About Battis Khamba:
The Buland Bagh garden situated on the left bank of River Yamuna houses Battis Khambha (meaning Thirty-two Pillars). Buland Khan Khwajasara, a noble of Jehangir, founded these gardens that still sport four towers at the four corners, part of the brick masonry embankment and seven wells known as Sat Kuan on the northern edge. The three-storeyed octagonal tower was built between 1615-20 and has a chhatri on its top. Bricks and mortar are the chief construction materials used here. The small portals in the ground floor lead to the central octagonal hall decorated with stalactite designs. The external arches on each octagonal side on the first floor grabs one’s attention as they are actually composed of two slabs of red stone resting on two horizontal stone slabs embedded on the top of brick masonry. The pillared verandah around the central octagonal hall on the second floor is interesting. This storey also has stone pillars with octagonal shafts on each side and the brackets serve both the ornamental and functional purposes. The brackets support the beams inside and ‘chajjas’ (that have gradually vanished with time) outside. The pillars and brackets of the chhatri support the chhajja projecting from the drum of the dome. Though, it is in desolate condition now, it is believed that originally it was plastered and its cupolas were decorated with glazed tiles. To the south, a staircase used to join the ground floor with the terrace but was badly damaged later. The remnants of the extension of the tower on the south-eastern side can still be seen and suggests that probably this building was part of a larger complex.
General Information about Battis Khamba:
Location: Agra
State: Uttar Pradesh
Capital: Lucknow
Language: Hindi, English
Temperature: Max 42˚C, Min 27˚C (summer), Max 26˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to February
How to Reach Battis Khamba:
By Air:
Agra airport is 7 km from the city centre and 3 km from Idgah bus stand and is connected by domestic flights from major Indian cities. There are daily round trip flights from Delhi to Agra, Khajuraho, and Varanasi, with a return to Delhi. It takes only about 40 minutes from Delhi to Agra.
By Road:
Agra is about 204 km from Delhi, the capital of India. There is an excellent national highway connecting Delhi and Agra and it is only a 4 hours drive from Delhi. There are many luxury taxis and buses that drive to Agra everyday. Idgah and Agra Fort are the main bus stands of Agra from where anybody can catch buses to and from or Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura and Fatehpur-Sikri.
By Rail:
Agra is well connected by rail to Delhi, Varanasi and cities of Rajasthan. The main railway station is the Agra Cantonment station. There are many trains connecting Delhi and Agra like Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Taj Express and luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels.