Bharatpur

Bharatpur

We set out from Agra to visit the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri and then make our way to Bharatpur to visit the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a bird and wildlife sanctuary. 

Fatehpur Sikri was built in 1569. It took 12 years to build this massive complex of over 100 buildings (only 42 of which are still present) and it was only lived in for 17 years before being abandoned. The complex was built on orders of Muhgal Emperor Akbar, with its architecture greatly influenced by Akbar's wish to assimilate the styles of all of the surrounding cultures. Although Sikri was an amazing city and the capital of the Emperor's lands, the royal family abandoned the city and moved their home to Lahore in 1585 due to paucity of water and growing unrest in the northern regions.

The city itself had some amazing buildings, including a five story pagoda, different palaces for each of the wives (they varied in size and ornateness based on either pre-marriage agreements or favoritism; the favorite wive had the smallest, but most expensive and ostentatious of the wives' palaces), the largest bed ever (makes a Cal-king look small), a reflecting pool, and buildings for all sorts of government business.

As we exited the city, we walked a bit and came upon the Buland Darwaza. This is a 55 meter tall gate on the southern side of the city that is also the entrance to the city's mosque. Although we didn't get to actually go inside, I climbed the stair to get an up close view of just how massive this door really is and I conceded it's huge.

We said goodbye to our last Muhgal ruin and journeyed to the city go Bharatpur to visit the Keolado Ghana National Park. Due to dense fog and freezing temperatures a lot of people opted not to go on this extra excursion, but the few brave souls that went, were glad they did. With the help of a guide and a nice bike rickshaw driver, we were able to get a good distance into the park and see a variety of birds, as well as deer, antelope, and a Jackal (on the way out).

After the park, we convinced everyone, but one in our group to try the local street vendors that were just outside the door. There were two, one selling wok fried potatoes with salt and lime and the other selling a concoction of potato and cheese patties with onions, tomatoes, chickpeas, and tamarind sauce. Both were delicious and I think we entertained all the locals in the area by trying the food.