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26.01.2025 - 14:25 / lonelyplanet.com
Jan 25, 2025 • 8 min read
Are you India-bound and wondering if the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Agra, is worth the time, effort and crowds? In all honesty, skipping one of the most beautiful buildings in the world for any reason would be a travesty. Despite the infinite number of images scattered across the internet, nothing beats an in-person experience of the spellbinding all-marble wonder.
A heartbroken ruler’s fitting tribute to his dead queen, it remains an unsurpassed monument to eternal love. The Taj, as it is locally called, is a bucket-list favorite with good reason, so brace yourself for the droves queuing up alongside you to see this grand gesture from the 17th century.
The Taj Mahal memorializes Mumtaz Mahal, the third wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who died of childbirth-related complications in 1631. He commissioned the iconic edifice in 1632. It took eight years and the labor of more than 20,000 people to complete the dazzling marble mausoleum. The rest of the complex took another 14 years and was finally finished in 1653. Five years later, following a power struggle and bloody fratricide, his son Aurangzeb dethroned Shah Jahan and confined him to the Agra Fort for the rest of his life. He died in 1666 and was interred next to his beloved.
Agra is well connected by rail and road with Delhi. The easiest way is to take the 6:55am Taj Express, which reaches Agra in three hours. You can also pre-book a cab or hop into an Uber from Delhi (upwards of ₹2900 Indian Rupee/US$34). The airport receives domestic flights only from Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
One of the ways to avoid the packed queues of people is to buy your tickets online. International visitors pay ₹1100 (US$12.70) for entry, SAARC and BIMSTEC visitors pay ₹540 (US$6.25), while Indian visitors pay just ₹50 (US$0.58). All visitors are charged an optional ₹200 (US$2.30) should they wish to enter the mausoleum. If you’ve made it this far, we recommend you do. Your ticket also includes a water bottle and shoe covers for the mausoleum.
The online purchase includes a nominal entry-fee reduction for a same-day visit at Agra Fort, Sikandra (Akbar’s Tomb) and Itimad-ud-Daulah. Ticket counters at the Taj Mahal open an hour before sunrise and close 45 minutes before sunset. It is closed on Fridays.
While you’ll never have the Taj completely to yourself, you will find a thinner crowd if you arrive when the monument opens, a half hour before sunrise. Consider a visit between February and April or September and November to avoid extreme temperatures, the notorious North Indian fog, smog, monsoon rains and the holiday rush.
Night viewing of the Taj is possible on five days every month; on full moon night, and the two
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