Agra: A Tarnished Jewel in India's 'Golden Triangle"

Agra, a city located some 100 miles south of Delhi, was the capital of all India under the Moguls. Along with Delhi and Jaipur, it forms the "Golden Triangle," the three most popular tourist destinations in India.

Best known for the famous Taj Mahal, built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan as a symbol of his love for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, Agra is a magnificent reminder of the glories of the Mogul empire. But, the Taj is not the only 'must-see' sight in the city. For my money, while the beautiful white pillars of Shah Jahan's construction are fantastic, it is the expansive Agra Fort, sometimes called the 'Lost City,' that is the highlight of a visit to Agra.

Getting There Can Be Half The Fun

My first visit to Agra was in 1997; on a business trip to Mumbai and Delhi, my colleagues and I decided to take a day off and visit the Taj Mahal. We took the train from Delhi's main station to the main station in Agra, a journey of about three hours through the countryside south of the capitol. The views from the train as you pass through villages, small towns and cultivated fields, with cows, oxcarts and trucks all competing for the limited space on the roads that run along the train tracks, is worth it. We arranged to have a hired car and driver meet us at the Agra station.

You can also get to Agra by air, but with security check in procedures and luggage handling, it takes nearly as long as the leisurely train ride from Delhi; longer from other places. Air conditioned buses are available, as well as a hired car. The hired car is very expensive for that 100-mile journey, and you need to have a strong tolerance for close encounters.

A Monument to Love

Of course, the first thing visitors to Agra want to see is the Taj Mahal. This huge white marble structure was built by the Mogul ruler Shah Jahan in honor of one of his wives, Mumtaz Mahl to celebrate the birth of his son. Unlike many famous monuments, which often disappoint at first glance because they're not as large or magnificent as their pictures, the Taj doesn't disappoint. It is every bit as imposing in reality as it looks in photos. It is also an engineering marvel. If you stand in the right position near the towers that surround the central building, for instance, you will note that they're not as straight as they appear, but have been erected leaning outward a few degrees. Reportedly, this was so that in the event of an earthquake and they should collapse, they would fall away from the central building.

While the Taj was impressive, it was a subsequent visit to Agra Fort, or according to the guide we hired, The Lost City, that I was really impressed. Located on a hill some two kilometers from its sister monument, Agra Fort, which is also on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List, is more of a walled city than a fort, was the capital for the Mogul Akbar when he arrived in Agra in 1558. At that time, it was a simple brick fort, but Akbar had it rebuilt using red sandstone from Rajasthan. The seventy foot-high walls enclose 94 acres in a semicircular pattern, with gates on each of its four 'sides.' Historians report that the fort contained as many as five hundred buildings, including residences for each of the emperor's wives, mosques, and pavilions. In one of the courtyards there is even a life-size backgammon board, and it is reported that the nobles used maidens as playing pieces, and were allowed to 'keep' any that they won during play. The residences for the emperor's wives are inlayed with gold and gemstones.

The fort was reportedly abandoned because the population inside the walls exceeded the capacity of the water system that had to pump water uphill from the river.

A Day Trip is All That's Necessary

While Agra has a number of places to stay, ranging from luxury hotels with room rates at several hundred dollars a night to backpacker hostels, it isn't a place I'd necessarily recommend spending more than a day in. The three-hour train ride to Delhi makes it easy to spend a good long day sightseeing in Agra and then return to the comfort of a Delhi hotel.

Agra is a sprawling and disorienting city made up of a series of bazaar districts in an ugly urban sprawl, with poorly maintained streets, open sewage, and frequent power outages. Like most Indian cities, it is also crowded. Checking out the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort are the only reasons anyone would ever want to go there.

If, however, you find that you want to spend the night for the chance to see the Taj in different lights, the Howard Park Plaza, which is located 1.5 kilometers from the Taj, is a fairly good place. Rooms start at just over $100 per night and the amenities are acceptable, as long as you're not expecting five-star quality. It's a good idea to check in advance on the rates if you're planning to stay to avoid surprises at check-out.

Howard Park Place

Ratehabad Road

Agra 282001

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