Day 4
Agra- Fatehpur Sikri- National Chambal Sanctuary (80 kms)
Have delicious breakfast in Agra hotel. Spend early morning hours in leisure. Later depart for National Chambal Sanctuary. On the way to Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, have a detour to Fatehpur Sikri to see relatively better preserved grandiose monuments of early era of Mughal kingdom.
Fatehpur Sikri is a famed historical town in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh. It was built by emperor Akbar, at age 28, to serve as his capital city, after his seventh attack on Sikrigarh, a fort and a palace located close by and held by Rajput kings, led to his victory (‘Fateh’ in Persian) there. This well planned, walled city’s entire architecture, structure and construction were conceived, planned and executed under the direct supervision of the young king. The young emperor also chose this site and place in particular for his capital city, as it was in proximity to Sikri village, the place of residence of the Sufi mystic, Sheikh Salim Chishti. The city combines elements of both Hindu and Islamic architecture and is built with red sandstone and is highly ornamented with carvings, embellishments, etc. The walled city has a series of royal palaces, harems, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. The other main parts of this historical walled city are the Diwan-I-Am, the first enclosure of the palace, Diwan-I-Khas, a chamber or hall for private audiences and the pachisi court, a live game (the game of Pachisi) board.
Having seen Fatehpur Sikri, proceed to Chambal Gharial Sanctuary. The Chambal’s importance as a gharial habitat ranks the highest, as is contains the most significant remaining breeding populations of gharials. Its source is the Singar Chouri peak of the Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh. A sanctuary that boasted close to 1500 gharials only a decade ago, the Chambal River Sanctuary now has a population of around 200 adults. Only 20 of the adults seen during the last census (2007) were adult males. During the 2006 season, 224 young gharials bred at Kukrail Breeding Centre were released at Pinhat.
On arrival at Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, check in at pre-booked jungle resort for overnight stay.