Agra fort...........the first magnificent fort that we visited in Agra and one of the most interesting places filled with history of Shah Jahan.

Can you believe that these forts are mostly hundreds of years old? The paintings and the foundations of the monument are still well preserved.

Agra Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city.The present-day structure was built by the Mughals, though a fort had stood there since at least the 11th century.

  After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort and seized a vast treasure, including the diamond later known as the Koh-i-Noor. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it. The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530.

Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.

It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state. Legend has it that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort to make his own.

The 94-acre (380,000 m2) fort has a semicircular plan, its chord lies parallel to the river and its walls are seventy feet high. Read more of it here.

Tickets are included in the Rs 400 ticket that you bought for City Palace entry.