After the 5 hour train ride from Jaipur, we arrived in Agra. We became more eager as we’re moving closer to the main attraction of our journey, The Taj Mahal. We saved our time to visit the Taj on the next day so we decided to hire a car to get us to another UNESCO Worid Heritage site in the Uttar Pradesh state, Fatehpur Sikri.

streets of Agra. Photo by Syahid Ishak

The ancient city is located about 40km further of Agra city. It was built during the Mughal Empire in the 15^th century by Emperor Akbar, the grandson of Mughal Empire’s founder Babur. I’m not gonna talk much about the history so you can read more about it in Wikipedia.

an Indian wedding. Photo by Syahid Ishak

On the way there, we did bump through an Indian wedding during the journey. A group of people were seen escorting the bride to get to the groom. The first one we encountered so far along our trip.

taken during the shuttle bus ride in Sikri area

The journey to Fatehpur Sikri is about 45 minutes ride through the countryside area. We reached there at about 4.30pm and there were not much tourist as it was already late. The driver dropped us at the parking lot and we took the shuttle bus which brings us up to the old city area.

the map of Fatehpur Sikri

Tickets were priced at Rs.250 for tourist but if you’re local, you will only have to pay Rs.10. The area was divided into two parts, which is the palace area and also the Jama Masjid (mosque area). There are government tour guides which will offer their service for a certain fee. We didn’t take the guide in the beginning although the guy was really pushing us to take his service.

The buildings inside are all build using red sandstones. The architecture was overall fantastic combining great design, beautiful pillars and domes.

Halfway touring around the area, there was another guy who approached us to offer his guide service. Since that he made us a reasonable offer, we decided to take his service. He showed us around and told us stories about the prehistoric city and the emperors.

Us in the Jama Masjid area

the tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti

After finishing the palace part, we proceeded to the mosque area. The area was huge and it also consists of a tomb which was built in honor of Sheikh Salim Chisti, a saint who foretold the emperor about the birth of his son.

sunset in Fatehpur Sikri

Since it was already late when we got out, there were no more shuttle bus and we had to hire a tuk-tuk to get us down to the parking lot to meet our driver.