Visiting the Taj Mahal: timing, tickets and the view most people miss
Guides · · 2 min read
The Taj Mahal is one of the few famous sights that survives its own fame - if you arrive at the right hour.
Go at sunrise
Gates open at dawn. The first hour has soft light, cool air and a fraction of the crowd. By nine the queue at the main gate is long and the marble is already hot underfoot. Sunset is prettier in photographs and much busier in person.
Tickets and rules
- Closed on Fridays for prayers. This catches people out every week.
- Buy online in advance; the mausoleum itself costs a small extra fee.
- Large bags, tripods and food are not allowed. Shoe covers are provided.
- Drones, obviously not.
The other views
Mehtab Bagh, across the Yamuna, gives you the whole building reflected in water with almost nobody there - best at sunset. The rooftop cafés in Taj Ganj cost the price of a cup of tea. From Agra Fort, Shah Jahan's view from his imprisonment is the most affecting one of all.
Make it more than a day trip
Most visitors come from Delhi on the morning train and leave the same evening, seeing the Taj at its worst hour. Stay a night: sunrise at the Taj, Agra Fort mid-morning, Itmad-ud-Daulah - the small marble tomb often called the baby Taj - in the afternoon, and Fatehpur Sikri on the way out.
Getting there
The fast trains from Delhi take under two hours. Driving the expressway takes three to four. From Jaipur it is about four hours by road, which makes the classic triangle workable in five days rather than three.