Taj Mahal from New Delhi: tours, tickets and more

There is no doubt that one of the best things to do in New Delhi is to visit the Taj Mahal, the palace-like mausoleum on the banks of the Yamuna River. Many recommend saving this visit for last, as the beauty of this stone-encrusted white marble building outshines all others you can see in the city of Agra.

The mausoleum, which has been declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the Modern World, was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth of their 14th son. Taking into account that about 8 million people visit it every year, it is important that you take into account some recommendations when buying your ticket, to make the most of your visit.

The most complete option

Taj Mahal and Agra Fort Day Trip from New Delhi by Gatimaan Express Train

Guided tour of Taj Mahal and Agra Fort from New Delhi by fast train

You will travel in comfort to the city of Agra by fast train to see the famous Taj Mahal Mausoleum and Agra Fort, with optional lunch.

From £7 at Hellotickets

This is a full day excursion where you will see the famous buildings of the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. It is by fast train and includes hotel pick-up, making it one of the most convenient ways to see the Taj Mahal from New Delhi. It also offers skip-the-line entry and the option of including lunch.

Recommended if... you want to visit the Taj Mahal without waiting and have the transport to visit the Taj Mahal in a comfortable way.

General admission to the Taj Mahal costs around 12 EUR per person for foreigners, around 6 EUR for citizens of SAARC and BIMSTEC member countries, and around 0.5 EUR for Indian citizens. In addition, entrance to the mausoleum is optional and costs about EUR 2 per person. Children under 15 years of age do not pay general admission.

If you wish to visit the Taj Mahal at night, the entrance fee for foreigners is about EUR 8.5 per person, about EUR 6 for locals and about EUR 6 for children between the ages of 4 and 15, both locals and foreigners. Children under 4 years of age do not pay night admission.

Usually, in addition to the Taj Mahal, most guided tours include a visit to the Agra Fort and the "Little Taj", which is actually called Itimad-Ud-Daulah. There are several buildings and gardens you can visit to make the most of your visit to the city of Agra, for which entrance tickets must be purchased separately:

• Agra Fort: about 7 EUR per person.
• Fatehpur Sikri: about EUR 7 per person.
• Akbar's Tomb: about EUR 3.5 per person.
• Itimad-Ud-Daulah Mausoleum: about EUR 3.5 per person (Small Taj).
• Mehtab Bagh Garden: about EUR 3.5 per person.
• Ram Bagh Garden: about EUR 3.5 per person.
• Mariyam Tuba: about EUR 3.5 per person.

There are two types of tickets to visit the Taj Mahal: day tickets and night tickets. The daytime hours are from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour before sunset. It can be visited every day except Fridays when it is closed. There are no options to enter without queuing from the official website, but private tours do offer this option.

As for night visits, they are only available for 5 nights a month: the night of the full moon, the two nights before and the two nights after, except on Fridays and in the month of Ramadan, which is from the first week of March to the first week of April approximately.

Daytime visits can be up to 3 hours, and you will be fined if you stay longer than that. This is a measure implemented to keep the building in good condition, as it is one of the most popular tours from New Delhi and receives about 50,000 visitors per day.

Night visits are between 8.30pm and midnight, and last 30 minutes. It can be visited by 50 people per hourly block, so it is best to book your ticket in advance. It is also important to bring your printed ticket with you if you visit at night.

No, entrance tickets to the Taj Mahal are not included in any Agra City Sightseeing Pass or Delhi City Sightseeing Pass. You can only get a small discount to visit other buildings in the city after visiting the Taj Mahal, such as the Agra Fort, Akbar's Tomb and Itimad-Ud-Daulah, although the discount does not make a difference for foreigners.

If you stay a few days in the city, in addition to taking the best tours of New Delhi, you can get a special tourist card with which you can use the metro to get around the city for 2 or 3 days for less than one euro (between 100 and 250 rupees).

No, the official tickets do not include a guided tour of the Taj Mahal, nor do they offer an official audio guide that you can listen to on your own. However, you can buy your guided tour ticket from private tour companies, which also offer a skip-the-line ticket.

Tour companies also offer additional services such as transfer to and from New Delhi or Agra, and lunch. They also include visits with and without entrance to other attractions, such as the Agra Fort, Akbar's Tomb and the Little Taj.

The advantage of hiring a private tour is that you can book a customised package, including the services that are of interest to you. That is, you can buy the entrance alone without queues if you prefer to go on your own, or a complete package that includes the entrance with guided tour, lunch, visit to other attractions and all transfers from Agra or New Delhi.

Without a doubt, the guided tour is worth it, as the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum with a lot of history and details that make it unique in the world. Moreover, the guides are experts who can tell you all about the Taj Mahal and ensure a more enriching experience so that you get the most out of your visit.

Discounted tickets to the Taj Mahal are available only for nationals of the country and for citizens of SAARC and BIMSTEC member countries. They pay about 0.5 EUR and 6 EUR per person respectively.

There are also promotional tickets for children under 15 years of age both day and night. They get free admission to the Taj Mahal during the day, and at night they pay about 6 EUR. In addition, children under 4 years of age do not have to pay for night admission.

Yes, the Taj Mahal offers special tickets for children, as children under 15 years of age do not pay admission to visit the mausoleum during daylight hours. Children under 4 years of age do not have to pay entrance fees during the day or at night.

On the other hand, children between 4 and 15 years of age pay a discounted entrance fee if they wish to visit the Taj Mahal at night. The night entrance fee for children is about 6 EUR.

If you go with children, remember that the Taj Mahal is a sacred place, so all visitors are asked to keep quiet in the mausoleum and to walk around the mausoleum without making noise or running around. It is also forbidden to eat or enter with food.

Buying tickets online has several advantages, as you won't waste time at the mausoleum's ticket office to buy them. Keep in mind that the Taj Mahal is one of the most visited constructions in the world and you could spend a long time in the queue to buy your ticket.

Also, although there are different queues for locals and foreigners, after buying your ticket you must queue to enter the Taj Mahal. Depending on the day you visit, it could take between half an hour and 2 hours to get in, so it's best to go as early as possible if you can't buy your ticket online.

Another advantage of buying your ticket online is that you get a small discount of about 0,056 EUR, although it doesn't really make a significant difference for foreigners.

The Taj Mahal opens every day half an hour before sunrise and closes half an hour before sunset, except on Fridays when it is closed. It is also open 5 nights a month from 8.30pm to midnight, which is when you can visit the mausoleum at night. Fridays are not open at night either.

Night visits can be made on the two nights before the full moon, the two nights after the full moon and the night of the full moon. Almost every month you can visit the Taj Mahal by night, except for the month of Ramadan, which is usually from about 10 March to 10 April each year.

It is always advisable to check the official Taj Mahal website to make sure the monument is open before visiting.

In the interest of conservation, you can only stay for up to 3 hours in the Taj Mahal. However, this is enough time, as you need at least 2 hours to visit Taj Mahal and enjoy all it has to offer.

This time limit was set to preserve the monument, which receives about 8 million visitors per year, and to avoid overcrowding. If you stay longer, you will be charged a fine that can be equivalent to the price of an entrance ticket.

To plan your visit, bear in mind that there are no official skip-the-line tickets available, unless you book a guided tour from New Delhi, so you can expect to spend between half an hour and 2 hours waiting to get in. Also, if you don't buy your ticket online, you will have to wait longer.

It is recommended that you plan your visit as a full-day excursion, and do it as early in the morning as possible. If you have time left in the city of Agra, you can take advantage of your visit to see other interesting monuments, such as the Agra Fort.

The best time of year to visit the Taj Mahal is from February to April, when temperatures are cooler and the weather is drier. November to January is the foggiest time, and July to October is the rainiest time. May and June are the hottest months, and temperatures are sweltering.

Sunrise is one of the most beautiful times of the day to visit the Taj Mahal, as is sunset. However, the monument is worth a visit at any time of day, as it changes colour as the hours go by.

The gates open at around 6.30am, half an hour before sunrise, so to arrive early you will probably have to travel in the evening, unless you are staying in the city of Agra. The highest concentration of visitors is between 9am and 10am, and the lowest number of visitors is between 12pm and 3pm.

Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra, about 200 km from New Delhi, the capital of India. To visit it, you can stay in Agra or in New Delhi. New Delhi offers a wider choice of accommodation, and you can easily reach Agra. Be aware that polluting vehicles leave you about 5 blocks from the Taj Mahal, and only electric cars and bicycle taxis leave you closer.

From New Delhi you can reach Agra by bus, but it is not the most recommended means of transport as it takes about 4.5 hours, much longer than trains. You also have the option of taking a plane, but it is more expensive and the airport formalities take a long time.

By train

There are several train lines from New Delhi to Agra, which take between 1.5 and 3 hours, depending on the train you choose. One of the fastest is the Gatimaan Express.

Most of the lines drop you off at Agra Cantonment station, the city's main station, which is about 6km from the Taj Mahal, and some drop you off at Agra Fort station, which is 3km from the Taj Mahal. From any of these stations you can take a motor tuk tuk or bicycle tuk tuk tuk to reach the monument.

By taxi or Uber

Many people choose to take a taxi or Uber to the city of Agra, as although it is the most expensive option, you can hire these services on a shared basis to reduce costs. The journey by road takes about 3 hours.

Please note that no polluting vehicles are allowed within the 500 metre perimeter around the Taj Mahl, so the taxi or Uber will drop you off about 5 blocks from the Taj Mahl.

With a private tour

Another option for visiting the Taj Mahal is to hire a guided tour from New Delhi with transfer included. This is the most convenient alternative if you prefer not to worry about the transfer. Besides, you will have an expert guide who will provide you with complete information about the Taj Mahal, so that you can make the most of your visit.

On the other hand, some tour companies also include lunch and the possibility to visit other monuments, temples and gardens of the city.

The Taj Mahal, the large white marble building that looks like a palace, is actually a mausoleum housing the tombs of Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, his favourite wife. It's the main building you'll see in the compound, which has been declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

In the mausoleum you will be able to appreciate all the details that have made it famous: reliefs, engravings, inlaid precious stones, the domes, columns, entrances and galleries. Everything is built with symmetry and rich symbolism. For example, the interior of the mausoleum is divided into 8 parts, symbolising the 8 paradises of the Qur'an.

In addition to the mausoleum, you can see the gardens, which represent paradise on earth, and the canal in the centre. There are two buildings on either side of the mausoleum made of red sandstone: a mosque and a guesthouse. The entrance is also an imposing construction, consisting of 22 domes representing the number of years it took to build the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal changes colour according to the time of day, so in the morning it is pink, at noon it is white and in the evening it takes on a golden colour. You can also visit the Taj Mahal Museum, where there are art objects and sketches.

Attractions near the Taj Mahal

If you are going to visit the Taj Mahal, you can also take the opportunity to visit other interesting buildings in the city of Agra:

• Agra Fort: it is about 2.5 km from the Taj Mahal, on the banks of the Yomuna River. It is a stone fortress from the 11th century that was converted into a palace in the 15th century.
• Itimad-ud-Daulah Mausoleum: It is known as the Little Taj, as it is considered a sketch of the Taj Mahal. It is located 5 km from the Taj Mahal.
• Mehtab Bagh Gardens: considered to be the best viewpoint of the Taj Mahal from across the Yamuna River. They date back to 1530.
• Akbar Mausoleum: located 10 km from the Agra Fort. Construction began in 1605 and combines red sandstone with white marble.
• Marble Emporium: This is the place to see artistic marble pieces inlaid with stones. This art is known as Pietra Dura or Parchin Kari and emerged in the 16th century.

There are a few tips to help you get the most out of your visit to the Taj Mahal:

• Do not go on a Friday, as you will find it closed.
• It is forbidden to eat and smoke in the Taj Mahal. You are also not allowed to bring food or drink into the Taj Mahal. This is a measure adopted to favour the conservation of the Taj Mahal, by avoiding the spillage of liquids or food that could stain it.
• You must remain silent inside the mausoleum and not take photographs.
• It is forbidden to enter with a video camera or photography accessories, such as tripods, selfie sticks or headphones. You may not use a drone either. Other prohibited items are lighters, knives, cables, chargers and electrical appliances.
• You may not bring large backpacks or bags. If you do carry them, you may leave them in the lockers available at the 3 entrances to the venue. Some of these lockers are free of charge and others have a minimal charge.
• It is possible to hire a guide at one of the entrances to the Taj Mahal, but not all of them are official guides, so it is recommended that you ask them for an ID card.
• It is best to use the Fatehpuri Gate, which is the main entrance to the Taj Mahal. It is located to the west. The Fatehabad Gate, which is to the east, is less used because it is about 1km from the ticket office; and the south entrance is usually used only for exiting.
• Some people dressed in traditional costumes will offer to take your picture with them. Note that this service is offered in exchange for tips.