AGRA
Area in Sq Km : 82
Population : 25, 50,800
By Air
Indian
Airlines has flights to Agra from Delhi, Khajuraho
and the holy city of Varanasi.
By Train
Agra
is well connected by excellent train services from
Delhi. The two best trains to take are Shatabdi Express,
which runs between Delhi and Bhopal via Agra and Taj
Express (Delhi, Agra and Gwalior).
By
Road
Agra
is an important road junction, being at the crossroads
of National Highways NH-2, NH-3 and NH-11. By car,
it is a 3-hour
ride from Delhi, a 2 and-a-half hour ride away
from Jaipur and an hour's distance from Bharatpur.
The best time to visit
Agra is between November and March. 
From the Airport
Kheria Airport is about
7km from the city centre and 3km west of the Idgah
bus stand. Taxis are readily available.
From the Bus station
Most local buses ply
from the Idgah bus stand. Pre-paid taxis, cycle rickshaws
are easily available as well.
From the Railway station
Pre-paid taxis will
take you to your place of stay. Local buses are also
available outside the station.
Auto rickshaws easily available. Pre-paid & Post-paid for local sightseeing costs around Rs975 for a full day and Rs500 for half a day. Taxis can be got on hire. In Brief: Home to a majestic monument of love, the world first knew romance with Agra's Taj Mahal. Quiet and glistening at the break of dawn, pearly white at midnight, suffused with a pinkish hue at sunset, Agra is acquainted with the many faces of the Taj. Agra was the favoured city of the Mughals, right from the times of Babar, the founder of India's longest ruling dynasty. Babar's first formal Persian gardens, his grandson Akbar's towering ramparts of the great Red Fort, Jahangir's rose-red palaces, to Shahajahan's dream in white marble -- the Mughal stamp is all over this imperial city. Agra's history dates back to 1475 when Badal Singh built a fort on the present site of the Agra Fort. Sikander Lodi made this his capital on the opposite bank of the Yamuna in 1501. However, it was only with the Babar's victory over the last Lodi sultan in 1526, at Panipat, that Agra came into prominence. The city reached its peak of architectural glory during the reigns of Emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jehan. Aurangzeb shifted the capital to the new city in Delhi, ten years after Shah Jahan built it in 1638. Later, Agra fell to different hands. First to the Jats in 1761, then to the Marathas in 1770. The British, ultimately, took over control in 1803. After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Agra lost its administrative control of the northwestern province to Allahabad. .
Agra experiences hot
summers but has pleasant winters. The average annual
temperature is around 30șC. Must Avoid: Stay away
from the city's coke-based industries. Also follow
the government's order of parking the vehicles 500m
away from the Taj Mahal. |
