Home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous structure on the planet, India is a full-on assault on the senses where first time visitors whip-saw through every emotion imaginable, leaving no traveler indifferent about their time here.
One of the world’s oldest and most influential civilizations, India is the birthplace of the oldest language in the world “Sanskrit” considered the “mother of all languages”, as well as the oldest living religion in the world “Hinduism”, outdating Christianity by well over 2,500 years.
Incredible India is covered in palaces, forts, and temples, jungles, snow capped mountains, and tropical beaches, where you could return year after year and never come close to putting a dent in exploring this massive country.
Made up of 29 states, whose people speak thousands of different languages and dialects, 22 of which are formally recognized, India has a culture and cuisine as varied as its native speaking people.
ITINERARY
Day 1
Taj Mahal
Day 2
Agra Fort
Fatehpur Sikri
The Taj Mahal is on most, if not all, international visitors’ list. It’s located in Agra, a city home to 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites all created by the same family who ruled the Mughal Empire, which controlled most of India for centuries with Agra as its capital. To get there, the closest international airports to Agra are located in Delhi, a few hours journey by car.
A hired driver from a reputable 5 star hotel is the only mode I’d advise, having traveled through India almost a dozen times with my local relatives over the past 20 years.
There are no shortage of 5 star hotels around Delhi, but one that’s been around longer than most over the past 4 decades is the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi. This iconic property is nestled amidst the rare, green, lush corner of New Delhi in the diplomatic heart of the Indian capital city, spread over 6 acres of gardens with sweeping panoramic views of the city, and has maintained a timeless luxury with 4 award-winning restaurants on-site. If you see any trees in New Delhi, you know you’re in this neighborhood. After a long flight to India, settle in for a night, have a good meal, and try to adjust to the time zone before you hit the road.
Day 1
After enjoying the resort’s breakfast buffet, start your journey to Agra. Sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists, and animals, is one reason driving can take so long in India.
I’ve been to India a dozen times, and yet still one of the most fascinating things to do is simply to look out of the window.
Keep your windows rolled up at all times since you’ll be greeted by both people and animals. The monkeys can be aggressive and can carry rabies and other diseases.
While you could rent a car yourself, it is not at all worth the hassle or risk. It’s hard enough being a passenger of a vehicle in India, let alone being behind the wheel. It is complete and utter mayhem, best left for those who have trained their entire life for it.
Almost anytime the vehicle stops, men, women AND children, will flock to the vehicle and knock relentlessly on the windows trying to sell you something or begging until you drive away while they are leaning on your car.
Understandably, they’re most persistent with foreigners and will not step back from the vehicle until it pulls away.
With a hired driver safely behind the wheel, you’ll be able to enjoy the views passing by, like this truck full of bananas that never lost one.
You can only safely eat at your 5 star hotel, but packaged snacks such as chips, crackers or a candy bar at a roadside mart is ok. Always check the seal is not broken of any bottled water before purchase since it’s common in India for water bottles to be reused and sold unsealed.
We arrived in Agra late afternoon and checked into our hotel before heading to the Taj Mahal for sunset. It’s traditional to be greeted with a tikka upon arrival from a journey.
The kids were very excited about how much attention hotel staff gave to its youngest guests.
After a long car ride, we spent the hottest part of the day with a cool swim at the resort.
Indian hotel 5 star buffets are what dreams are made of.
Once it cools down slightly by late afternoon, head over to catch sunset at the Taj Mahal.
One option is to take a horse and carriage ride to the entrance gate.
Pollution poses a continuous threat to the Taj Mahal’s white marble façade, so to protect the structure, India’s Supreme Court instituted laws which included the closure of nearby factories and banning vehicles from the immediate vicinity. As a result, even the horses aren’t allowed close to the entrance, so you’ll have to walk the last few minutes to the gate. On our hot summer afternoon, the short walk to the gate was smelly which caused my son with a rare genetic condition called Fragile X Syndrome to vomit the entire way since he is sensitive to smells, and ruined his shoes.
Inside the complex where the air quality improved, he perked right back up and began taking photos of the main 30 meter gateway of red sandstone.
The Taj Mahal is a stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the world’s most celebrated structures, welcoming ~8 million visitors annually. It’s always crowded so visit at sunrise or sunset to avoid peak hours.
One of the most outstanding examples of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal combined Indian, Persian and Islamic influences, built of shimmering white marble that appears to change color depending on the light. The decorative 40m high minarets lean slightly outwards, perhaps so that in the event of an earthquake they would fall away from the Taj Mahal.
Emperor Shah Jahan was a member of the Mughal dynasty that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid 18th-century, and he constructed this mausoleum to honor his beloved favorite of 3 wives who he renamed “Mumtaz Mahal” or “Chosen One of the Palace”, who died during the birth of the couple’s 14th child in 1631.
Construction began the following year and was completed by 1653. Upon completion, Emperor Shah Jahan, said it made “the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes” as it is a testament to love and grief.
Shortly after it was finished, he was overthrown by his son and imprisoned in Agra Fort, just across the river. He would spend his remaining days only able to gaze out at his creation through a window. He was buried here after his death alongside his beloved wife.
This often once in a lifetime view is one of the most breathtaking in the world. The Taj Mahal’s perfect symmetry, standing upon a raised marble platform that ensures the sky is the only backdrop, is a pure stroke of genius in design.
The ornamental gardens of the Taj are Persian in design with water fountains quartering the square and reflecting the structure during certain times of the day.
More than 20,000 laborers from India, Persia, Europe and the Ottoman Empire, along with over 1,000 elephants, were brought in to build this complex which took more than 20 years. The tomb is made of white marble and embedded with thousands of semiprecious stones including jade, crystal, lapis, turquoise and amethyst.
The central dome is 73 meters high and surrounded by 4 smaller domes and 4 minarets standing at the corners.
Verses from the Quran are inscribed in calligraphy on the arched entrances to the mausoleum, and the finial atop the dome is a symbol of the region’s religious diversity. The finial incorporates a crescent moon, the symbol of Islam (the religion of both Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife), but by placing the moon with its horns pointing to the heavens in a U-shape, the moon and the finial resemble a trident, which symbolizes the Hindu god Shiva, the destroyer and god of death, one of the holy trinity of Hinduism.
Up close you can see the detail of the white marble carved with flowers and inlaid with semiprecious stones in beautiful patterns.
To go inside, you need to either remove your shoes or wear covers over them. There are no photos allowed inside the mausoleum, and the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Emperor Shah Jahan are located in the basement below the main chamber.
Light is admitted into the central chamber of the Taj Mahal by finely cut marble screens like the one below. On the western side of the Taj Mahal is a red sandstone mosque, which is an important gathering place for Agra’s Muslims, and there’s an identical building directly across from the mosque.
The Taj Mahal sits on the southern bank of the Yamuna River, and Emperor Shah Jahan intended to have a “Black Taj” constructed as his own mausoleum. However, he was overthrown before construction began.
The grieving Emperor Shah Jahan built this magnificent mausoleum across the river from his own royal palace at Agra which you’ll visit tomorrow, where he was later imprisoned until his death.
The quiet sunset is magical as twilight blankets this complex that still stands today as it did in the 1600s, since traditional Mughal building practices forbid alterations.
Perfectly symmetrical, the 4 identical faces of the Taj feature 4 small domes, vaulted arches embellished with scrollwork and calligraphed scripture from the Quran with inlaid jasper around a massive central dome.
After a long day, return to the resort for dinner and to relax before another busy day of ancient sites tomorrow.
To family and good health!
Day 2
After breakfast head over to the 2nd UNESCO World Heritage Site in Agra, the formidable Agra Fort, which is a walled city, considered to be one of the best Mughal forts in India. Agra Fort served as the palatial residence for the rulers of the Mughal Empire, who ruled India for almost 300 years.
This red sandstone fortress that rests on the west bank of the Yamuna River was home to several rulers, including Emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal. Emperor Jahan’s grandfather originally built this fort in 1573, 100 years before the Taj Mahal was built, and eventually one of the Fort’s towers served as the prison for Shah Jahan until his death. Tourists enter via the Amar Singh Gate, also called Lahore Gate, which faces Pakistan, and can hire an English speaking guide on their way in.
Agra Fort had 2 moats, one with water filled with crocodiles, and one dry moat with tigers. Agra Fort has 4 gates, but the Delhi Gate on the western side is considered the grandest, complete with inlay work in glistening white marble (now yellow from pollution), and served as the king’s formal gate.
Red sandstone was brought here from hundreds of miles away in Rajasthan.
While the outer façade often consists of 2 octagonal towers joined by an archway, the inner façade consists of arcaded terraces with carved decorative cupolas, kiosks and pinnacles.
Our guide began his overview inside the gate, between the fort’s double fortified walls.
The walls have a circumference of 1.5 miles (2.5 km), and rise 70 feet (21 meters) high.
Within the walls are magnificent parks, palaces, temples, pavilions, mosques, squares, and courtyards, and with our own guide we explored them at our own pace.
The royal rooms in the fort were built such that they would remain cool even during the summer by using hollow walls filled with river water.
Agra Fort is a 94-acre citadel, a walled city with more than 500 buildings occupying the inner compound during the royal family’s ruling.
Jahangir’s Palace shown below was built by Emperor Akbar as a private palace for his son Jahangir (father of Emperor Shah Jahan), and it’s the largest residence in the complex.
The palace is crowned by an open portico and twin lotus balconies that looked over the busy square.
The palace is also one of the earliest surviving buildings, with its red sandstone façade ornamented with white marble geometric and floral patterns sharply contrasting against the red sandstone.
Lotus shaped pools would have decorated the grounds.
Emperor Shah Jahan was made to spend his final days in the Musamman Burj of the Agra Fort.
It is a beautiful octagonal tower with an open pavilion with panoramic views of the Taj Mahal.
This appearance of the fort underwent a major change during the reign of Shah Jahan. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan preferred the beauty of white marble with which he rebuilt many structures within the fort, and he was the one who converted the structure into a palace.
The “Pearl Mosque”, constructed by Shah Jahan, is a tranquil and perfectly proportioned structure made entirely of white marble.
Even today, you can feel how cool it is within the construction of the fort, with thick shaded stone walls that keep out the blistering sun.
The splendid Palace of Mirrors is called the “Sheesh Mahal” with its walls and ceilings inlaid with thousands of small mirrors. The structure’s two dazzling chambers were used as imperial baths.
When candles are lit in the evening the room dramatically sparkles like a night sky full of twinkling stars.
Since women could not leave the fort, a private market place for the ladies was built within the fort.
In the Hall of Public Audience the emperor would listen to public petitions and meet state officials until 1638 when the capital of the Mughal dynasty was moved from Agra to Delhi, and the fort slowly slipped into disrepair.
After spending all morning at Agra Fort, head to The Oberoi Amarvilas for lunch. Located just 600 meters from the Taj Mahal, this hotel is inspired by Mughal palace designs with fountains, terraced lawns, reflection pools and pavilions.
The Oberoi Amarvilas offers unrestricted views of Taj Mahal from the restaurant.
Unparalleled hospitality is experienced at the only resort with a front row seat to the Taj Mahal.
Flower petals float in bowls of water which send sweet fragrance into the cool air as you walk across the soft marble floor.
While its hot and crowded midday at the Taj Mahal, it is cool and quiet at this luxury retreat.
Their exquisite restaurant serves authentic Mughal and international cuisines, and if you’re celebrating a birthday, they can bring out a cake and candles too!
After lunch, it’s a 45 min drive to the 3rd UNESCO site, Fatehpur Sikri.
It’s common to see pigs roaming in neighborhoods feeding on what they can find.
For locals there’s never a shortage of street snacks selling everything from hot bread and curries to savory chat.
In the 16th century, Mughal Emperor Akbar and the maharajas of Rajasthan, a western desert state in India, established camel corps for warfare. We opted to travel by camel from the parking lot to Fatehpur Sikri.
The photo sums up how some of us found the experience.
Over the last few decades, the demand for camels as work animals has steadily declined, taking away the traditional economic rationale for camel breeding and leading to a dramatic dip in the camel population. Development in India has brought new roads and vehicles that have replaced camels, dubbed the “ships of the desert” as a method of moving people and goods, so it was fun to experience a former mode of traditional transport.
Animals and humans seem to coexist peacefully alongside one another in India, where the school children think nothing of walking behind a pack of donkeys.
Emperor Akbar, who commissioned the Agra Fort, also built Fatehpur Sikri after his visit here to the Sikri Village to seek guidance from a saint in the 16th century because there was no heir to his throne. Miraculously after the visit, he was blessed with a son who would become the leader of the empire. Fatehpur Sikri translates to “City of Victory” and it’s an impressive fortified ancient city that was once the capital of the Mughal Empire.
Completed in 1573, Fatehpur Sikri was an Indo-Islamic masterpiece with numerous palaces, monuments, and mosques, and was the seat of the Mughal dynasty.
The tour guide we hired at the gate explained how its construction was a feat of engineering since water had to be piped from the river in Agra almost 25 miles away because there were no water sources in the arid desert landscape around Fatehpur Sikri.
The first planned city for the Mughals, miles of wall surrounded the complex with fortified towers and 9 gates, and included residential areas for the army, servants, and commoners.
The saint Salim Chishti who predicted the birth of the son and heir to the throne, lies encased in a white marble tomb in Jama Masjid’s courtyard.
The sandstone is hot, and burns the bottom of your feet like beach sand on a hot summer day, so make your way quickly across, and it helps to walk on the lighter colored stone path, which doesn’t get quite as hot.
Before visiting the tomb, we stopped at the merchants who sell offerings to leave at the saint’s tomb.
A chamber in the center under a wooden canopy embellished with mother-of-pearl contains the tomb of the saint.
The offerings were made with covered heads, as is customary in Islam. If you’re not wearing a hat, you can grab a head covering from the merchants.
After the prayers and offerings, you tie the prayer bracelet to the wall after making a wish.
Perhaps like the Emperor, your wishful prayer will also come true.
The geometric patterns carved in stone are simply gorgeous, and typical of Muslim design.
It is surprisingly cooler inside due to the architecture.
Scriptures from the Quran are beautifully carved on the soft white marble walls.
The red sandstone is beautifully preserved and contains classic examples of Mughal architecture.
The city was abandoned in 1585 shortly after its construction due to a lack of water, and Fatehpur Sikri lay empty for hundreds of years, until now, back again filled, this time with travelers here to learn its history.
We hired an auto-rickshaw for the return journey to the parking lot, which was a lot quicker than the camel, and just as fun.
After a sweaty afternoon of sightseeing, we headed to a market in search of some ice cold beverages.
The afternoon heat didn’t seem to prevent the kids form running around in the market square.
After a long, hot day, a cool dip before dinner was refreshing.
Enjoy one last Mughal meal before a good night’s sleep.
After breakfast begin your journey back to New Delhi.
One of the world’s most celebrated structures, a visit to the stunning Taj Mahal is itself enough to warrant a journey to Incredible India to witness this rich symbol of history. Go.
