The Road to Agra

The Road to Agra

Day 1, JAIPUR TO AGRA

Drive to one of the finest bird sanctuaries in India at Bharatpur (3 hrs). The Keoladeo Ghana National Park is a lake system crisscrossed with cycle paths, dirt tracks and interspersed with patches of dry land. There are a great number of waterbirds such as painted storks, spoonbills, egrets, ibises and herons. Close on the heels of the nesting season come migratory birds such as duck and geese and the rare Siberian crane.

Close to Bharatpur is the abandoned ancient Moghul capital of Fatehpur Sikri, a complex of forts, palaces and mosques built from sandstone. Fatehpur Sikri served as Akbar's capital for only a short period of twelve years before the capital was abandoned, apparently due to a lack of water supply. Today Fatehpur Sikri is a ghost city, its architecture is in a perfect state of preservation, and wandering through the palaces it is easy to imagine that this was once a royal residence and a dynamic cultural centre.

You end the day in Agra where you stay at Mansingh Palace for two nights

Day 2, AGRA

The Taj Mahal is one of the most fascinating and beautiful monuments of the world. About 20,000 workers were employed in its construction, completed after some 20 years. So perfect are the proportions of the Taj and so exquisite its workmanship that this is really one of the world's most marvelous buildings.

Built in the form of a half moon on the west bank of the Yamuna river, the Agra Fort is a masterpiece of design and construction. The fort's colossal walls rise over 20m in height and measure 2.5 km in circumference. They are encircled by a fetid moat and contain a maze of buildings, some extremely exquisite, that form a small city within a city.

Day 3, ONWARDS FROM AGRA

Today your tour ends after breakfast. From Agra you can either return to Delhi or continue with our module From Agra to the Ganges. If you have less time at your disposal, you can consider taking a night train to Varanasi.

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