From Agra : Fatehpur Sikri Sightseeing Tour by Private Car

A complete Mughal city, empty

Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri from 1571 as his new capital, in red sandstone, at the scale of an empire at its height. Fourteen years later the court left — the water supply could not sustain it — and the city was never reoccupied.

That is why it is the most complete Mughal city anywhere. Nobody lived in it long enough to rebuild, subdivide or modernise it. What Akbar left is what you walk through.

An hour from Agra, and worth a morning rather than the forty minutes a day-trip itinerary gives it.

Buland Darwaza

The entrance: 54 metres of gateway, built to mark the conquest of Gujarat, and the tallest gate in the world. The inscription on it quotes Jesus — "the world is a bridge, pass over it but build no house upon it" — which is a startling thing to find carved on a Mughal mosque and says a great deal about Akbar.

Jama Masjid

One of the largest mosques in India, its courtyard big enough to hold thousands.

Dargah of Salim Chishti

The white marble tomb in the courtyard, with jali screens cut so fine they look woven. Akbar had no heir; the Sufi saint Salim Chishti predicted he would have three sons, and when the first arrived Akbar named him Salim and built his capital on this hill. People still tie threads to the screens asking for children.

Panch Mahal

Five open storeys stepping back as they rise, each supported on columns, none of them alike. It was the women's pleasure pavilion, screened once with jali that has long gone.

Diwan-i-Khas

The strangest building on the site: a single central pillar bursting into a carved capital, with four bridges radiating to the corners. Akbar sat on the platform at the centre while representatives of different faiths argued around him.

Practical

About six hours door to door with hotel pickup in Agra, private car and licensed guide.

There is a lot of walking on hot open stone and shoes come off at the dargah. Carry water and socks. Entrance fee is paid at the gate.