AGRA TOURISM

Agra was once the capital of the Mughal empire and even today it seems to linger in the past. Not surprising, for the Mughal emperors with their passion for building, endowed the city with some of the finest structures in the world. It is very easy to slip away here through the centuries into the grandeur and intrigues of the Mughal court. Agra is an old city and it is said that its name was derived from Agrabana, a forest thats finds mention in the epic.

In more recent times Agra came into prominence when Sikandar Lodi made it his capital city in 1501. The Lodi rule was to end very soon and Agra passed into the possession of the Mughals. It was during the time of the third emperor Akbar that Agra came into its own. He embarked on the construction of the massive Agra Fort in 1565. Though Akbar was diverted into building a new capital at Fatehpur Sikari not far away, Agra continued to retain its importance and Shah Jehan, Akbar's grandson ornamented the city with that masterpiece of Mughal architecture -the Taj Mahal and built several other beautiful buildings within the Agra Fort.

Agra city livens up during the festive time of the Taj Mahotsav which is organised during February.Its a 10 day extravaganza which is held in the Shilpgram which is close to Taj Mahal.It brings out the arts,crafts and culture of India.It has classical dance and song performances by well known artists in India.Apart from this ghazal programmes are also organised and not to miss out on Camel and Elephant rides and Games which are a pass time for Children and elders also.Agra is best known for its Id Melas and the colourful Tazias taken out on Muharram.

Summers are very hot and winters chilling cold. The temperature difference between the summers and winters is very high. The monsoon although provides some respite from the heat but the rains leaves the city very dirty. It is better to plan your Agra trip between the months of March and October.