Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum on the bank of the Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth at Burhanpur in 1631. Construction of the Taj Mahal began around 1632; the main mausoleum was essentially complete by about 1643 and the wider complex around 1653.

More than 20,000 workers from across the empire and beyond built the Taj Mahal, and elephants are said to have hauled the marble from Makrana in Rajasthan. The chief architect is generally named as Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and is widely regarded as the finest example of Mughal architecture. Its four minarets lean very slightly outward, so they would fall away from the dome rather than onto it. The only asymmetry is Shah Jahan's own cenotaph, placed beside his wife's after his death in 1666 rather than planned for. Pollution has yellowed the marble, and it is periodically treated with a clay pack to draw the staining out.

What to see

• The Darwaza-i-Rauza, the red sandstone great gate, framing your first view of the dome
• The charbagh garden, divided into four by water channels
• The mausoleum, its marble inlaid with pietra dura flowers and Quranic calligraphy that enlarges towards the top so it reads evenly from below
• The cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan behind a pierced marble screen
• The red sandstone mosque on the west side and its matching guest house on the east
• The river terrace at the back, looking across to Mehtab Bagh

What to wear

The Taj Mahal is a tomb with a working mosque, so dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered. Shoes must be removed or covered on the marble platform; shoe covers come with the mausoleum ticket. The marble is very hot on summer afternoons and slippery when wet. Agra reaches 45°C in May and June and is foggy and cold on winter mornings, so layer up for a sunrise visit. Many Indian visitors come in their best saris and salwar kameez.

Local food to try

Agra is famous for petha, a translucent sweet made from ash gourd, sold all over the city, including by Panchhi Petha. Breakfast is bedai, a puffed fried bread, with spicy aloo sabzi and hot jalebi, found in the lanes of Kinari Bazaar and around Sadar Bazaar. Agra also does rich Mughlai food: kebabs, biryani and korma, with halal restaurants around Tajganj near the south gate. Food is not allowed inside the Taj Mahal complex.

Good to know

• Best from October to March, at sunrise for soft light and fewer people
• Open sunrise to sunset; closed every Friday. Night viewing runs on full moon nights by advance booking
• Indians ₹50, foreigners ₹1,100, plus ₹200 for the main mausoleum; buy online to save queueing
• Allow three hours
• In Agra, about 230 km from Delhi; petrol vehicles stop 500 m away and electric shuttles take you to the gates
• No tripods, drones, food or large bags; photography is not allowed inside the mausoleum

Nearby places

The Taj Mahal is seen best together with Agra Fort, 2.5 km upriver, and the Moonlight Garden of Mehtab Bagh across the water. Fatehpur Sikri lies about 40 km west.