# Agra: map, what to do and when to go Agra is visited for the Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, three UNESCO sites within a 40 km radius. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire between 1558 and 1648, sits on the banks of the Yamuna, 230 km south of Delhi, and has about 2.4 million residents. Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/ Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability. ## Direct answer - **Agra: what can you bring inside the Taj Mahal?** Only a camera, phone, wallet, and water in a clear bottle get through; there's luggage storage, but it costs half an hour of your day. - **Agra: how do you get to Fatehpur Sikri?** 37 km to the west, about 1 hour by car or by bus from the Idgah terminal (₹50 to 80). - **Agra: what's the best time to go?** The good season runs from October to March, and November and late February give the best balance between clear skies and temperature. ## The Taj and the Fort Buy the ticket on the ASI website the day before and go in through the east gate at 6am. (April to September) or 6:30am. (October to March); the line thickens after 8am. - Agra Fort - Mehtab Bagh ## Fatehpur Sikri and the marble Leave early, at 7am, and take the bus to Fatehpur Sikri: the ride takes about an hour, costs up to ₹80 and ends with a shuttle to the gate, because you can't walk up with luggage. - Itimad-ud-Daulah - Jama Masjid ## Sikandra, the market and the left bank Have breakfast of bedai with aloo and jalebi at a downtown stall, between 7 and 9am, before it runs out. - Akbar's Tomb, in Sikandra - Chini ka Rauza - Ram Bagh ## Taj Mahal https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-taj-mahal Agra Mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal, commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1632 and completed around 1653, in Makrana marble inlaid with semiprecious stones. The dome reaches about 73 m with the finial, and the four minarets lean outward on purpose, so they'd fall away from the tomb in an earthquake. Closes on Fridays and opens for a night visit on five nights a month, around the full moon. Check access ## Agra Fort https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-forte-de-agra Agra A 2.4 km red sandstone wall built by Akbar between 1565 and 1573, with palaces added by Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Only about a quarter of the area is open to the public; the rest still belongs to the Indian Army. From the Musamman Burj, the octagonal marble tower where Shah Jahan was imprisoned from 1658 to 1666, you can see the Taj downriver. Check access ## Itimad-ud-Daulah https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-itimad-ud-daulah Agra · Up to half an hour Tomb of Mirza Ghiyas Beg, commissioned by his daughter, Empress Nur Jahan, between 1622 and 1628. It's the first Mughal building entirely in marble and the first with large-scale parchin kari, the technical rehearsal for the Taj Mahal, begun four years later, in 1632. It's on the left bank and almost never has a line. Check access ## Mehtab Bagh https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-mehtab-bagh Agra Square Mughal garden on the opposite bank, aligned with the Taj's axis and likely part of the original design. It was rediscovered under sand and replanted in the 1990s; it's the spot to see the north facade at the end of the day, the one side nobody photographs from the south gate. Check access ## Akbar's Tomb, in Sikandra https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-tumba-de-akbar-em-sikandra Agra Complex from 1605–1613, started by Akbar himself and finished by Jahangir, 10 km north on the Delhi road. It combines red sandstone and marble across five open stories, in a garden where spotted deer and rhesus macaques roam free. Check access ## Jama Masjid https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-jama-masjid Agra · Up to half an hour Mosque from 1648 commissioned by Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan's eldest daughter, facing the Fort. Built of sandstone with zigzag marble bands, it sits in the middle of the Kinari Bazaar and remains in daily use. It isn't a paid monument. Check access ## Chini ka Rauza https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-chini-ka-rauza Agra district · Up to half an hour Tomb of Afzal Khan, Shah Jahan's Persian minister, from about 1635, on the left bank. It was clad in colored glazed tile, hence the name “porcelain tomb”; today it's half in ruins, with tile fragments still clinging to the facade. Check access ## Ram Bagh https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-ram-bagh Agra · Up to half an hour Garden from 1528 attributed to Babur, considered the oldest Mughal garden in India, about 3 km from the Taj on the left bank. It shows the charbagh layout, divided into four by water channels, which every later monument repeats. Check access ## Roman Catholic Cemetery https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-cemiterio-catolico-romano Agra · Up to half an hour Cemetery from the early 17th century, with the graves of Armenians, Portuguese and English who served at the Mughal court: among them the merchant John Mildenhall, who died in 1614. It's the physical record of an international Agra long before the British. Check access ## Mankameshwar Mandir https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/agra/#g-lugar-mankameshwar-mandir Agra Shiva temple next to the Jama Masjid, one of Agra's four ancient Shiva temples, with the lingam clad in silver. It runs from dawn to night, is the living counterpoint to the museum-monuments, and gives its name to the metro line's terminal station. Check access **Agra: what can you bring inside the Taj Mahal?** Only a camera, phone, wallet, and water in a clear bottle get through; there's luggage storage, but it costs half an hour of your day. **Agra: how do you get to Fatehpur Sikri?** 37 km to the west, about 1 hour by car or by bus from the Idgah terminal (₹50 to 80). **Agra: what's the best time to go?** The good season runs from October to March, and November and late February give the best balance between clear skies and temperature. In December and January, thick early-morning fog hides the Taj until 10am; May and June go above 45°C. **Agra: do you have to take your shoes off at the Taj Mahal?** On the Taj's platform you take off your shoes or wear the fabric covers given out at the entrance; the rule applies to everyone. **Agra: is it safe for visitors?** Agra has little violent crime against visitors, and the real nuisance is commercial: unlicensed guides, the line that the monument “is closed today” to steer you to a shop, a rickshaw fare agreed on and then renegotiated, and tickets resold at a markup. ## In the Nilo app - Plan these 2 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/agra/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary - Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/agra/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay ## Full editorial guide (Portuguese) https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/agra.md