24 Hours in Agra, India
Agra was one of the first stops on our list - I didn’t know much about Agra before visiting, apart from it’s where the famous Taj Mahal is (which was on my bucket list!).
Agra is a city located on the banks Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh about 140 miles south-east of Delhi. It is included within the ‘Golden Triangle’ which is a popular tourist circuit connecting the capital New Delhi, with Agra and Jaipur. We will be visiting New Delhi and Jaipur so more to come on those!
This blog post is all about our time in Agra - I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed visiting!
Getting there
We had arranged a driver and tour guide for our time in Agra (we knew we had lots to squeeze in), so we were picked up at 12pm from Delhi and enjoyed the A/C and chilled bottles of water in our drive south to Agra. The drive was 3.5 hours so plenty of time to have a nap, eat the last of our airport M&S snacks and tuck into the cheese sandwiches handed to us by Arun’s Patti on the way out.
Accommodation
We booked the Coral Court Homestay via booking.com a few weeks before our stay. We booked a deluxe double room, which had A/C and a balcony for £36. The price included breakfast and there was an option to have dinner for 400 rupees (one regret of ours was not doing this, after tasting the breakfast the morning after our stay!).
The homestay was located only a 15 minute walk to the east gate of the Taj Mahal, so its location was fab. All in all, a great place to stay and would 100% recommend.
We also met a lovely woman at breakfast who gave us lots of tips & inspiration for our next few months travelling (Debs from Brighton if you’re reading this - hello!).
Taj Mahal at Sunrise and Sunset
The Taj Mahal is closed for tourists/visitors on Friday’s for cleaning, so we headed to Agra on Friday afternoon and managed to see sunset from the park (Mehtab Bagh) viewpoint across the other side of the river. The park with the viewpoint is open until 30 minutes after sunset, so this gives plenty of time to watch the sun go down and take in the view.
Sunrise viewing meant a 4.30am alarm and 5.15am pick up time. Our guide took us to the gates and helped collect our tickets, water bottle and shoe covers. (Abdhesh) worked his magic - and we were the third and fourth people through the gates that morning. A pacy walk forward, and as you enter through the Royal Gates, the Taj appears in front of you - its magnitude is genuinely hard to take in!
We got a bunch of photos and a very good history lesson before entering Taj to see the inside. Hard to believe that the inside is just as impressive but that is definitely the case.
We had enough time to wander the gardens and take in various view points, from afar and up close. Around 1.5 hours later, as the crowds descended and the sun took over we made our way out - successful sunrise completed.
Agra Fort
In the afternoon we visited Agra Fort, also known as Agra’s Red Fort. The fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its importance during the Mughal rule - what was most fascinating was that Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal) was put under house arrest in the fort by his own son! He was under house arrest for 7 years… lucky for him he still had views across the river towards the Taj from his room!
Our whirlwind visit to Agra will be one to beat! Seeing sunrise at the Taj Mahal is unforgettable and a great start to our visit to India! Now, we're off to our next destination: Udaipur.
Stay tuned for more blog updates soon!
Alice x
Thirty Travel’s Top Tips:
Pre-booking a tour guide for the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. There are lots of guides offering tours when you enter the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, however, having our own guide made entering/getting around seamless.
Website for booking the Taj Mahal - easy to use and can scan QR code to enter https://asi.payumoney.com/quick/taj - Book the Taj Mahal & Mausoleum, so you can go inside!
Take less with you - our guide recommended not taking a bag into the Taj Mahal, and only carrying our phones. This makes it easier and quicker for security checks (they look through your whole bag otherwise)
Our Guide: Abdhesh Sharma | mrabdhesh@gmail.comStay: Coral Court Homestay
