India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [382]
GUIDED TOURS Uttar Pradesh Tourism operates city tours that cover all the major sights, departing from Agra Cantonment Station (it is timed to coincide with the arrival of the Taj Express); alternatively, you could ask them to pick you from your hotel provided it falls in the route taken for the tour. The tour usually starts at 10:15am, costs Rs 1,700, and covers the Taj, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri and includes all entrance fees, a guide, and transport by air-conditioned bus; book with the manager of Hotel Taj Khema ( 0562/233-0140; tajkhema@up-tourism.com). A recommended private tour operator from Delhi is TCI (504-505, New Delhi House, Barakhama Rd.; 011/2331-5834 through -5838; www.tcindia.com). The TCI bus departs Delhi at 6am and returns at 10am, covering Agra Fort and the Taj, and costs Rs 2,000 including breakfast and lunch (at Taj View Hotel) and excluding entry fees. Traveling around with a tour group is far from the ideal way to experience the mystery and magical allure of the Taj however, and you shouldn’t miss out on the full spectrum of great Agra sights, ie visit more than just the Taj and Agra Fort. Tallis & Company ( 0124/400-4458;www.tallisandco.com) specialize in customized tours to Agra (and Jaipur); prices vary depending on number of persons, type of vehicle and number of stops but their rates are very reasonable. If you’re already in Agra on own steam, and just want a local guide, the intelligent and knowledgeable Rajiv Rajawat ( 98-3702-3601; rajivrajawat@yahoo.com) is one of the best; book him before you even get to India, to ensure he is available on the days you’d like to use his services (Rs 2,000). Pitching himself more affordably is Sudhir Agarwal ( 94-1000-5896; sudhir_agra@rediffmail.com), who charges Rs 1,200 for the day, from 8am through 5pm.
WHAT TO SEE & DO
Agra is today a large industrial city with a woeful infrastructure, but sightseeing is quite manageable given that there are five major attractions and very little else to keep you here. Ideally, you will see the Taj at dawn, then visit Itmad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb and Agra Fort, and move on to Fatehpur Sikri the following dawn. Besides those sights listed below, you may also want to make time to visit beautiful Jama Masjid, built in 1648 by Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan’s favorite daughter, who clearly inherited some of his aesthetic sensibilities. It is in the heart of the medieval part of Agra, best approached by cycle- or auto-rickshaw; you can stop along the way to bargain for jewelry, fabrics, or carpets. The other sight worth swinging by is Dayal Bagh Temple—begun 97 years ago, it is still under construction and is being built by the progeny of the laborers who built the Taj. The families guard their traditional craft techniques like gold, passing them on only to the sons in the family. Other minor attractions are ill-kept and a disappointment after viewing those reviewed below. Note that Bharatpur, where Keoladeo Ghana National Park lies (see chapter 11), is only 54km (34 miles) from Agra, with a stop at Fatehpur Sikri along the way.
Taj Mahal You expect to be disappointed when coming face to face with an icon that is almost an archetype, but nothing can really prepare you for the beauty of the Taj Mahal. Built by Shah Jahan as an eternal symbol of his love for his favorite wife, whom he called Mumtaz Mahal (“Jewel of the Palace”), it has immortalized him forever as one of the great architectural patrons of the world. It’s not just the perfect symmetry, the ethereal