Agra ,a beautiful city maintaining its history and culture intact located on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Agra is a major tourist destination and known for the Mughal monuments the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
So let's start with the trip to Agra at the reasonable yet comfortable way .I will also share the travelling experience during covid,total cost ( including the entry tickets) and sharing some beautiful pictures captured during my one day trip .
We travelled from Jaipur on 9th January ,2021 ,in the morning around 6.30 am by a personal car which we have taken from a local tour operator in Jaipur ,so it's a one day trip.
The total cost including travelling ,parking charges and toll taxes costs us around 5000/-( Excluding entry tickets) which has mentioned below .
Since it's a Covid phase ,we decided to take the home made food which not only was safe but saved our time also .
So around 7.30 am we did our breakfast in the car .Then moving ahead around 9.30 am we reached Fatehpur Sikri.
1) Fatehpur Sikri
A World Heritage listed site , Fatehpur Sikri had also been the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571-1585 during the reign of Emperor Akbar.
Tickets are now available online ,so you should pre-book your tickets at the below site and select the time slot accordingly.
https://asi.payumoney.com/
So we booked our tickets on the spot ( Rs 35/- per person),since we were not aware of the closure of ticket counters and only pre booked online tickets are now allowed.
Take a bus once you enter ,you have to pay Rs 10/- per person for that and it's a government bus which rides you to the entrance of Fatehpur Sikri .There you have to additional Rs 10/- which is not included in the online ticket cost .
Please wear masks since some people were not following the norms ,as it was morning only 10-15 people came for the visit.
Afterwards ,we covered Buland Darwaza , also known as the "Door of victory",built by Mughal emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. The view and the weather were the best for some amazing pictures .
2) The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a World Heritage Site also known as "the jewel of Muslim art in India" . It is a symbol of not only one of the most beautiful historical monuments in the Indian history but also a symbol of eternal love .
Around 10.30 am ,we started our trip to Agra so by 11.30 am we reached to the Rani Mandi Chowk in Agra ,from there our car can't go to the Taj mahal so we took an E-rikshaw costing Rs 10/- per person and we also took the plastic cover for our footwear at a cost of Rs 10/- per person on our way ,it's mandatory if you are going inside Mausoleum in Taj Mahal.
So finally we reach the entrance ticket gate of the Taj Mahal ,please pre book your ticket with the above link I mentioned which costs around Rs 245/- per person ( Taj Mahal with Mausoleum).Please also carry your photo ID proof along with you .
So after the security check in we entered the entrance gate of Taj Mahal ,there was very much crowd inside.
I was in aww with the beauty of the Taj Mahal .I just kept looking and fallen in love with it at the first instance only .
The beauty of it along with the water lane and gardens add more to its beauty .I am short of the words to express the beauty of this magnificent beauty of eternal love.
We spent around 3 hours covering both the Taj Mahal with Mausoleum.
3) Agra Fort
A historical fort in the city of Agra in India which was the main residence of the Mughal emperors until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi.
Around 2.30 we left and started our travel to the Agra Fort which is at a distance of 2.5 kms only ,at the parking area we stopped and had our lunch in front of the Agra fort .
After the security check in we entered around 3.15 pm inside Agra fort .You can pre-book ticket as mentioned above ( Rs 35/- per person) and on the spot you need to give additional Rs 10/- pp .
So it's a beautiful fort which was built by Shahjahan ,it's mostly red and white in color ,many rooms and area are closed and under administration so entry is prohibited in those areas.
You can have a view of Taj Mahal from Agra fort .It has a beautiful garden and the large spacious rooms used for various purposes .
Since it's closed by 6 pm so we left by 5.30 pm from there .
From there we went to Rani Mandi Chowk back in our car and did some shopping which includes marble handicrafts,Baboo made clothes ,leather jackets etc from an authorised government aided shop.
So around 10 pm we reached our home again ,in the way we faced some Nilgiri cows which has caused us some obstacles .
Some tips which I suggest during planning your Agra trip .
1) Carry extra masks , sanitizer must and hand soaps .
2) Carry some cash ,as you may find difficulty in finding ATM and pre book ur tickets online in advance .
3) Do carry your photo ID proof .
4) If travelling from Jaipur / Delhi ,carry home made food .
5) Travel Fatehpur Sikri in the morning since all the monuments closed by 6 pm .
6) Please do shopping from government authorised shops only as you can end up buying fake stuffs .Please research thoroughly.
Hope my blog will help you on your next trip to Agra :)
