{"id":44,"date":"2007-12-30T10:25:58","date_gmt":"2007-12-30T10:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/agra-the-taj-mahal-india\/"},"modified":"2007-12-30T10:25:58","modified_gmt":"2007-12-30T10:25:58","slug":"agra-the-taj-mahal-india","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/agra-the-taj-mahal-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Agra &amp; The Taj Mahal, India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Agra<\/strong>, home to the <strong>Taj<br \/>\nMahal<\/strong> and also a sprawling industrial city, although much more modern<br \/>\nthan <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/blog\/nearly-miss-my-flight-to-delhi\/\">Delhi<\/a> or <a href=\"\/travel-guide\/asia\/india\/varanasi\">Varanasi<\/a>.&nbsp; Agra has a full day<br \/>\nor more of sightseeing so it might be worth staying overnight.<\/p>\n<h2>     Sights&nbsp;in    Agra<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Taj Mahal<\/strong> &#8211; The<br \/>\n  jewel of Agra and indeed all of India&#8217;s buildings. <\/p>\n<li><strong>Agra&nbsp;Fort<\/strong><br \/>\n  &#8211;&nbsp;A massive red sandstone fort and palace filled with palaces, mosques<br \/>\n  and courtyards. <\/p>\n<li><strong>Itimad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj)<\/strong> &#8211; The exquisite tomb of Mizra Ghiyas.\n<li><strong>Chowk (marketplace)<\/strong> &#8211; lively and<br \/>\n  hectic, but a glimpse or real India and her hardworking    traders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>    Taj    Mahal<\/h2>\n<p>    The Taj Mahal is India&#8217;s most famous building.&nbsp;<br \/>\nDescribed as the most extravagant monument ever built for love, this sublime<br \/>\nMughal mausoleum is India&#8217;s tourist emblem.&nbsp; The Taj was built by Emperor<br \/>\nShah Jaham as a memorial for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving<br \/>\nbirth to their fourteenth child in 1631.&nbsp; The death of Mumtaz left the<br \/>\nemperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey overnight.<\/p>\n<p>    The while marble mausoleum looks    as immaculate today as when it was built.&nbsp; There<br \/>\nare several other incredible buildings in the complex.&nbsp; Sunrise is a good<br \/>\ntime to visit.&nbsp; Crowds and big cues build as the day goes along.&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe Taj Mahal looks the same from any of its four sides, and a great view<br \/>\ncan be had across the river (get a taxi) at sunset, when the Taj Mahal is reflected<br \/>\non the river surface.&nbsp; Expect long cues and searches. Closed on    Fridays.<\/p>\n<h2>    Accommodation in    Agra<\/h2>\n<p>    The Taj Ganj (the series of streets outside the Taj<br \/>\nMahal that housed its builders) is the most central and cheapest place to<br \/>\nstay.&nbsp; It&#8217;s quite seedy    though.<\/p>\n<h3>    Taj    Ganj<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Hotel Sheela<br \/><\/strong>Taj East Gate Rd<br \/>t:<br \/>\n2331194<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hotelsheelaagra.com\">www.hotelsheelaagra.com<\/a><br \/>No Taj<br \/>\nviews but this is the best budget option in the Taj Gang because of the garden<br \/>\nthat creates an oasis of calmness, the clean, attractive rooms, and the helpful<br \/>\nstaff.&nbsp; The garden restaurant is the perfect stop to sip a mixed fruit<br \/>\nlassi. Has Internet access.&nbsp; Book ahead.&nbsp;    INR400+.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hotel Kamal<br \/><\/strong>Taj South Gate<br \/>t:<br \/>\n2330126<br \/>e: <a href=\"mailto:hotelkamal@hotmail.com\">hotelkamal@hotmail.com<\/a><br \/>The best budget<br \/>\nhotel with a rooftop close up view of the Taj Mahal. Ask to see a number<br \/>\nof rooms as they vary regarding size, shape and window light.&nbsp; In summer<br \/>\nhot water comes in a bucket.&nbsp; The staff&nbsp;are very friendly and the<br \/>\nrestaurant Stuff Makers is recommended.&nbsp;    INR300.<\/p>\n<h2>    Getting to and from    Agra<\/h2>\n<p>    Train is the best way to arrive in Agra, especially from<br \/>\nDelhi.&nbsp; There are regular trains to <a href=\"\/travel-guide\/asia\/india\/Varanasi\">Varanasi<\/a>, <a href=\"\/travel-guide\/asia\/india\/jaipur\">Jaipur<\/a><br \/>\n        and long distance<br \/>\ntrains to Kolkata (Calcutta), <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/mumbai-bombay-india\/\">Mumbai<br \/>\n(Bombay)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/blog\/fishing-without-a-boat-patnem-beach-goa\/\">Goa<\/a> and&nbsp; <a href=\"\/travel-guide\/asia\/india\/kerala\">Kerala.<\/a>    <\/p>\n<p>    Long haul buses are available to all major destinations<br \/>\nand can easily be    booked.<\/p>\n<p>    Agra&#8217;s Kheira Airport is 7km from the city, with regular<br \/>\nflights to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/blog\/nearly-miss-my-flight-to-delhi\/\">Delhi<\/a>, <a href=\"\/travel-guide\/asia\/india\/khajuraho\">Khajuraho<\/a><br \/>\n    and    Varanasi.<\/p>\n<h2>    Scams and hassles in    Agra<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>    Taxi drivers and rickshaw wallahs will be very keen<br \/>\n  to take you to their souvenir shop of choice, where you&#8217;ll find the hard sell,<br \/>\n  inflated prices and the driver will get his commission. <\/p>\n<li>    Agra has endless gem import scams, where you will<br \/>\n  never make any money.&nbsp;    Avoid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Agra, home to the Taj Mahal and also a sprawling industrial city, although much more modern than Delhi or Varanasi.&nbsp; Agra has a full day or more of sightseeing so it might be worth staying overnight. Sights&nbsp;in Agra Taj Mahal &#8211; The jewel of Agra and indeed all of India&#8217;s buildings. Agra&nbsp;Fort &#8211;&nbsp;A massive red [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}