbar Mahal. There is the remarkable mixture of the Hindu as well as the Islamic architecture that can be traced out here in this fort. Some of the images called as haraam(Sinful) are the part of Islamic decorations like dragons, birds, elephants are found here rather than the general patterns as well as calligraphy of the Islamic decoration of surface.

How to Reach

By Air

There is the service from the Airport of Agra's Kheria which is seasonal. After 2008 November this city is being served by the Kingfisher Airlines as well as the Regional Air India that provides regular flights on the triangle route of Agra-Delhi-Jaipur. The time taken by these flights is almost an hour. The tourists and the travelers have to face the problem of the lateness of flights so the other alternative is to hire a car that would be safer.

By Rail

There are many trains available for Agra as this city lies between the major train routes of Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai and trains are in connection with Agra every day. There is a direct connection to the East India via the trains from Delhi. About 3 to 4 trains were moving for both Mumbai and Chennai and about 20 trains for Delhi also. There is winter fog that is very thick that makes the Delhi and Agra very disreputable traveling. If a tourist wants to travel in early January or in late December then he or she should have the knowledge that due the less visibility trains were usually late by their time. There is an example of that point like Bhopal Shatabdi visit Agra at about 10 AM and it might return back to Delhi after midnight. It is more advisable for a tourist to travel in the train at the time of winters for a safety purpose. It is very risky to drive on road in the fog. In Agra, there are about 5 stations:

Stations

Agra Cantt (Station Code : AGC) This is situated on the southwest region of the Taj Mahal and Agra fort. These both are in a very less distance from this station through cycle rickshaw, car, or auto rickshaw. To visit any of the hotel in the Agra, the prepaid taxis were available that cost Rs. 150. There also available the auto-rickshaw, which cost about 50 rupees from the station, but they are not able to speak English. There is a Comesum food court in the railway station that had all hygienic snacks.

• Agra Fort station (Station Code: AF). This provides the express trains that are interstate nearby the Agra fort. Many of trains stopped at the Agra Cantt and some of the trains moved to the East such as Kanpur and Kolkata.
• Raja Ki Mandi (Station Code: RKM). This one of the small station. Many trains stopped at this station that also stopped at the station of Agra Cantt. There is a sloppy kind of atmosphere at this station, but when the Taj express and intercity express arrives, the atmosphere turns into cherish. This station is present in the mid of the city.
• Agra City, this station is present in the center of the Agra city. This station is not more useful now.
• Idgah Railway Station, if a person arrived in the Agra from the city of Jaipur, then this station will be the first one.

By Road

• From Delhi: About 200 km of distance from the Delhi to Agra is connected via National Highway 2. In the way of Agra from Delhi, there are more blocked roads to get to the way to highway and there is about 4 to 5 hours of driving to visit the Agra from Delhi. To get into the highway, the first access is the Mathura Road in city Delhi. If arriving from the South Delhi to the Delhi airport, one can drive along the Aurobindo Marg via Tughlakabad to get into the NH2. As because of highway is divided, there were heading up of cars, bullock carts, and trucks on the wrong way so one has to take care of that.
• From Jaipur: Agra was connected to the Jaipur via 4 lane division Highway that is NH 11 through the Bharatpur bird sanctuary. It will take about 4 hours to cover the distance of about 255 km.
• From Gwalior: This is basically Agra-Mumbai Highway, it will take about 1.5 hours on the highway for about a distance of 120 km.
• From Lucknow / Kanpur: This is National Highway 2 divided by a modern technique. This highway headed on the Kanpur towards the east end of Kolkata. It will take about 5 hours to cover the distance of 285 km. To visit the Lucknow, NH 25 is there from Kanpur.

Nearby Places to Visit

• Anguri Bagh (Grape Garden) - 85 square, geometrically arranged gardens.
• Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience) - was used to speak to the people and listen to petitioners and once housed the Peacock Throne
• Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) - was used to receive kings and dignitary, features black throne of Jehangir
• Golden Pavilions (Jahan Ara Pavilion and Roshan Ara Pavilion) - beautiful pavilions with roofs shaped like the roofs of Bengali huts
• Jahangiri Mahal - built by Akbar for his son Jehangir
• Khas Mahal - white marble palace, one of the best examples of painting on marble
• Macchi Bhawan (Fish Enclosure) - grand enclosure for harem functions, once had pools and fountains
• Mina Masjid (Heavenly Mosque) - private mosque used by mujahara
• Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) - mosque built for use by members of royal court
• Musamman Burj - a large, octagonal tower with a balcony facing the Taj Mahal
• Takht-i-Jahangir - Throne of Jahangir
• Nagina Masjid (Gem Mosque) - mosque designed for the ladies of the court
• Naubat Khana (Drum House) - a place where the king's musicians played
• Rang Mahal - where the king's wives and mistresses lived
• Shahi Burj - Shah Jahan's private work area
• Shah Jahani Mahal - Shah Jahan's first attempt at modification of the red sandstone palace
• Sheesh Mahal or Shish Mahal (Mirror Palace) - royal dressing room featuring tiny mirror-like glass-mosaic decorations, and drums built into the walls.
• Zenana Mina Bazaar (Ladies Bazaar) - right next to the balcony, where only female merchants sold wares

Weather and Best Time to Visit

In the Agra city, there is very high humidity due to subtropical climate. The weathers are hot and dry summers, monsoon season, and very mild winters. As compared to the other regions of India, monsoon is not so heavy in the Agra.

The temperature ranges from 46-50°C in the summers. The temperature at night goes up to 30°C and nights are very cooler. Due to the semi-arid region in Agra, there is only scant type of monsoon. The rainfall in the Agra on annual average basis not reached up to 400 millimeters. The best time to visit Agra is the winter season as winters are bit chilly. The temperature falls only as low to -.2to-.4°C still ranges up to 6-8°C.

November to February are the best time to visit the Agra Fort.

Accomodation

Amar Yatri Niwas Hotel Agra

This hotel was few miles far from the Taj Mahal and situated at the center of the Agra. It is easy reachable from the Taj Mahal and the shopping places at the city of Agra.

Address

181/1,
Fatehabad Road,
Agra Uttar Pradesh 282 001,
India

Col. Lamba Indian Homestay

This stay is situated just 3 km away from the monument Taj Mahal and is located in a convenient place in Agra city. There are more places to visit that are Panch Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, and Agra Fort.

Address

58 Gulmohar Enclave,
Near Rajeshwar Mandir,
Shamshabad Road,
Agra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli 282 001,
Uttar Pradesh, India

Hotel Raj Bed & Breakfast Agra

This hotel is situated in the Taj Ganj at 2/26. This hotel is easily reachable from the famous monuments like Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Chini ka Roza, Sikandara Fort, and Itmad - Ud Daula. This hotel is situated about 7 kms far from the Agra airport.

Address

2/26 Taj Ganj,
Taj Mahal, South Gate,
Agra, Uttar Pradesh 282001
India

Timings and Tickets

Timings: The Agra Fort is open every day from sunrise to sunset excluding Mondays.

Tickets: Citizens of India and visitors of SAARC (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar) - Rs. 10 per head.

Others: US $ 5 or Indian Rs. 250/- per head (ASI);
Rs. 500/- per head as Toll Tax (Agra Development Authority) (Fridays free entry by ADA)
Rs. 500/- ticket of ADA is valid for the monuments of Agra Fort, Itimadi-ud-daula, Akbar's Tomb, Sikandara and Fatehpur Sikri.

(Children up to 15 years free)

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