Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is one of the world's most recognizable and evocative sights and a visit here does not disappoint. Set overlooking the River Yamuna, visible from Agra Fort in the West, the Taj was built by Mughal empire Shah Jahan to enshrine the body of his favorite wife who died giving birth to her 14th child, in 1631.

The Taj Mahal is set in a large walled garden, between two mini-Tajs (one of which is a mosque), in front of a long reflective pond. Close up the craftsmanship is as spectacular as at a distance; the inside of the vast double-dome is inlaid with verses from the Koran and semi-precious stones. Visitors should aim to visit it at dawn and dusk when the reflection of the sun changes the color of the dome from white to shades of pink.

Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal and once the capital of the Mughal empire, has several monuments which display the splendour of Mughal architecture. It was here that Babar, the founder of the dynasty, had the first formal Persian garden laid out on the banks of the river Yamuna. Akbar, his grandson, raised the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort, within whose walls Jahangir built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens, and which Shahajahan embellished with marble mosques, palaces and pavilions of gem-inlaid white marble.