Having travelled across Rajasthan (Jaipur à Ajmer – Pushkar à Jaisalmer à Jodhpur) I had finally reached Agra for a brief stopover before heading home finally. I have already told you about some of the tourist locations that you can travel across Agra including the famous Taj Mahal so this is the final blog in the series and I will take you to Fatehpur Sikri.
For this trip I had booked a car, alternately you can take an Auto also but since they travel quite slower thus will take more time. It takes around and hour (36 Kilometres) to reach Fatehpur Sikri and it is to take note that the car actually does not go all the way to the top of the ridge as all tourist vehicles need to park at a designated spot. You can either walk all the way up but that would be quite a walk.
Agra to Fatehpur Sikri by Car
The driver of our hired car conveniently parked the car in front of a tourist guide shop and convinced me to speak to them as they would arrange the local transportation. Thinking of him as a Good Samaritan I went to the shop where I was quoted a mind boggling sum of Rs. 2000 for to and fro transportation along with guide. It is then I realised that this is a tourist scam that I was walking into and decided to walk out. At once the rate was dropped to Rs. 1500 but I ignored. Walking up ahead I saw a couple of shared Autos and to my surprise they were all going to the top towards the Fatehpur Sikri main gate. I negotiated for Rs. 100 for a two way ride and set off to the top.
Fatehpur Sikri was founded by Akbar in the year 1569 and served as the capital city of the Mughals from 1571 to 1585. This fort actually was not much used by the Mughal Emperors for themselves as such a main problem may be due to the acute scarcity of water that this region faced due to the drying or rivers and lakes nearby.
Once you enter the fort you will be flooded with requests for guides, some official and some unofficial. If you want real help go for senior official guides as they will be able to tell you all correctly.
Fatehpur Sikri is quite a large place thus make sure you have enough time in your hand to see each and every corner in details. At least have one full day for this tour else you have to hurry up and skip quite a few important places.
Fatehpur Sikri – Buland Darwaza
Fatehpur Sikri – Main Courtyard
Jama Masjid – Fatehpur Sikri
Salim Chistis Tomb – Fatehpur Sikri
Nawab Islam Khan Tomb – Fatehpur Sikri
Palace of Jodha Bai – Fatehpur Sikri
Sunehra Makan – Fatehpur Sikri
Khwabgah Complex – Fatehpur Sikri
Anup Talao – Fatehpur Sikri
Panch Mahal – Fatehpur Sikri
Diwan I Khas – Fatehpur Sikri
Actually the whole fort area is quite large and I have only shown you glimpses of the buildings here, there is a lot more to see and as I have told you earlier that you need to spend at least a day to see all of them. Hope that you have enjoyed travelling along with me across Agra, see you in my next blog till then Bon Voyage.