We show you what options there are to see in Agra, in addition to the Taj Mahal. Agra is a city full of imposing monuments and it is worth dedicating a day to it.
The city of Agra is one of the most visited in India, and rightly so, since it has its most famous monument: the Taj Mahal. Because of this and because of its proximity to Delhi, many people just come, visit the Taj and then leave. But there is much more to see in Agra, and we will tell you what those things are in this article. These places will make it worth staying, at least one entire day, in the city.
To visit the monuments we agreed with a tuk tuk that would take us to the places, wait for us and that would avoid us having to search and negotiate every time. The bad thing was that they gave us a “shop visit”, in which I obviously didn’t buy anything because everything was so expensive. In fact, at the end of the visits, he wanted to take us to another store and there we did say no and no. The boy was not very happy, but oh well… The tip here is not to buy anything if you don’t want to, never feel compelled to buy. Apart from that, the guy was very good and took us to all the places leaving us at the hotel at the end of the tour.
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What to see in Agra?
Agra Fort
This fort, also known as Lal Qila or Red Fort of Agra, is located on the west bank of the Yamuna River. It is located 2.5 km from the Taj Mahal. It was built between 1565 and 1567, made of red arsenic stone, which gives it its name and reddish appearance. This is where the Shah Jahan spent his last years, locked up by his sons who took power, it is said that he spent time looking towards the Taj, where his beloved Mumtaz Mahal rested.
Information to visit Agra Fort
Hours: from dawn to dusk. In other words, as long as there is sun.
Entrance fee: 650 rupees for foreign tourists and 40 rupees for locals.
In 1983 it was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Please note: To enter the interior of several buildings, you must remove your shoes.
Our visit to Agra Fort
The enclosure is huge, we passed through places like the Public Audience room, the Diwan-i-Am. The red stone was modeled with geometric figures, on walls where there was no “blank” space left. Little by little as the visit progressed, we found that the red gave way to the white of the marble. The reason for this color change is because the Shah Jahan did not want to follow the aesthetic line of his predecessors, with whom the red stone prevailed. So, when we find the Khas Mahal, a palace that the Shah built for two of his favorite daughters, we see how white is the protagonist. Without a doubt, an imposing monument that is totally worth seeing if you are passing through Agra.
The Taj Mahal from far
When we see the Taj Mahal from the fort, we imagine how the Shah ended his last days, defeated by his children, waiting for the end and contemplating the monument that is the tomb of his beloved from afar. At least his children were merciful to him, and when he died they buried him next to her. Thus breaking with the symmetry of the place, as we already told in the article about the Taj Mahal.
As in all the places we had visited in India up to that point, wildlife was not absent here either. In the river we saw several cows, in the fort there were: macaques, Rose-ringed parakeets and many squirrels. All the animals show that they are used to living with humans because none of them ran away when they saw us.
Food at Sheroes
For lunch, the tuk tuk took us to the Sheroes Hangout, it is a restaurant that aims to help girls who, unfortunately, have suffered acid attacks. They are the ones who serve and run the place. In addition to helping a good cause, the food was delicious, the place pleasant and important: very clean.
The Baby Taj
Actually, it is the mausoleum of Itimad-ud-Daulah, which is a small mausoleum from the time of the Mughal Empire. It is called the baby Taj as it is considered to be a sketch of the Taj Mahal.
Information to visit the Baby Taj
Hours: from dawn to dusk. In other words, as long as there is sun.
Entrance fee: 310 rupees for foreign tourists and 30 rupees for locals.
Please Note: to enter the interior of several buildings, you have to take off your shoes.
Our visit to the Baby Taj
This monument is, as its nickname implies, small and quickly visited. There are the tombs, and various decorative inlays of flowers and geometric figures. As always, in Muslim monuments, there is no room for emptiness. In this place there were much fewer people than in the Agra Fort, but even so we met several groups of ladies who were overflowing with very beautiful colors. Regarding the fauna, here we find another group of macaques that walked the walls of the temple as if nothing had happened.
Moonlight Garden (Mehtab Bagh)
These gardens are located on the opposite side of the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal. It was built by Emperor Babur in 1530. It is said that Shah Jahan wanted to build a black Tah Mahal right in front of the existing one, so that they would be in perfect symmetry. This should have been his grave. But his son Aurangzeb imprisoned him (in Agra Fort) and this could no longer be.
Information to visit the garden
Hours: from dawn to dusk. In other words, as long as there is sun.
Entrance fee: 300 rupees for foreign tourists and 25 rupees for locals.
Our visit to the Mehtab Bagh
It is a garden through which you walk and breathe calmer, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, we saw many flowers of beautiful colors, and we were able to have a view of the Taj again in fact from here we took the classic photo where one comes out grabbing it from above, well, you’ll see the photo, and you’ll understand. Just to take the photo, it is a place that deserves to be on the list of places to see in Agra.
In terms of fauna there were: dogs, Rose-ringed parakeets, squirrels. I saw these last two sharing food, in a silent truce. We stayed here as long as we could, that is, until the sun went down. And this is the end of our visiting day in Agra.
Conclusions on what to see in Agra
And although we saw several things in Agra, we still had other monuments left to see. I think that with this it is already clear that there are more things to see in Agra besides the Taj Mahal.
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