Agra (Hindi: आगरा Āgrā, Urdu: آگرہ Āgrā), a city around 200 km from Delhi, is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. There are also many other buildings and tombs from Agra's days of glory as the capital of the Mughal Empire, as well as the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri outside town, itself a World Heritage Site. Besides these three World Heritage Sites, the city has little else to recommend it. Similar to Delhi, pollution is rampant in Agra, especially smog and litter.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
While the heyday of Agra (AHG-rah) was as the capital of the Mughal Empire between 1526 and 1658, the city was founded much earlier. There has been much debate regarding the origin of the city's name. The most commonly-held theory is that it comes from the Hindi-Urdu word agar (अगर), meaning "salt pan", referring to the region's brackish soil; salt was once made in the area by evaporation.
Metro, electric buses, tongas (horse-drawn carriages) and e-rickshaws are readily available and the best way to get to the Taj Mahal. Camels are also available. The Agra Metro ( Yellow ) runs between the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. Tickets are ₹30 and trains run from 6AM to 10PM. Auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are available everywhere. Remember to agree on fares clearly in advance. Foreigners should bargain everywhere and bargain hard. Generally, things are available at 40% of the initially quoted fares. Normally, charges for e-rickshaws are ₹150-200 per e-rickshaw, which can accommodate up to 4 people.
Individual listings can be found in Agra's district articles Agra's top two sights by far are the incomparable Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.
Individual listings can be found in Agra's district articles Other than the monuments visits, one can also stroll in the local markets in old city area. It's a nice experience to have a walk in one of the oldest parts of the city.
Individual listings can be found in Agra's district articles Agra specialities are petha, a type of very sweet candy, and Dal Moth, a spicy lentil mix. Both are also popular souvenirs. Chaat - Agra is a heaven for any Chaat lover. Chaat can be of various types but there is one thing common among them all is that they are spicy and you will find crowd outside virtually every chaat stall, especially popular places like Double Phatak (near Sikandra) for Mangores. You'll find quality Bhallas and Panipuri at Sadar and Belangunj. Samosa and Kachori are found at every sweet shop that flood the city.
Individual listings can be found in Agra's district articles A bottle of Indian beer costs around ₹70-100 in a hotel, but there is virtually no nightlife in Agra outside of cultural shows at some of the larger hotels and restaurants. After getting off the streets of Agra and into your hotel, you will not want to go back anyway.
Don't leave cash or any valuables in the hotel room. Cross check all hotel, restaurant and lounge bills for errors. Never pay anyone for anything upfront, including taxi drivers. Beware of pickpockets. If you decide to purchase anything, beware that most items are cheap replicas of original items and not likely to last long. The toys are really poorly put together so do not buy them! During the winter season, the weather of Agra is unpredictable and temperature may go as low as freezing; be well prepared. Some unscrupulous dealers of carpets use the classic 'bait and switch'.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Oct, Agra typically sees ~30°C daytime highs and 8 rainy days.
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