Agra Things To Do – Complete Guide

Agra things To Do - activities, hotels, golf courses & car rental

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The Agra hotel and activities guide offers stay over guests and cruise ship visitors information and discount reservations for hotels, villa rentals, car rentals, activities and shore excursions in Agra.

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Agra is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city is located in the district of the same name, Agra, on the river Yamuna. The city is very popular with tourists, especially because the world heritage site of the Taj Mahal is located on the outskirts of the city.

Agra is associated in Hindu mythology with the god Krishna, who is said to have played the flute here beside the sacred river Yamuna and won the hearts of the gopis. The present city was founded in 1503 by Sikandar Lodi, the sultan of Delhi. The city was intended as a stronghold against the sultans of Malwa. Only really important did Agra become under the Mughals. These alternated Agra and Delhi as places of residence. Babur (reigned 1526 - 1530) ruled from Agra, but his son Humayun (reigned until 1556) favored Delhi. Akbar (1556 - 1605) resided again in Agra, except for a decade in which he had a new capital built nearby, in Fatehpur Sikri. Because of the drying up of the wells there, the emperor was forced to return to Agra.

The city was named "Akbarabad" after the emperor at the time. In 1580 he sent a mission to Tibet to investigate the source of the Ganges. There were also some Jesuits in Agra that year, as well as several decades after.[2] From the early 17th century they undertook journeys from Agra to Tibet or passed through this city on their way back. Examples of them were Ippolito Desideri, António de Andrade, Nuño Coresma, Albert Dorville and Johann Grueber.

Places to visit

• The Taj Mahal is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal is on the list of modern Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• The Tomb of Itimad ud-Daulah, also known by his coined nickname 'Baby Taj' for the tourism industry, is the tomb of Mirza Ghiyath Beg and his wife Asmat Begum. The tomb was built by their daughter Nur Jahan, the favorite wife and co-ruler of Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Nur Jahan ('Light of the World') was an aunt of Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb was built between 1622 and 1628 (so 4 years before the construction of the Taj Mahal started). The tomb resembles the Taj Mahal in floor plan and construction material (but smaller). It was the first Mughal construction made largely of marble and also the first to make extensive use of pietra dura, inlaid motifs of precious and semi-precious stones.
• Agra Fort is a fortress built in 1565 by Mughal Emperor Akbar. Until the reign of his son-in-law Shah Jahan, additions were regularly made.
• Fatehpur Sikri is a town 30 km southwest of Agra. Akbar briefly made this city his capital. The vacant palaces and defenses now attract tourists, while the tomb of Sufi saint Salim Chishti, located here, also draws pilgrims.
• In Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, is the mausoleum of Akbar.