The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is widely held to be the most beautiful building in the world, a mausoleum of luminous white marble raised in the seventeenth century by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. Perfectly symmetrical, inlaid with semi-precious stones and mirrored in long reflecting pools within its formal gardens, this UNESCO wonder is a peerless monument to love and grief.

History

Shah Jahan commissioned the tomb in 1631 for his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, on land south of the walled city of Agra that Raja Jai Singh I gave him in exchange for a large palace in the centre of the city, and building began in 1632. More than 20,000 workers and artisans were employed under a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahori; the white marble came from Makrana in Rajasthan, the red sandstone from Fatehpur Sikri, and 28 kinds of precious and semi-precious stone were inlaid in the marble. The mausoleum was finished in 1648, and the whole complex is believed to have been completed in 1653. In 1658 Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and kept under house arrest in Agra Fort, and on his death in 1666 he was buried beside his wife. In the 18th century the Jat rulers of Bharatpur carried off two chandeliers that had hung over the main cenotaph, at the end of the 19th century Lord Curzon ordered a restoration that was completed in 1908, and in 1983 the Taj Mahal became a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Taj Mahal).

Highlights

• The marble mausoleum - the perfect white dome and minarets.
• The reflecting pools - the tomb mirrored in the still water of the gardens.
• The pietra dura inlay - the semi-precious stone flowers inlaid in the marble.
• The changing light - the marble glowing pink at dawn and gold at sunset.

When to go

October to March for the coolest weather; go at dawn, when it opens, for the softest light, smallest crowds and the marble glowing at sunrise. It is closed on Fridays. The changing light through the day is part of the magic.

Before you go

It is extremely popular, so go at dawn to beat the crowds and the heat; it is closed on Fridays for prayers. Agra itself is a hectic, hassle-heavy city, and touts and 'guides' at the gate are persistent. The reflecting-pool photo spot queues, but the beauty lives up to every expectation.

Nearby

Agra Fort is across the city; the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri is nearby.

Key facts