Complete Travel Guide to Agra Fort

 It is true that Taj Mahal gets all the attention from those who visit Agra. However, the second commonly visited monument is Agra Fort. This is one of the most elegant pieces of architecture, which has stood through four generations of Mughal Era. This is one of the first monuments to be declared as heritage sites in India. Mughals recognized the Agra Fort as their symbol of strength and prosperity. If you are visiting Agra, you ought to visit Agra Fort. Explore the Complete Travel Guide to Agra Fort.

Agra Fort Attraction

Agra Fort can be reached from any part of the city. You can find buses, cabs, rickshaw and other road transportations to reach Agra Fort from any part of the city. Tourists usually visit Agra Fort along with Taj Mahal as it is just 2.5 km away from Taj Mahal.

History behind Agra Fort

The existence of the fort is mentioned in many literature and inscriptions dating to the 11th century. Thus, the fort is assumed to exist before 11th century. In 16th century, Emperor Akbar renovated this fort from a brick fortress to a sandstone beauty monument. When it was a brick structure under the control of Rajputs, it was called as Badalgarh. During the Mughal Era, it got the name of Agra Fort.

The fort was in ruins when Akbar took over it and he built the fort entirely with red sandstone. It took eight years to complete this massive fort. However, his grandson, Shah Jahan deliberately brought down many structures to dust to make room for marble structures. This was considered to be a massive revenue waste during his reign. Later, his son took over the fort and imprisoned him in the very same fort. It is said that Shah Jahan requested to be imprisoned inside the fort, in a tower, from where he could spend rest of his life watching Taj Mahal from the tower.

When the fort was in Aurangazeb’s control (son of Shah Jahan), there wasn’t many changes to the structure. A moat was added to the walls to increase the defense. After Aurangazeb’s death, there were no strong rulers to take Mughal reign under control. Smaller kingdoms fought with the reign and it wasn’t too long before Agra when under the control of Marathas. Over the next century, the fort went to many dynasties, which made little to no changes to the structure of the fort.

Later, British took over the fort and used it for military purposes until independence. They set up barracks inside the fort and destroyed many monuments to make room for the army. After independence, the fort came under the control of Government of India.