THE GLORIOUS RED 1500s Moghul city of Fatehpur Sikri is close enough to Agra for day trips -around an hour by train.
With so much see in India, the problem is not so much where to start, but where to stop. If you add on just one more stop, then well, why not one more, and before you know it, you’re on a six month sojourn.
Controversially perhaps, we didn’t visit Jaipur. Instead we opted for some twitching, 60km north of Fatehpur Sikri, in the Keoladeo National Park. Walking distance from the park is the town of Bharatpur, which has embraced the birding community with many ornithologically named guesthouses and hotels, and well trained guides.
We arrived in Bharatpur, eastern Rajahstan, by train in the Holi festival time.
The city is on the edge of one of the world's best birding sites, Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary.
A short bus ride away is the 15th centruy Moghul city of Fatehpur Sikri.
But first we had to find our guesthouse. This is how the owner greeted us!
Also known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, the park was created 250 years ago, and now hosts over 250 species of birds.
Keoladeo is so rich in birdlife that it appeals to people who would normally never do nerdy things like bird-watching.
One third of the parks 29km sq is wetland.
The park's location in the Gangetic Plain makes it an unrivalled breeding site for herons, storks and cormorants, and an important wintering ground for large numbers of migrant ducks.
Local NGOs have trained rickshaw drivers to act as guides, and they are good.
I would have missed this spotted owlet had a guide not pointed her out.
Painted stork are one of the more common and easily sighted birds in the park.
Yellow Bittern are seen fishing.
White throated kingfishers also can be seen.
Keep an eye out for the smaller birds, like the green bee-eater.
I spotted peacocks in the tree-tops and in flight.
Painted stork also nest in the trees.
Several egret species are seen, as well as herons and cranes.
All in all, the number and variety of species, as well as the ease of sighting make Keoladeo a special place.
Wildlife can also be seen around the town itself.
All that twicthing can work you up an appetite. Indian food is delicious but not the most photogenic.
Everyone in town was as colourful as the birds, wearing a rainbow pallette of powders, which people adorn on each other, friends or strangers alike.
Holi apparently gets a bit out of control in the bigger cities, but in little ol' Bharatpur it was all good fun.
A short hop down the road towards Agra, Fatehpur Sikri is an outstanding example of Moghul architecture and heritage. How's that for a front gate?
Behind the gate lies one of the largets mosques in India, the Jama Masjid, as well as palace buildings, stable and gardens.
The city was founded here by emperor Akbar, who consulted Shaikh Salim Chishti, a Muslim astrologer and Sufi Saint to ask for a male heir, which, of course he got.
The city also put Akbar's armies closer to Gujarat and its strategic coastal cities and the Arab trade.
Construction accelarated in 1571, but Akbar largely abandoned the city in 1586, possibly to concentrate on war with Kabul and Kandahar.
One of the most striking buildings is the 5 storey Panch Mahal, which was probably used by women, who were shielded by hanging screens.
The Hall of Private Audience (Diwan-i-Khas) shows a mix of Hindu and Islamic styles.
Fine gardens are a featre of Moghul palaces, and are full of squirrels and birds, like the purple sunbird.
A pair of rose-ringed parakeets in the trees.
Fatehpur Sikiri is one the most popuar historical sights in Agra, although it never really felt over-run.
The site is still a living piece of culture. Sufi musicians play outside the tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti.
Volunteers distribute food to children in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid.
The elegant 25,000m sq courtyard of the Jama Mosque ranks it amongst the largest in the world.
The inner facade of one of the gates, from where guard oversaw pomp and ceremony we can only imagine today.