Editor’s note: I don’t think a northern India itinerary is complete without a visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Writer Sam Spector takes us on his day trip there from Delhi. Please note his recommendations at the bottom. These are NOT affiliate links and we receive nothing; he just wanted to share them with you. For more of Sam’s writing, make sure to click here to visit his index page.
There is no building in the world more iconic than the Taj Mahal. Often considered the most beautiful building on Earth, it is little surprise that the Taj Mahal was ranked as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. For many, seeing it is a life dream and sparks the entire reason for a visit to India. As someone who wants to see all the New Wonders of the World (I have now seen six plus the Egyptian pyramids, one of the original Seven Wonders, leaving me with only Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer Statue), going to the Taj Mahal was a must-do.
The Taj Mahal is in Agra, a city of 1.5 million people approximately three hours’ drive southeast of Delhi, and can be done as an easy day trip from India’s capital. (Click here to read my guide to Old Delhi and here for New Delhi.) Agra, like Delhi, is located on the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges that originates in the Himalayas. Prior to Delhi, Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire after the empire had split in two temporarily with the Sur Empire taking Delhi as its stronghold. In going to Agra from Delhi, it is best to do a sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal, meaning that you will be picked up in Delhi at an absurd time of 230am. While this sounds unreasonable, it is worth it for several reasons: there will be less traffic getting to Agra, there will be fewer tourists at sunrise, the Taj Mahal is majestic at sunrise, and it is cooler than midday for touring. At around 530am I arrived at the Taj Mahal, where I was greeted by my local guide and taken on a pathway full of macaque monkeys to the Great Gate, a 93 foot tall, 150 foot wide red sandstone gate built between 1632 and 1653 that separated the crowds of locals from the idyllic Taj Mahal gardens and complex. The Great Gate has white domes on top, and is surrounded at its entrance by Quranic verses and is perfectly symmetrical. While it appears that the Quranic verses are painted on, they are actually created through stones in a mosaic form, and the letters look the same size; however, this, too is an optical illusion, as the letters at the top of the gate are larger than those at the bottom so that it can be easily read by those who are standing in front of the gate.
All of the Taj Mahal complex is perfectly symmetrical, as the Mughal emperor who had it constructed, Shah Jahan, insisted on all architecture being symmetrical. Shah Jahan lived a life of luxury as the emperor, and he had three wives and over one hundred concubines; however, one wife stood above the rest as the one he loved the most: Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz was Shah Jahan’s childhood love; their parents were best friends, yet, their love was considered forbidden since Mumtaz was not royalty. However, the two still wed and she had 14 children with the emperor. In 1631, Mumtaz died in childbirth leaving her husband grief stricken. He had the Taj Mahal built as her final resting place, symbolizing love and paradise.
When walking through the Great Gate and first gazing upon the Taj Mahal, it is one of those places where you simply say, “Wow.” The white marble domed mausoleum with the sun rising behind it is truly breathtaking. Surrounding the Taj Mahal are four minarets, each 130 feet tall. Brilliantly, the minarets are built slightly pointing outwards so that in case there is ever an earthquake, the minarets will collapse outwards as to not fall onto the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is flanked on both sides by identical red sandstone buildings. When facing the Taj Mahal, the one to the left is a mosque, while the one to the right is a replica that was built to appease Shah Jahan’s desire for symmetry. The top of each minaret and dome of the Taj Mahal was originally topped with finial spires, with the main one being a crescent moon, the symbol of Islam, made of solid gold. However, the British looted these and likely melted them down, and replaced them with bronze replicas in the 19th century. Throughout the walls of the Taj Mahal’s exterior are flower carvings and motifs. On the actual structure of the Taj Mahal are many gems such as sapphires, mother of pearl, etc… but the most famous gem is the orange carnelian stone. When the sunlight hits this stone at sunset or when the moonlight hits it on a full moon, it glows red, giving the Taj Mahal a pink appearance.
When entering the Taj Mahal, you will be amazed by the beautiful window designs carved out of marble. Inside the Taj Mahal, underneath the 75 foot high onion dome, are the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. The graves that people see are actually replicas that were built at the time with the real graves looking identical and being underneath the floor, hidden from public view. Surrounding the graves is an octagonal marble screen with gem flower designs and a carved lattice pattern. Each of the eight panels of the screen took two years to build and had to be perfect; if a mistake was made, the entire panel needed to be restarted as each comes from a single sheet of marble. Walk around the inside of the building and the grounds and marvel at the incredible architectural genius that is this building. What is truly amazing is that the Taj Mahal as we know it was supposed to be only one half of the total complex. Across the Yamuna River, you can see the black foundation for another mausoleum. Shah Jahan was planning to build an identical mausoleum for himself; however, it would be constructed by black marble, rather than white marble, and the two mausoleums would be connected to each other over the river by two bridges, one made of black marble and one of white marble. However, after the foundation was laid, Shah Jahan’s son Alamgir led a war and captured and executed his brothers and imprisoned Shah Jahan before proclaiming himself the new emperor. As a result, Shah Jahan’s mausoleum did not come to fruition, and after his death, his daughters would have him buried next to Mumtaz Mahal.
Following your visit to the Taj Mahal, head to the Agra Fort, which was the palace of the Mughal emperors, first built by Humayun in 1530 and expanded in 1565 by Akbar. It is similar in many regards to Delhi’s Red Fort, and takes up 94 acres; however, 80% of the fort is closed off to the public as it is used by the Indian Army. The fort is built of red sandstone and has high walls and gates like its Delhi counterpart. The fort was designed to be impenetrable, and was until the British arrived with guns and cannons. To breach the fort, invaders would first have to cross a crocodile-filled moat, then climb a wall, where there was a second moat filled with Bengal tigers. Past this, there were giant walls where soldiers would fire arrows down and also dump scalding hot oil. If an invader was able to get past all of this, there was the main Lahore Gate, which was built at an angle where it could not be rammed by elephants. Finally, there was a pathway with high walls and holes for guards to dump kerosine out of to then light invaders on fire. Some must have made it this far because the red sandstone of that pathway still shows black marks on the wall from fire burns. After having passed all of the barriers to entry, you will find yourself in a large courtyard, surrounded by various palaces and white marble greeting halls. Take time to explore these areas and see the giant marble bathtub of Shah Jahan’s father, Emperor Jahangir, as well as the haram of the emperors. The haram had numerous rooms where his one hundred concubines lived, which surrounded a courtyard that had pools in the middle of them. In the pools the emperor would bathe and invite the concubines that he chose (up to twenty at a time) to join him, where they would engage in sex parties and drink wine from the grape vines surrounding the pools. While Shah Jahan enjoyed sex parties, Akbar the great loved dancing. There is an ornate hall that you can visit where there would be dance performances for the emperor, where he would watch from a balcony above. You can also tour the various rooms of the princesses, where they would place their jewelry and change into their dresses. The Agra Fort also has beautiful views of the Taj Mahal. When Shah Jahan was placed under house arrest by his son, he was given a room where he could stare at the Taj Mahal and think of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal for the rest of his days.
There is one other site to see in Agra: the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah, often nicknamed the “Baby Taj.” This tomb was built between 1622-1628 by Mumtaz Mahal for her parents. It took inspiration from Delhi’s Humayun’s Tomb and is constructed with white marble. To enter the Baby Taj, you pass through a red sandstone gate that looks just like that of the Taj Mahal, but on a smaller level. Far fewer tourists visit this tomb, making it peaceful to visit, especially in walking through its gardens and enjoying the view of the Yamuna River. The building is significantly smaller than the Taj Mahal, but still ornate. Alongside Humayun’s Tomb, this building helped inspire what would become the Taj Mahal.
As India was for thousands of years a caste society, typically families did the same work intergenerationally. While in Agra, visit one of the workshops where the Muslim descendants of those who built the Taj Mahal still make inlay carving artwork using marble from the same quarry that produced the Taj Mahal. You can watch as these artisans make high quality masterpieces using the same techniques their ancestors used.
Having started my tour of the Taj Mahal at 530am, I was able to do everything that I wrote about here by 930am and also have breakfast in town and make it back to Delhi by about 1pm. Though it is an exhausting morning, this day trip to Agra is one that you will remember for the rest of your life as you visit one of the Wonders of the World.
My recommended trip was through Crystal India Holidays: https://crystalindiaholidays.com/ and my local guide was Sachin Atul, WhatsApp: +91 96270 38542
I also loves shopping at M.K. Handicrafts mkhandicrafts77@gmail.com
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