A Day in Agra || Visit to Taj Mahal || Wonder of the World

^{Source - Canva}

---

Greetings Friends, How are you all doing? I am fine by the grace of God. Hope all is well with you all as well. I am here to continue my travel diary, as I have been writing in some of my previous posts✍️. You can check out my last post.

So let’s begin with today’s post.

---

So we were finally ready to go to our next destination after Mussoorie. We came back to Dehradun after spending a whole day in Mussoorie. From Dehradun, we boarded the train to go to Mathura. It was a 7-hour and 33-minute journey. Mathura is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the birthplace of Lord Krishna, and it is also one of the seven holy cities in India. After disembarking the train at Mathura, we had booked a cab to go to Agra, which is home to one of the wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal.

---

^{Selfie time at the Hotel}

---

^{Enjoying the day}

---

We arrived at Mathura early in the morning, around 6:18 a.m. First, as soon as we got out of the station, we had a warm cup of tea. And then we felt fresh to start out our journey. Our journey from Mathura to Agra was a short distance of 65 kilometers. We then proceeded to have some breakfast on the way so that when we reached the hotel, we wouldn’t waste much time and also so that we wouldn’t miss out on anything in the tour of the Taj Mahal and its nearby places.

---

When we reached Agra, we were eager to have a sweet dish called Petha, which originated from there itself. It’s a translucent candy made from white pumpkin. It’s a very famous dish in Agra. But we didn’t get a chance to get it in the morning. As it is, we wanted to reach the hotel and quickly get ready to go to the tourist spots.

---

^{Day 1 at Fatehpur Sikri}

---

We reached the hotel and then got dressed to start our day. The first spot we visited was a place known as Fathepur Sikri, which is around 41 kilometers away from Taj. So the first day we were going to tour there itself, and then the next day we would visit Taj. At Fatehpur Sikri, we had a tour bus that would take us around all the different destinations. We visited Diwan-I-khas, Buland Darwaja, Jodha Bai’s palace, the Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti, and we had a look at the Hiran Minar.

^{At Buland Darwaja}

---

We had hired a guide who was traveling along with us and was telling us all about the monuments and forts we were visiting. Some of the interesting facts he told us were about the Petha that I mentioned earlier. He said that this dish was invented because the workers who made Taj Mahal were bored of eating the same food every day, so they asked the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for something different, and as a result, Petha was then originated, which was liked by many. Another interesting fact he told us was that the Buland Darwaja was built by Emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat.

^{A beautiful Mosque}

---

We visited various places in Fatehpur Sikri. During the day we took a break and had lunch at a nearby restaurant (dhaba) along with a glass of buttermilk. After we were done visiting all the places, we then moved back to our bus, which took us to the entrance where we had started from. Here the first day ended.

^{Amazing architecture}

---

We came back to Agra city and enjoyed some coffee and snacks as the closing time for Fatehpur Sikri is sunset. It opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. So we were back to the city quite early. We enjoyed the evening by strolling around near our hotel and chatting with one another. Then later at night we had our dinner and called it a day as we had to wake up early next day.

Our guide had instructed us that the best time to see the Taj Mahal is in the morning and also during the sunset. It opens at 7 a.m. and by 5:30 p.m. it closes. So the next morning we quickly woke up, had our breakfast, and were ready for the day. Our guide came along with the cab and picked us up. It was going to be my first time visiting Taj; I was super duper excited.

^{Wah! Taj}

---

We visited a place known as Baby Taj, which is also beautiful. All the monuments were created in a similar manner and had intricate architecture attached to them. The designs were all handcrafted at that time, and truly, it awed us.

---

It was then finally time to visit the Taj Mahal. As we reached, the guide told us there are so many different gates to enter. If I’m not mistaken, we entered from the West Gate of the Taj Mahal. I was in awe of just the gate itself and how beautifully it was constructed. As we got to go inside, the vision of the Taj Mahal got closer and more beautiful.

---

The guide also told us that the mosque near Taj Mahal is still operative and is used by the 16th generation of the workers who built Taj Mahal. Out of curiosity, I even asked the guide if it’s true that the hands of the workers who made Taj Mahal were cut so that they couldn’t build anything like that again, but he denied that story and told me it was just a myth. Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor who built Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz) in fact took a lot of care of the workers and gave them everything that they needed, including employment. The guide also kept on telling us stories about the notorious Emperor Akbar. He was known for his nature for collaborative cultures, his kindness, and also his military conquests. He was known for his exceptional leadership skills and was a very clever person. Along with all his good qualities, he was also known for his notorious ways.

---

The guide told us all about his 3 different wives and how all of them were of different backgrounds and cultures, but he treated them with equality. We saw so many different mahals and other monuments that day and were just amazed by the architecture that too because it was all created in a time where fancy machinery did not exist. This is actually known as a true form of art and skill. Truly, that’s why the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.

---

With this, I come to the end of my post here. I will be back with my next travel diary. Until then, please don’t forget to leave your comments and share your feedback. Bye! 👋 take care and stay healthy.

---

Thank You Everyone for reading my post

---