Agra Fort is one of the most important sightseeing during the trip of Delhi Agra and Jaipur, This along with Red Fort in Delhi and Amer Fort in Jaipur make a wonderful palace circuit an is an essential component of the golden triangle tour packages itinerary.
Built by Akbar in 1654, Agra Fort served the dual purpose of a fortress and residence of Mughal emperors. The outer ramparts of Qila Akbari, as it was originally called, was built in a crescent shape and stretched for over a kilometer. A deep moat flows between the outer and inner battlements and has drawbridges leading to four gateways. Of these four gates, only Hathi Pol and Amar Singh Darwaza are still in use.
Visitors enter through the imposing Amar Singh Gate, and the first important structure one reaches is Akbar's palace, the only one of his reign to have survived. Now called Jahangiri Mahal, it was built in 1570 for his son Salim. Architecturally the red sandstone palace is of importance because it was Akbar's first attempt at blending Hindu and Islamic styles: so while the architecture itself is Islamic, the motifs are Hindu.
Almost all other extant structures inside the fort were built by Akbar's grandson, Shahjahan, before he transferred his capital to Delhi (that is, between 1627 and 1648). Shahjahan favoured pure white marble and his personal palace, the opulent Khas Mahal, which was built in 1636, is made entirely of marble. The palace has two closed amphitheatres with a bangaldar roof, so named because of its resemblance to the huts of Bengal. Like all Mughal architecture, the palace is open, with colonnades, stone jalis or trellis work and a well laid out garden in front. Although named Anguri Bagh or Garden of Grapes, this charbagli style garden did not have grape vines but geometric flower beds, interspersed with small fountains and running waterways.
At the north-eastern end of Anguri Bagh is the Sheesh Mahal, or the palace of mirrors. Inlaid with a mosaic of tiny mirrors, this two-chambered room has an elaborate marble tank, fitted with fountains.
Just outside the garden, is Mussaman Burj, or the octagonal tower, which was Mumtaz Mahal's personal residence. The walls here are inlaid with exquisite pietra dura, and such fine jail screens that they almost seem hand-painted and not carved. Located on a bastion protruding from the fort wall, it affords a great view of the river.
Other structures of note inside the fort are the Diwan-i-Khas and the colonnaded and beautifully proportioned Diwan-i-Am, where the emperor granted audience to the general public, and that housed Shahjahan's bejeweled and much-talked about Peacock Throne.
The fort also has three mosques, Nagina Masjid, Mina Masjid and Moti Masjid, of which the third was for Shahjahan's personal use only.
A stone's throw from Agra Fort is the Jama Masjid, which was built on a majestic scale by Shahjahan in 1648.
For more information on Agra Fort contact Swan Tours, one of the leading travel agents in Delhi India.