Taj Mahal

What has always appealed to me the most about this UNESCO World Heritage Site is the romantic legend behind it – an Emperor built it for his favorite Queen as a token of his eternal love.

The mausoleum is crafted from soft and pure marble that appears to change color throughout the day from pinkish in the early morning, milky white in the evening and golden in moonshine.  The colors vary during different hours of the day and seasons of the year.   It’s adorned with Arabic calligraphy from the Holy Quran and floral motifs made from precious and semi-precious stones.

Some travel tips from our experience:

Allow enough time to explore this heavenly place! A friend drove us from New Delhi to Agra, which took around 4 hours by car.  It took some time to find the ticketing office and there was, of course, a line to buy tickets. Also, allow time for thorough security checks before going in. My partner brought a laptop with him and had to go back to the ticketing office to store it before he was allowed through security. After all that, we only had about 20 minutes to appreciate the Taj Mahal up close before we had to rush off to catch our train from Agra back to New Delhi.  We didn’t have time to go inside and missed out on a lot it has to offer. Don’t let this happen to you! Entry to the Taj Mahal is quite expensive for tourists, so be sure to take your time to make it worth it.  I highly recommend reading all the information on the website and planning your visit better than we did.

We arrived around 4 pm, which was still very hot. There’s not a lot of shade walking up to the monument, so be sure to stay hydrated. If we could do it all again, we’d stay in Agra longer (sleep over the night before visiting the Taj Mahal) and go there in the early morning to view it during sunrise.

No visit to India feels complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra -one of the seven wonders of the world and a breathtaking experience to share with your partner.

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