Location : 38 km from Agra

Constructed By : Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1571

Highlights : Buland Darwaaza, Jodhabai's Palace, Tomb of Salim Chisti

Famous As : World Heritage Site For its Monuments

Introduction : Fatehpur Sikri was Akbar's capital for approximately 12 years. Akbar selected Sikri as the seat of his government believing it to be auspicious for himself. He experimented both with architecture and art and built a city expressing his ideals and vision. Today, Fatehpur Sikri is a deserted, phantom city. But the inner citadel is immaculately preserved. The finest monuments within this area are the Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas, Panch Mahal, Buland Darwaza and the tomb of Saint Sheikh Salim Chishti, and the Jama Masjid (one of the largest mosques In India).


Best time to visit :  From November to February. Access Agra is connected to Delhi by air. One can also use the Taj Express or the Shatabdi to get there. One can even drive or travel by bus (204 km from Delhi).

Where to Stay  :  Agra has a wide range of hotels and rest houses. UPSTDC's tourist complex, Taj Khema near the Taj Mahal offers accommodation in tents and deluxe rooms.There is a UPSTDC Tourist Bungalow as well. Hotels and restaurants offer Indian, Continental and Chinese food. Mughlai cuisine is Agra's specialty. There is an ITDC restaurant near the Taj.                           

Architecture  : Fatehpur Sikri is one of the finest examples of Mughal architectural splendour at its height. Though the city is in ruins, it is a place to visit if one comes to Agra. But in real terms Fatehpur Sikri is a place where one should spend some time. The sunset over the ruins is sight to cherish. Fatehpur Sikri is the best example of the culmination of Hindu and Muslim architecture. Fatehpur Sikri Mosque is said to be a copy of the mosque in Mecca and has designs are derived from the Persian & Hindu architecture. Entrance to this mosque is through the Buland Darwaza which was built in Gujrat and is 54 meter high. To the North of the Mosque is the dargah of Shaikh Salim Chishti. This dargah was built in 1570. Here childless women come for blessings of the saint. Even Akbar was blessed with three sons when he came here. The lattice work in the dargah is among the finest to be found any where in India.


 Sikri was a decrepit little village till the Mughal Emperor Akbar came visiting in 1568. Despite marrying the Amber princess Jodhabai in 1562, and having over 300 concubines at his beck and call, the monarch was childless.
Desperate for an heir, Akbar visited the saint, Shaikh Salim who was encamping here and who predicted that Akbar would have a son within 3 years. As fate had willed it, Jodhabai bore him a son the next year. The emperor named him after the mystic.
Not only that, he decided to move lock stock and barrel to the place and named it Fatehpur, or the ‘City of Victory’. His military conquest of Gujarat might also have persuaded him to shift base as must have the local abundance of red sandstone. In fact, apart from the marble-white mausoleum of Salim, nestling in one corner of the Jami Masjid – the city is entirely built out of red sandstone

Diwan-I-Am
The journey to the royal palace begins with Diwan-I-Am or the Hall Of Public Audience. This hall was also used for celebrations and public prayers. It has cloisters on three sides of a rectangular courtyard. To the west is a pavilion with the Emperor’s throne. Beautiful jali screen on either sides separated the ladies attending the court.To the right is an apparently looking two storeyed building, with corner kiosks, known as diwan-khana-I-khaas or Hall Of Private Audience. On entering it, one finds only a single vaulted chamber. In the centre stands a profusely carved column supporting a collosal-bracketed capital. Four narrow causeways project from the centre and run to each corner of the chamber. It is believed that Akbar’s throne occupied the circular space over the capital and the corners were assigned to the four ministers.

 Diwan-khana-I-khaas
To the right is an apparently looking two storeyed building, with corner kiosks, known as diwan-khana-I-khaas or Hall Of Private Audience. On entering it, one finds only a single vaulted chamber. In the centre stands a profusely carved column supporting a collosal-bracketed capital. Four narrow causeways project from the centre and run to each corner of the chamber. It is believed that Akbar’s throne occupied the circular space over the capital and the corners were assigned to the four ministers.

 Turkish Sultana’s House
To the left of the Pachisi Board is the Turkish Sultana’s house. The house, as its location at the corner of Anup Talao shows, was a pavilion for repose, attached to the pool. The geometrical pattern on the ceiling is reminiscent of Central Asian carvings in wood.

 The Treasury
To the left of the Diwan-I-Khaas is the Treasury or Ankh Michauli, once believed to have been used for playing the game, comprising three rooms each protected by a narrow corridor which were manned by guards.To the left of the Diwan-I-Khaas is the Treasury or Ankh Michauli, once believed to have been used for playing the game, comprising three rooms each protected by a narrow corridor which were manned by guards.

 Daulat khana-I-khas
Located in the corner to the left is the emperor’s private chamber. It has two main rooms on the ground floor. One housed Akbar’s library while the larger room was his resting area. On the first floor is the Khwabgah or the bed-chamber. It was connected with the Turkish Sultana’s house, the Panch Mahal, Mariam’s House and the Jodha Bai’s palace by corridors.

 Palace of Jodha Bai
To the left of the Sunehra Makan is the largest and the most important building in the royal palace, named after Akbar’s Rajput wife, Jodha Bai. This spacious palace was assured of privacy and security by high walls and a 9 metre guarded gate to the east. The architecture is a blend of styles with Hindu columns and Muslim cupolas.

 Hawa Mahal And Nagina Masjid
To the right of Jodha Bai’s palace is Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds. This small-screened wind tower faces the garden and is attached to the palace. The garden is laid out in the Char Bagh style with straight walls intersecting at right angles and divided by shallow channels.

Birbal’s Palace
To the north west of the Jodha Bai’s Palace is the 2 storeyed palace occupied by Akbar’s two senior queens- ruqnayya begum and salima sultan begum. It has two storeys-four rooms and two porches with pyramidical roofs below and two rooms with cupolas and screened terraces above. The building combines hindu and muslim atyles of srchitecture.

 Sunehra Makan
Opposite to the Diwan-I-Khas is the palace of Akbar’s Rajput wife, Mariam-Uz-Zamani. This two-storeyed building is richly adorned by gold murals in Persian style. The beams have inscriptions of verses by Akbar’s brother, Faizi.

 Panch Mahal
To the right of Sunehra Makan is the elegant, airy 5 storeyed pavilion, the Panch Mahal. Each floor over here is smaller than the one below and it rises to a single domed kiosk on top supported by four columns providing a magnificent view of the city and its environs.To the right of Sunehra Makan is the elegant, airy 5 storeyed pavilion, the Panch Mahal. Each floor over here is smaller than the one below and it rises to a single domed kiosk on top supported by four columns providing a magnificent view of the city and its environs.

 Dargah Of Sheikh Salim Chisti
To the North of the Mosque is the Dargah of Shaikh Salim Chishti. This Dargah was built in 1570. Here, childless women come for blessings of the saint. Even Akbar was blessed with three sons, when he came here. The lattice work in the Dargah is among the finest to be found any where in India.

 The Jami Masjid
One of the largest mosques in India, Jami Masjid was built in 1571 AD. Inside, there is a vast congregational coutyard. To the right, at the corner, is the Jammat Khana Hall and next ot this is the tomb of the royal ladies. To the left of the Jami Masjid is the Stone Cutters’ mosque, the oldest place of worship at Fateh Pur Sikri. It is entered through the eastern entrance known as the Buland Darwaza.

 Buland Darwaza
This gate can be approached from the outside by a 13-metre flight of steps which adds to its grandeur. The gate erected in 1602 AD to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Deccan is the highest and grandest gateway in India and ranks among the biggest in the world.

Description : Fatehpur Sikri was planned as a great town by Akbar with great care and planning in the honor of Sheikh Salim Chisti but had to be abandoned only after fifteen years due to scarcity of water in the town. Sheikh Salim Chishti was a Sufi saint who blessed the Akbar with his first son and heir, who was named Salim after him and later came to be known as Jehangir. The town was otiginally named Sikri after the village, where it was founded but its twin city Fatehpur (Victory Town) was erected to celebrate Akbar's conquest of Gujarat in June 1573.

However, ruins of the temple dating back to 12th century suggest the reign of Rajputs in the area long before Mughals took over the area. The two mosques in the village of Sikri have inscriptions, which announce their conception in 1314 under Mohd. Khilji. There have been records that Babur renamed the village 'Sikri' as 'Shukri', meaning 'thanks to the god'. It was also the famous dwelling place and khanqah of Shiekh Salim Chishti, the famous Sufi saint whom Akbar revered for blessing him with child.

Built during the second half of the 16th century by Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was the capital of the Mughal Empire for only some 10 years. The layout of the complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform architectural style based on red sandstone, shows a conscious attempt to produce rich spatial effects by the organization of built forms around open spaces in interesting ways. The Dargah (Jama Masjid) mosque houses the tomb of Sufi saint Salim Chishti. The legend states that as Akbar was not getting any offspring, he prayed through Salim Chisti, who blessed him, after which three sons were born to him. Today the Salim Chishti tomb is still visited by childless women. The Buland Darwaza (Victory Gate) of the Dargah mosque, built to commemorate Akbar's victory in Gujarat, is, at 54 meter, the tallest of its kind in Asia. Fatehpur Sikri is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.