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Pleasant accommodation is available at the Forest Lodge
within the sanctuary and at several motels and hotels outside. Visitors can
drive or bicycle through the sanctuary and also take a boat through the
shallows for a spectacular view of the birds. The best season for bird watching
is after the monsoons - from October to January.
Mathura, on the banks of the
River Yamuna, is celebrated as the birth place of
Krishna,
and the groves and ghats of nearby Brindaban with its thousands of shrines and
temples still echo with stories and songs that recount the exploits of this
charming god.
Mathura
has been a sacred pilgrimage centre through countless centuries, and the
temples and shrines that line the waterfront testify to its antiquity.
The
Government
Museum at
Mathura
is a superb repository of fine sculpture, terracotta images, coins and bronze
objects that date from the 5th century BC to the 12th century.
The craftsmen of
Agra
are still renowned for the exquisite marble-inlay work that has made its
monuments famous. Boxes, table-tops, trays, platters and other decorative items
in white or black marble with fine inlay decorations are still the best buy.
Agra is also a centre for
fine leather ware, carpets and gold and silver embroidery on velvet.
Agra
is also known for two delicacies: delicious, sweet, translucent petha
(crystallised marrow) and crisp, spicy dalmoth (lentils).
Flights connect
Agra to
Delhi, Khajuraho and
Varanasi.
Express trains from
Delhi,
Bombay,
Calcutta and
Madras
also halt at
Agra.
A special air conditioned luxury train, the Taj Express, commutes between
Delhi and
Agra.
It leaves
Delhi
in the morning to return at night. Breakfast and meals are served in the dining
car on the Express. Connecting air conditioned, de luxe and ordinary coach
tours are available from the Agra Cantt raliway station. You can drive the 204
km from
Delhi to
Agra
in air conditioned cars which can be hired in
Delhi. The ITDC Kosi Restaurant and Haryana
Tourism's Dabchick Tourist Complex make convenient half-way stops.
There is an excellent bus service from
Delhi
to
Agra and
back each day. During the season, ITDC and UPSTDC operate package tours from
Delhi. The best time to
go to
Agra is
during winter when the weather is pleasantly sunny.
Agra
has a wide range of hotels and rest houses. The luxury hotels provide air
conditioned accommodation. 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 both Indian, Continental and
Chinese food. Mughlai cuisine is
Agra's
speciality. There is an ITDC restaurant near the Taj.
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