Agra has long been renowned as the city of the Taj Mahal. This has often overshadowed the fact that this royal Mughal has, in addition to the legendary Taj, many magnificent monuments that epitomize the high point of the Mughal architectural achievement. Not even Delhi the seat of kings and emperors for over a thousand years, can boast such a heritage of architectural and cultural splendor from the golden age of the Great Mughals.

Agra was the chosen city of the Mughal emperors during the early years. It was here that the founder of the dynasty, Babar, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of the River Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson, raised the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens. Shah Jehan embellished it with marbled mosques, palaces and pavilions of gem-inlaid white marble. At Sikandra, on the outskirts of Agra, Akbar built his own garden mausoleum. And at Fatehpur Sikri he created a whole new city - a leap of the imagination that made real a unique concept of planning and design and gave expression to a style of architecture that was a perfect blend of Islamic spatial concepts and the Hindu genius for decorative sculpture. Across the river, Jehangir's gifted queen, Noor Jehan, designed an exquisite marble-inlaid tomb for her parents. But Agra's crowning glory remains the Taj Mahal, a monument to love built by Shah Jehan in memory of his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal.

Place of Interest

• Taj Mahal - A Monument of Love
• Agra Fort
• Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb
• Sikandra
• Dayalbagh (Soami Bagh)

How to get there?
By Road: State Road Transport Corporations (SRTC) of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan provide regular bus services to Ahmedabad from all major centres in the area.

By Air: Ahmedabad, is connected with most major cities i.e., Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata by frequent Indian Airlines and Jet Airways Flights. Now an International Airport as well, with a few direct flights.

By Rail: Ahmedabad is a major junction on the Delhi / Mumbai route and is connected by various super fast trains.