Taj Mahal: Things to do in India

“The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory”

Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor on Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is also voted one of the Modern Wonders of the World

Built to commemorate Mumtaj Mahal by his husband Shah Jehan, the emperor of India, Taj Mahal is one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World. It took 21 years and 20,000 artisans from around the world to create this magnum opus of Mughal architecture and one of the greatest symbols of love. Taj Mahal is built entirely from white marble. This magnificent piece of art stands tall amidst verdant Mughal Gardens (Char Bagh) and cascading waterholes.

Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is acknowledged for its immaculate symmetry. Taj Mahal was built on a marble platform that stands upon a sandstone platform in turn. Taj Mahal is known for its carvings, fine inlay work incorporating semi-precious stone, calligraphy and lapidary work which appear almost alive especially the work done inside the structure.

Many a dignitaries including late Princess Diana have paid visit to this monument immortalizing love and Taj Mahal has moved writers and poets alike. A visit to Agra is unarguably incomplete without paying a visit to this “teardrop on the cheek of time”.

• Taj Mahal is inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO

• Taj Mahal was built as a mausoleum of Mumtaj Mahal, wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Mausoleum is a building that contains burial chambers (tombs) for the deceased

• Both Mumtaj Mahal and Shah Jahan are buries inside Taj Mahal

• Taj Mahal translates to Crown of the Palaces

• It took 20 years to build Taj Mahal

• Construction of Taj Mahal started in 1632 and it was finished around 1653

• The construction of Taj Mahal involved 22,000 laboureres and architects

• More than a thousand elebhants carried the construction material required for building Taj Mahal

• 50 wells were dug and filled with material as base to construct Taj Mahal to keep it from harm ways from water of river Yamuna

• Taj Mahal is custructed entirely of white marble

• The full height of the Taj Mahal is 171 metres (561 feet)

• Taj Mahal takes on different coloring at different times of the day, from a pinkish hue in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden at night when lit by the moon

• The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden

• Charbagh symbolizes the four flowing rivers of Jannat (an Urdu word meaning Paradise) and reflects the Paradise garden

• The Architect of Taj Mahal was Ustad Ahmad Lahauri

• Nearly 4 million tourist visit Taj Mahal every year

• Verses from Quran have been inscribed as decorative elements throughout the complex

• The calligraphy on Taj Mahal was created by a calligrapher named Abd ul-Haq

• Inlay work in the interiors of Taj Mahal is lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones

• Many precious stones and Lapis Lazuli (a semi-precious stone) were chiseled out from its walls by the British during the Indian rebellion of 1857

Open From: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays except for Friday when the complex is open for prayers at the mosque between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The complex is open for night viewing on the day of the full moon and two days before and after excluding Fridays and the month of Ramadan.

Entry Fee:
Citizens of India and visitors of SAARC (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar) - Rs. 20 per head.

Fee for Foreign Travelers:
Rs. 250/- per head (ASI);
Rs. 500/- per head as Toll Tax (Agra Development Authority)
Rs. 500/- ticket of ADA is valid for the monuments of Agra Fort, Itimadi-ud-daula, Akbar’s Tomb, Sikandara and Fatehpur Sikri (Children up to 15 years free)

For more information about Taj Mahal Tours.

Updated by Nikhil Chandra