Agra is a medieval city situated on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. It finds mention in the epic Mahabharata when it was called Agrabana, or Paradise. Ptolemy, the famous 2nd century geographer, marked it on his map of the world as Agra. It is generally accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the Ruler of Delhi Sultanate founded it in the year 1504. After the sultan's death the city passed on to his son Sultan Ibrahim Lodi. He ruled his Sultanate from Agra until he fell fighting to Babur in the First battle of Panipat fought in 1526. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, all three of which are World Heritage Sites.

Since Akbarabad was one of the most important cities in India under the Mughals, it witnessed a lot of building activity. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of river Yamuna. The garden is called the Aram Bagh or the Garden of Relaxation. His grandson Akbar raised the towering ramparts of the Great Red Fort besides making Agra, a center for learning arts, commerce and religion. Akbar also built a new city on the outskirts of Akbarabad called Fatehpur Sikri. This city was built in the form of a Mughal military camp in stone. His son Jahangir had a love of gardens and flora and fauna and laid many gardens inside the Red Fort. Shah Jahan known for his keen interest in architecture gave Akbarabad its most prized monument, The Taj Mahal. Built in loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the mausoleum was completed in 1653.

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Taj Mahal – World Heritage Site

Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is one of the New 7 Wonders of the world, and one of three World Heritage Sites in Agra, the others being Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

Completed in 1653 AD, the Taj Mahal is believed to have been built by the Mughal Badshah (king) Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtaz. Finished in marble, it is perhaps India's most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630-1652) of hard labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, the Taj Mahal is on the bank of the Yamuna River. It can be observed like a mirage from the Agra Fort from where Emperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years his life as a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb. It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and each revealed as an illusion experienced as one enters through the main gate. Verses of the Holy Koran are inscribed on it and at the top of gate 22 small domes, signifying the number of years the monument took to build. The Taj Mahal was built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Taj, with a diameter of 60 feet (18 m), rises 80 feet (24 m) over the building and directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan's tomb was erected next to hers by his son Aurangzeb. Fantastic inlay works using semi-precious stones decorate the interiors.

Agra Fort - World Heritage Site

Another world heritage site in Agra. Agra's dominant structure, the Agra Fort (sometimes called the Red Fort), was built by Akbar in 1565. The red sandstone fort was renovated and converted into a palace during Shah Jahan's time, and reworked extensively with marble and pietra dura inlay. Notable buildings in the fort include the Pearl Mosque, the Diwan-e-Am and Diwan-e-Khas (halls of public and private audience), Jehangir's Palace, Khaas Mahal, Sheesh Mahal (mirrored palace), and Musamman Burj.

The forbidding exteriors of this fort hide an inner paradise. The fort is crescent shaped, flattened on the east with a long, nearly straight wall facing the river. It has a total perimeter of 2.4 k.m., and is ringed by double castellated ramparts of red sandstone punctuated at regular intervals by bastions. A 9 mt. wide and 10 mt. deep moat surround the outer wall.

Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb -

Empress Nur Jehan, Emperor Jehangir's Queen, built Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb, sometimes called the Baby Taj, for her father, Ghias-ud-Din Beg, the Chief Minister of Emperor Jahangir. Located on the left bank of the Yamuna River, the mausoleum is set in a large cruciform garden criss-crossed by water courses and walkways. The mausoleum itself is set on a base about 50 meters square and about 1 meter high. Small in comparison to many other Mughal-era tombs, it is sometimes described as a jewel box. Its garden layout and use of white marble, pietra dura, inlay designs and latticework presage many elements of the Taj Mahal.

The walls are white marble from Rajasthan encrusted with semi-precious stone decorations in images of cypress trees and wine bottles, or more elaborate decorations like cut fruit or vases containing bouquets. Light to the interior passes through delicate jali screens of intricately carved white marble. Many of Nur Jahan's relatives are interred in the mausoleum. The only asymmetrical element of the entire complex is that the cenotaphs of her father and mother have been set side-by-side, a formation replicated in the Taj Mahal.

Swami Bagh Samadhi (Dayal Bagh) –

The Swami Bagh Samadhi is the mausoleum of Huzur Swamiji Maharaj (Shri Shiv Dayal Singh Seth) in the Swami Bagh section in the outskirts of the city. He was the founder of the Radhaswami Faith and the Samadhi is sacred to its followers. Head quarter of Radhaswami religion, here the holy ashes of the founder of the faith have been preserved. Construction began in 1908 and still continues (for almost 100 years). It is believed that the construction will never end at Swami Bagh. It is often seen as the "next Taj Mahal". The carving in stone, using a combination or colored marble, is life-like and not seen anywhere else in India.

Sikandra -

The Tomb of Akbar, last resting place of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, is on Delhi-Agra Highway, about 13 kilometers from the Agra Fort. Akbar's tomb reflects the completeness of his personality, representing his philosophy and secular outlook, combining the best of Hindu and Muslim architectures in a superlative region. The vast, beautifully carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb is set amidst a lush garden with deers, rabbits and monkeys roaming around. Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for it. To construct a tomb in one's lifetime was a Tartary custom which the Mughals followed religiously. Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction of this pyramidal tomb in 1613.

Fatehpur Sikri – World Heritage Site

Fatehpur Sikri is an epic in red sandstone. A city of yeasteryear, today lost in the mists of time. The Mughal Emperor Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri, about 35 km from Agra, and moved his capital there. But due to shortage of water, he had to ultimately move his headquarters to Agra Fort.

As per the Legend, the name of the place came after Mughal Emperor Babur defeated Rana Sanga in a battle at a place called Sikri (about 40 km from Agra). Then Mughal Emperor Akbar wanted to make Fatehpur Sikri his head quarters. So he built this majestic fort. Another legend says that Mughal Emperor Akbar had no heir. He visited holy men to enlist their prayers for his son. When he visited Sheikh Salim Chishti who was living at the village of Sikri the saint foretold the emperor that he would be blessed with a son.  When is son was born, he is gratitude, constructed his capital city and named it Fatehpur Sikri. Later, due to shortage of water and unrest in North-West, Akbar has to abandon this city. The beautiful marvel tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti still attracts thousands who seek blessings of the revered saint. Other renowned places are Dewane-e-Am, Dewane-e-Khaas, Buland Darwaja, Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai Palace and Birbal Bhawan.

Buland Darwaza or the loft gateway was built by the great Mughal emperor, Akbar in 1601 AD to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. Approached by 42 steps, the Buland Darwaza is 53.63 m high and 35 meters wide - the highest gateway in the world and an astounding example of the Mughal architecture. An inscription on the central face of the Buland Darwaza throws light on Akbar's religious broad mindedness.