Drift away in the Romance and History with Agra Tourism

"Did you ever build a castle in the Air? Here is one, brought down to earth and fixed for the wonder of ages".

The words said by a famous American novelist, Bayard Taylor aroused my curiosity to see the Taj Mahal.

Itmad ud daula Tomb

While traveling to the world of wonders, I was not aware that the experience would surpass my expectations. Recalling my Agra trip brings me back to my journey to the fabulous city. I along with my three friends, Jessica, Terence and Levy, started off from Delhi by car. Though my friends wanted to book an Agra tour package, yet I insisted to go by car as I had already been to Agra. It took us more than four hours to reach the city. As Agra tourism boasts of its numerous architectural marvels so one after another, there were various historic monuments to see on our list.  

But rest of the attractions took a backseat when it came to visit Taj Mahal in Agra. Built by Shah Jahan in the memory of his adorable wife Mumtaz, the mausoleum is among the few important sites around the world that meets with the hype it has been given.

That stunning marble architecture at once holds your attention with its breathtaking appeal that captured our eyes for few good seconds. The intricate design, the marvelous architecture and the fascinating appeal did not allow us to leave the place too soon. We stayed back there until evening and then headed on to see other monuments of the city. The splendor and the charm of the monument were just beyond description. Visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World brings you a proud feeling.

Jama Masjid Agra

Enchanted by the forbidding exteriors of the Agra Fort, we moved on to the fort on our travel to Agra. With its imposing white marble mosque, it encompasses a little world of marvels. These included Moti Masjid, Diwan-i-Khaas, Diwan-i-Aam, Sheesh Mahal, Jahangir’s Palace and lots more. A series of other buildings we visited in Agra were Chini ka Rauza and Itmad-ud-daula’s Tomb exemplifying the Mughal architecture. Jama Masjid in Agra was another enjoyable experience on our trip to Agra.

Our Agra sightseeing was rewarding with the amazing gardens like Ram Bagh, Soami Bagh and Mehtab Bagh. Those popular gardens in Agra have enchanting history to captivate you. We approached Fatehpur Sikri at the end of our Agra travel, lying around 40 kms from the city. Established by Emperor Akbar, the site was a tribute to famous Sufi Saint, Sheikh Salim Chisti.

The trip to Agra was exciting as it gave us a wonderful opportunity to peep into Mughal history.

Hunt another Wildlife Wonder at Periyar National Park

We were in the search of a distant place, away from the humdrum of city life. I along with my wife and children decided to head on to Periyar National Park that has been long pending in our list of must visit destinations in India. We had to fly Kerala to visit this spectacular wildlife destination. Soon we were at our destination and settled for a hotel to shed off the fatigue. 

Periyar National Park

Lying in the Idukki district of Kerala, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is a zestfully protected wildlife destination in India. It houses 40 good numbers of tigers. Snuggled between the Cardamom hills and the Pandalam hills in the Southern Western Ghats, the park enticed us at very first sight. We felt like being in a destination where all you could see was the panorama of nature in its full bloom.

Kumily is the nearest town centre that lies at a distance of 4 km away. The hills were enveloped by dense evergreen and moist deciduous forests that provide a thick cover. Though we could not sight the tigers yet we came across various animals. The animals we saw there were leopards, elephants, deer, bison and numerous birds. My children enjoyed the sights of playful Nilgiri Langur, hanging around that kept them entertained for few minutes.

The time was to return and our stomachs were pleading for dinner. We went to restaurant and ordered fish curry and local cuisine with the well-known flavour of Kerala.

Leopards in Periyar

Next day we delighted ourselves with a full day trek through terrain that encompasses dense valleys, swamps, open grasslands and woodlands. My wife Ketthy could not stop herself taking a boat ride across the lake and I had to accompany her. Unlike others we could not see many wildlife species but we enjoyed spotting few of them.

Ketthy loved nature walk which she enjoyed while I was taking pictures of rare animals. Moreover, we also visited the nearby tribal village to learn about their culture. As it was our Kerala tour so how could we miss out the much talked about Ayurveda massage. Various therapies and treatments offered at the finest Ayurveda resorts in Kerala are worth to experience. We selected a rejuvenation package of Ayurveda and that was the best part of our wildlife tour to Kerala.