Fatehpur Sikri rises on a sandstone ridge west of Agra, a red city of palaces, courtyards and mosques built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the 1570s and abandoned just a few years later. Akbar built it to honour the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, who had predicted the birth of his son and heir, and for over a decade it was the capital of his empire. Then, for reasons that are still debated, perhaps a lack of water or political changes, the court moved away, and the city was left almost intact, a time capsule of Mughal architecture and a World Heritage site.
The palace complex is a series of courtyards and pavilions, including the Diwan-i-Khas, with its extraordinary central pillar supporting a circular platform where Akbar is said to have sat during discussions with scholars of different religions. The Panch Mahal, a five-storey pavilion with open columns, caught the breezes in the hot summer. Next door, the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, is entered through the Buland Darwaza, a towering gate built to celebrate Akbar's victories in Gujarat. Inside the mosque courtyard, the white marble tomb of Salim Chishti is a place of pilgrimage, where visitors tie threads to the screens and make wishes.
The riding in this region is hot, dusty and chaotic. The road from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri is busy with trucks, buses, tractors, cows and pedestrians, and Indian traffic follows its own logic, with the biggest vehicle generally having the right of way. Surfaces vary from good to terrible, and speed breakers appear without warning. Ride defensively and expect the unexpected. The best time to visit is from October to March, when the temperatures are bearable; summer is scorching, and the monsoon brings heavy rain.
Not far away, the Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, another World Heritage site, is one of the finest bird sanctuaries in Asia, with herons, storks, cranes and many migratory birds in winter. You can explore it by bicycle or rickshaw. And of course, Agra, with the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, is just forty kilometres east.
Fatehpur Sikri town, below the ridge, has fuel, food stalls and basic accommodation. Agra has everything you need. Beware of touts and unofficial guides at the site; hire an official guide if you want one. Try a plate of petha, the translucent sweet made from ash gourd, a speciality of Agra.