Taj Mahal

 

Best places to visit in India

Historic & Cultural Highlights

• Agra, Uttar Pradesh: See the famous Taj Mahal and old forts.
The Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, is India's most famous landmark. It is a stunning white marble mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Key nearby places to visit include Agra Fort, Mehtab Bagh, and the ancient city of Fatehpur Sikri.

Taj Mahal: The iconic white marble symbol of eternal love set beside the Yamuna River.

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658), to house the tomb of his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenelated wall.
Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, although work on other parts of the complex continued for another five years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million).

The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts a large number of domestic and foreign visitors. About five million visitors visited the Taj Mahal in the financial year 2022-23. A three-tier pricing system is in place, with a significantly lower entrance fee for Indian citizens and more expensive ones for foreigners. As of 2024, the fee for Indian citizens was ₹50, for citizens of SAARC and BIMSTEC countries, it was ₹540 , and for other foreign tourists, it was ₹1,100. Visitors are allowed through three gates, and as polluting vehicles are not allowed near the complex, tourists must either walk or take electric buses from the designated parking areas. The complex is open on all days except Fridays, from one hour before sunrise to 45 minutes before sunset. The complex is open for limited night viewing on the day of the full moon, excluding the month of Ramadan. In 2019, to address overtourism, the site instituted fines for visitors who stayed longer than three hours. According to a 2025 government report, the Taj Mahal earned ₹297 crore (US$31 million) over five years, making it the highest-earning ASI monument.