Agra Fort
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Agra Fort (1983); Monument Of National Importance Under The Archaeological Survey Of India · Agra, Uttar Pradesh
The red sandstone fortress of the Mughal emperors on the bank of the Yamuna, two and a half kilometres upriver from the Taj Mahal, and a World Heritage Site in its own right. Akbar rebuilt it as a military stronghold from 1565, and his grandson Shah Jahan turned parts of it into white marble palaces. It is also where the Taj story ends: Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and held prisoner here for his last years, and the octagonal Musamman Burj tower where he is said to have died looks straight down the river to his wife's tomb. Inside the walls, which run for about two and a half kilometres, are the Diwan-i-Am, the hall of public audience, the Diwan-i-Khas, the Jahangiri Mahal and the small, exquisite Pearl Mosque. Much of the fort, the northern part, is still held by the Indian Army and closed to visitors, and entry is through the Amar Singh Gate in the south. It is usually seen in the afternoon after a sunrise at the Taj. It is open on Fridays, which is the day the Taj is closed.
Rakabganj, Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, 282003, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern: open from about sunrise to sunset EVERY DAY, including Friday when the Taj Mahal is closed, with ticket sales ending roughly half an hour before closing. The evening sound and light show runs after dark on set days, with separate Hindi and English sessions. Hours shift slightly with the seasons as sunrise and sunset move. The traps: being dropped at the closed Delhi Gate instead of the Amar Singh Gate, arriving at midday in summer, and planning a morning Taj view from the fort in the winter fog.