The Bucket List Guide to the Taj Mahal

The Bucket List Guide to the Taj Mahal

“Since we are going to be India for the Rickshaw Run, we should probably see the Taj Mahal. I mean it is on my Bucket List and I can’t imagine coming back to India just to see the Taj Mahal.”

This was the conversation that Darcee and I had with pretty much everyone we talked to before leaving for our epic Rickshaw Run across India. It was as if one of the most recognizable buildings in the world was a “if we have time” secondary/bonus add on to my Bucket List travels through India.  However, our day adventure in Agra, exploring the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort would prove to me why this IS a “must see” destination and needs to be on everyone’s bucket list!

The Story of the Taj Mahal

Eric Gamble & Darcee Snider standing in front of tThe Taj Mahal

Rudyard Kipling once described the Taj Mahal as “the embodiment of all things pure.”  This could be due to its beautiful white marble or perhaps it is due to the story surrounding it.

It is said that the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a memorial for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She sadly died giving birth to their 14th child. Thus, because of the death of Mumtaz, the Shah’s heart truly broke. So, he immediately ordered the construction of the Taj as a mausoleum for his most beloved wife.  Starting in 1632, it would take 20 years to build this monument of love, but upon its completion, Shah Jahan said it made “the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.

According to legend, Shah Jahan wanted a replica of the Taj Mahal in black marble that would serve as his final resting place built directly across the Yamuna river from the original.  However, one of his sons, Aurangzeb, felt that his father had caused a major strain on the empire’s finances with the Taj and a replica would ruin them entirely.  Therefore, he overthrew Shah Jahan and imprisoned his father in the nearby Agra Fort where he could only view his beloved memorial from a distance till his death.

Then after his death, one of his daughters then took his body and buried it next to his beloved Mumtaz Mahal in the Taj Mahal in 1666.

Fast forward to 1983, the Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”  Then in 2007, it was declared as one of the world’s New 7 Wonders of the World by the New7Wonders of the World initiative.  From there, it has climbed to the top of countless bucket lists from people around the world!

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How to cross off the Taj Mahal from your Bucket List

Eric Gamble pretending to hold the Taj Mahal
Of course Agra, India has much more to see than just the Taj Mahal. However, on our visit to Agra, we only had one day to explore the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort in 7-8 hours.  Though we missed out on several other wonderful things to do in Agra, we found it very easy to cross the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort off of our bucket list in 7-8 hours.

Getting to Agra

Being that Agra is only 200km from Delhi, there are multiple ways to get there including private car, Uber, taxi, or bus.  Each of these takes 4-5 hours to get there depending on traffic and can range in cost and comfort.

However, the most popular and fastest way to get to Agra is by train.  Tickets one way on the Gatimaan Express from Delhi to Agra were approximately 750 INR (about $11.00 USD) each and place you on a nice clean train with decent bathrooms.  The quick and easy 2 hour train ride comes with a large bottle of water & a meal included in the ticket price but please remember to tip the train servers as we were told that they mainly live off the tips.

*Please Note: In our opinion, the India Train website (https://www.irctc.co.in) maybe one of the most frustrating and impossible travel websites in the world to operate.  They often put restrictions on when a person (tourist) can purchase ahead of time and declined both of our credit cards online.  Therefore, ask your hotel or a travel agent to purchase the tickets for you. We had a local friend in Delhi purchase ours for us. You can also buy them in person at the train station where I used my credit card with no issues for our return tickets.

Getting to the Taj Mahal and around Agra

Eric Gamble and his Tuk Tuk Driver having lunch in Agra, India after visiting the Taj Mahal
One of the interesting aspects about the many parts of India we visited is the local’s laid back approach toward tourists.  However, this laissez faire approach was not found in Agra.  Don’t get me wrong, you definitely don’t feel hustled as compared to many other places in the world. However, be prepared exiting the train or bus stations.

With that said, we were told by many of our local Indian friends that a tour guide is not necessary. But we feel that it is highly recommended for the Taj Mahal. This is because there is no real signage to tell the history to visitors.  In this day and age of information on the internet, I tend to be a little anti-tour guide unless its free or cheap.  However, after many recommendations I felt that it would be beneficial.

So if you opted for the train, you will exit the Agra Station to a sea of Tuk Tuk (auto-rickshaw).  You will need to grab one to even get to the Taj Mahal. But you will have a couple of unique options:

    1. Just pay to ride to the Taj Mahal (about 100 INR in a Tuk Tuk). However, you will then have to figure out transportation from there.
    2. Negotiate a day hire which is what we did (600 INR in a tuk tuk for the day).

When we arrived we decided to change our return ticket to an earlier time.  This ended up being a blessing in disguise. As we exited about 20 minutes after the crowd, we were swarmed by tuk tuk drivers.  But after we finally exited, we were approached by a driver who negotiated with this deal for the day:

  1. Stop off for a clean bathroom stop if we needed it
  2. Option for an Official Guide certified from the Approved guides office (500 INR)
  3. Ride to the Taj Mahal gate
  4. Lunch
  5. A trip over to the Agra Fort
  6. Ride to 3-4 types of shops if you want
  7. Return back to Agra Train Station by 4:15 for our 5:15 train

Safety Tip: Agra seems to be a safe place to walk around. But as in any place you travel please use common sense and stay to main areas while exploring. Also, we strongly recommend that you consider getting Travel Insurance from World Nomads.  It is simple and flexible insurance to keep you safe while tackling any bucket list adventure.

Eric Gamble walking alongside with his guide to the tomb within the white marble Taj Mahal mausoleum

As one of the 7 New Wonders of the World & a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Taj Mahal is unlike any other destination. Discover how to cross off this amazing site off your #bucketlist! #TajMahal #India #IncredibleIndia Click To Tweet

Exploring the Taj Mahal

We opted for the Official Tour Guide from the Approved guides office and it was great.  Ari, our guide, walked us down to East Gate where we obtained our entry tickets.  As of January 1, 2020 entry ticket prices for foreigners are 1,100 INR. While it is 50 INR for Indians and children under the age of 15 can enter for free.  Also, the entry fee includes a bottle of water and shoe covers. The shoe coverings are necessary to walk around the main mausoleum. So, make sure you pick them up when you buy your ticket.

There are several entrances into the Taj Mahal. So just follow your driver or guide to the easiest gate and follow your specified line to enter.  There is a shorter line for the foreigner tickets. But one is specifically for women and another for men even amid the foreigner lines.To cross off seeing the Taj Mahal from your bucket list you have to enter a large ornate red gateway

When you finally enter, you are greeted by the Gateway Entrance. This will then lead you to the gardens in front of the mausoleum.  Ari, our guide, was very excited to point out the symmetry of the entire property from the gates.  He showed us how everything aligned through the gateway, across the ponds, to the center of the mausoleum. Even  inside the white marbled Taj Mahal itself is perfectly symmetrical with the gateway.

One of the bonuses of using a guide was not only to hear about the architecture and history of the property, but they also make great photographers!  I noticed that Ari and other guides are trained to take you to the best photo op spots.

After walking through the Gateway Entrance, you enter the main garden. Here you will be taken around the gardens, told of the history and legends of the Taj Mahal. Then you will be taken to the “Princess Diana Bench” for a wonderful photo opportunity. After, you will be led then toward the mausoleum.  We never felt a sense of urgency with our guide. For us, this was nice as we could walk off to just drink in the beauty of the building.

As you approach the actual mausoleum, you are required to put on your paper shoe covers or remove your shoes altogether.  This is because the mausoleum itself is pure white . Above the entrance are Arabic inscriptions containing verses from the holy book of Quran.  Also along the walls and above the archways are colorful ornamentations of flowers.  What is interesting is that both the black inscriptions and the colorful flowers are not painted on the white marble. Rather, it is laced with colored marble or precious stones that have been cut and inlay into the white marble background.

Along the walls and above the archway of the Taj Mahal Mausoleum are colorful ornamentations of flowers and black inscriptionsmade of colored marble or precious stonesAnother interesting tidbit is that the 4 minarets surrounding the main mausoleum are slightly tilted outward away from the dome.  According to legend, this was done in case of an earthquake. So in case of an earthquake, the minarets would fall away from the resting place of the Shah’s love.

When you enter the mausoleum, please note that no photos are allowed inside out of respect.  Then after exiting the mausoleum, you will circle around the back. Here, you can look across the Yamuna River. As Ari, our guide pointed out, you will see where the Shah’s black replica was supposed to be built.  Afterwards, you are free to explore the guest house or the mosque on either side of the Taj Mahal.

Other Things to do In Agra

The Red Fort across from the Taj Mahal is another bucket list destination in Agra, India

  • Akbar’s Mausoleum: This marble and sandstone mausoleum honors one of Agra’s greatest emperors of the Mughal dynasty.  Only about 10km northwest of Agra Fort, this mausoleum is beautifully constructed and a must see if possible.
  • Mehtab Bagh: These gardens are a series of 11 parks on the Yamuna’s east bank.  Therefore, you will find that the gardens are perfectly aligned with and a great view of the Taj. So if you don’t want to pay the hefty admission fee of Taj Mahal or you just want to avoid the crowds inside the Taj Mahal get a ticket from Viator here to the Mehtab Bagh gardens.
  • Agra Fort: If you only have time to visit one other site in Agra besides the Taj Mahal, then I would recommend going to the Agra Red Fort.  It is said that this is the fort that the son of Shah Jahan banished his father to live out his final days.  Inside is truly magnificent, with many sections and corridors to explore.  Plus, you don’t necessarily need a guide to explore the fort. Since there are plenty of signs written in English, it is easy to take a self guided tour.

*HOT TIP:  Please note that if you save your receipt from the Taj Mahal, you will receive a little discount to enter many of the other sites in Agra!

Go with a formal tour group


So as you can see, the Taj Mahal and Agra, India ARE a “must see” destination and needs to be on everyone’s bucket list!  Are they on yours? Have you ever been to the Taj Mahal or Agra, India?  If so, tell us about your experience visiting these great bucket list destinations in the comments below!

Don’t forget to Pin this to your Bucket List Board!

Top Resources for Your Travel Bucket List

Some of the biggest questions people are always asking us is, how we are able to afford to travel so much? So to help, below, you will see some of our Favorite tools to help you tick off any bucket list travel items:

  • Flights: By now it should be pretty obvious that Travel is a major part of The Bucket List Project and is most likely a big part of yours. That is why one of our first stops when looking for flights anywhere is Kiwi. However, if you have time, we also recommend signing up with Dollar Flight Club! Through the daily emails they send us, we have used them to save on average about $350+ on Round trip internationally.
  • Accommodations: Not going to lie, we love renting unique accommodations from local hosts through Airbnb. However, if you are looking for 5 Star hotels, Pensions on the Camino de Santiago, or a hostel in Portugal, Booking.com can take care of you.
  • Activities & Tours: There are tons of tour groups and organizations out there that can facilitate your bucket list adventure. But for us, we tend to start with Viator since they have a Low Price Guarantee! However, if we are just looking for day adventures or something a little smaller, GetYourGuide is a great resource with over 40,000 activities worldwide.
  • Disclosure: This post, “The Bucket List Guide to the Taj Mahal”, may contain affiliate links. Using the links doesn’t cost you any extra, and it helps keep the site free, fun, and community supported! Eric & Darcee will never recommend a product that we don’t genuinely believe in, actually use ourselves, have researched, and trust. Please see the disclosure policy for more information.

    71 thoughts on “The Bucket List Guide to the Taj Mahal

    1. This is an awesome post, truly the kind of info that would come in handy for a visit. It’s good to know that the train is the best way out to Agra, and that a guide is recommended. Your photos inside made me realize that I’ve never seen anything online beyond the front facade. It’s nice to really learn about the history of the Taj Mahal and see a little bit more beyond the standard photo out front!

    2. Firstly, wow! Your photos look fantastic! the Taj Mahal has always been on my bucket list and I am so glad that I got to live this experience through you! I hope too visit one day for myself!

    3. I’ve always wanted to visit the Taj Mahal. I will definitely keep your itinerary in mind as it is very simple, easy, and full of incredible suggestions.

    4. I visited the Taj Mahal many years ago and it is truly an extraordinary monument. I remember being blinded by the white marble in the sunshine… I loved the semi-precious stones encrusted in the walls of the chamber, such a huge amount of work when into this… The only downside was the pressure of the local guides and sellers of all kinds, they were hard to shake off!

    5. Was this the highlight or the rickshaw run? The wife deserves a castle for having 14 kids!! Was the 14th the one that overthrew him? How money messes up families!

    6. First of all, I really love the visual of your site and secondly, I love how you explained your journey. I find this really helpful and all the images added extra magic here. Good work.
      P.S. Is there any way to get in touch with you guys?

    7. Great job on this post. that really is lots more helpful than some. Great idea putting in the how to get to/from and around in it. I think that gets left out of a lot of posts about the Taj Mahl.

    8. This bucket list guide to Taj Mahal save me from searching , bookmarked for future reference. Great tips! This is one of the places that we wanted to visit , so I think I’m ready to go with your tips, hehe…

    9. Being an Indian I’ll tell you, in India whenever you are visiting any place that has monuments or are historical places like Agra and Aurangabad, Maharashtra, I agree you need a guide. Moreover, I really reaaaaallllllly like the way you have written about Agra and Tajmahal!

    10. Ah, the Taj! Hope to revisit one day. It was one of the first sights I visited outside Mumbai. I really enjoyed your article, it made me relieve my experience. Ha ha, and I agree with you about the Indian Railway website being extremely frustrating. It’s very overloaded and poorly designed, although it did improve over the years. I’ve been using Cleatrip and it was a far better experience, but I have a local bank card. Not sure what would it be like with a foreign one.

    11. So the Taj Mahal is on my bucketlist and reading this made me want to push it closer to the top. I think I’m going to plan for next year. I knew the emperor built it as a memorial for his wife, but I had no idea he wanted a replica built for himself but was overthrown by his son and locked away. Smh. I agree with you about the tours. I prefer to do everything on my own unless it’s a monument or site that I can’t access myself. Some of these tours have gotten expensive. I’ve saving this post for when I visit because I’ll def be adding some of these activities to my itinerary!

    12. Taj Mahal is such a magical place and it’s a pilgrimage to many travelers. Thanks for sharing your experience and glad that you guys had a great time exploring the site and Agra!

    13. I’ve heard and read so much about Taj Mahal, that I’m thinking of adding visiting this wonderful place on my bucket list. I feel seeing the beauty in reality will be way better.

      1. In person it is truly breathless and understandable that they call it the Jewel of India. But couple that with the history you hear behind the Taj Mahal’s creation, it just sucks you into a different time all together!

    14. I never knew the story behind the creation of the Taj Mahal. That’s so interesting and sad. I’m glad you got to go see it. It would have been a shame to be there and missed out on it.

    15. It is considered one of the extortionate builds which engulfed 32 million rupees during that time. Which became equal to 52.8 billion rupees by 2015. During 1983 Taj Mahal was designated being the jewel of Muslim Art in India by UNESCO heritage site.

    16. I want to visit Taj Mahal so much. It must be a wonderful experience although I’m a bit afraid of all those crowds there.

    17. The story is so romantic and ill-fated. Oh how real life is so much better than fantasy. This is definitely on my bucket list too.

    18. The Taj Mahal is an iconic monument synonymous with India and one of the wonders of the World. I was bowled over on my first glimpse of the Taj. Loved reading your post which packs in a lot of information for anyone desirous of visiting this magnificent monument.

    19. I’ve never been to India and it would be so nice to see the Taj Mahal! No trip is ever going to go well without proper research and prep, thanks for this lovely guide.

    20. This guide was perfect for me! I’m heading to India next month and one of my first stops will be the Taj. You included so much useful info like the price and info about getting to and from the Taj from Dehli or Agra (still don’t know how I’m going to get there yet) Thank you for telling me to keep the receipt too! I would have tossed it otherwise.

    21. I’ve wanted to see this since watching “An Idiot Abroad” (although not exactly the best promo haha). Hope to see before I kick the bucket too!

    22. It looks like you had a great time. I really want to visit the Taj Mahal, it is on my bucket list. Hopefully I will get there next winter 🙂

    23. I’ve always wanted to see the Taj Mahal – but was never thrilled with the idea of going to India (is that a terrible thing to say?!) so it’s good to know from your post that it can be done in a short space of time. Thanks for the tips and info!

      1. I know how you feel. India though was great and to be honest, the people there are amazing as a whole. Because of them I will forever recommend it.

    24. The big question about the taj mahal is why do foreigners pay about 10 times more than locals to enter. It should be the same price for all like at the local McDonald’s in Agra. Everyone pays the same price there!

      1. I’ve been to other places even here in the states where the locals get a cheaper local price, so that wasn’t my issue. I was just shocked at the extreme price difference

    25. Waw such a detail description on Pride of India- The Taj Mahal. I have been to this place twice and would love to go again. Thank you for sharing

    26. I love you included the story behind the Taj Mahal! The history behind places like this is what makes them so cool to visit!

    27. I’m a little bit jealous right now because me and my husband hope to see that place one day

    28. I love how you gave a detailed description of your trip! And the history behind it was a plus. I never knew there was story behind it although a sad one.

    29. I’ve always wanted to see this in person ever since I read about the story of why it was built when I was little! It would be awesome to go here someday!

    30. India and the Taj Mahal are definitely on my bucket list. Your post was so incredibly detailed and informative that I am definitely pinning it for reference for when I finally make it there!

    31. Some really great tips in this article. We haven’t been yet but great you told us about the train and the advice on travel times will be helpful for itinerary planning. Thanks a lot

    32. It is lovely to see that you have so much information on the Taj. It is certainly the pride of India and one of our most loved icons. The best time to see the monument is early morning, when you can skip the crowds and catch the soft light which makes the structure appear even more surreal.

    33. Thanks so much for all the information, tips and tricks. I am hoping to be travel Agra in December this year and your insight will come in very handy. Thanks again. Mel

    34. Saving the receipt. Good tip, saving that away for when i finally make it there! 🙂

      Great post! Love your little insights and your photos are spectacular (which is hard when there are so many people around). Well done

    35. What a cool experience. I love that you acknowledge the stigma of “if you have time…” but that it’s a must-see. I’ve never hired a driver for a day to act in place of an organized tour. That’s kind of brilliant.

        1. You know I have been to Taj so many times now, but it’s just everytime you visit it’s a surreal feeling!

    36. The Taj Mahal has been on my bucket list since the first time I saw it as a teenager, both because it was beautiful and because of the story behind its existence. I’m so glad I got to see it closer and learn more about it from your post!

    37. Ah, so great. I got to live vicariously through your post; thank you so much for all the information. Hopefully someday I’ll see it with my own eyes.

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