Destination: Agra

Agra, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh is a major tourist destination because of its many Mughal-era buildings. Most notable monuments in the city are the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Previously known as Akbarabād, Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire under the rule of Akbar, Jahāngīr and Shāh Jahān.

Akbar made it the eponymous seat of one of his original twelve subahs (imperial top-level provinces), bordering (Old) Delhi, Awadh (Oudh), Allahabad, Malwa and Ajmer subahs. Shāh Jahān later shifted his capital to Shāhjahānabād in the year 1648.

Since Akbarabād 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 the river Yamuna. The garden is called the Arām Bāgh or the Garden of Relaxation.

His grandson Akbar the Great raised the towering ramparts of the Great Red Fort, besides making Agra a centre for learning, arts, commerce, and religion. Akbar also built a new city on the outskirts of Akbarabād called Fatehpur Sikri. This city was built in the form of a Mughal military camp in stone.

His son Jahāngīr had a love of flora and fauna and laid many gardens inside the Red Fort or Lāl Qil’a.

Shāh Jahān, known for his keen interest in architecture, gave Akbarabād its most prized monument, the Taj Mahal. Built in loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the mausoleum was completed in 1653.