1 Day Visit to Taj Mahal – How to Get to Agra

Kali

7 years ago

Our 1 day visit to the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World! How to get to Agra from Delhi on the Taj Express, and seeing the sights.

1 Day Visit to the Taj Mahal (India)

The Taj Express to Agra

Juan and I caught the Taj Express, the superfast train from Delhi to Agra which leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station first thing in the morning. The trip takes two and a half hours and includes breakfast. A return ticket is convenient if you want to see the Taj Mahal and get back to Delhi the same day, but remember the monument is closed to the public on Fridays.

Agra train station has a convenient pre-paid tuk-tuk booth with an official rate to avoid any hassle getting into town!

Visiting the Taj Majal

This was my first time in a homestay, and it was a good experience. The guesthouse was centrally located and we were upgraded free of charge to a magnificent suite with views to the Taj Mahal! The family were really friendly and pleasant, their traditional home was freshly painted and full of character, the majority of rooms are partitioned and do not have windows to keep out the heat.

It was only a few minutes’ walk to the official office to buy the Taj Mahal entrance ticket which includes a complimentary bottle of water, shoe covers and a free ride to the Eastern gate on an electric bus. Just take your camera with you, bags are security searched and there’s a long list of items you can’t take into the grounds including food or cigarettes.

Indians can buy subsidised tickets for a nominal fee but for foreign tourists it’s more expensive… this presumably helps with the upkeep of the complex but gives local families and Indian holidaymakers affordable access to their World Heritage Sites. On the upside, foreigners are privileged and can skip the lengthy queues.

1 Day at the Taj Mahal

The Taj is pretty amazing… the extraordinary marble monument is just as magnificent as the postcard pictures and I could hardly believe that I was actually here, seeing the most iconic World Heritage Site in the world! The facts about the Taj Majal are incredibly interesting. The impressive East, West and South gates lead onto a large forecourt which fronts the Great Gate entrance to the Taj Mahal grounds, a magnificent complex enclosed by red sandstone walls.

Manicured lawns and ornamental gardens with fountains lead up to the Taj Mahal itself set on the banks of the Yamuna River. There are hundreds of people taking snaps and photographers at hand if anyone wants a professional shoot in the landscaped gardens.

The setting is so visually scenic you really can’t get it wrong! Taking selfies with tourists is currently the rage in India and we posed with some lovely families but the game gets tedious after a while and a firm ‘no’ is the quickest way to get rid of annoying teenage boys.

The Taj Mahal is an extraordinary mausoleum built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600s to immortalize his love for Mumtāz Mahal his beautiful wife, a Persian princess who died tragically in childbirth. The iconic domes and minaret spires of the white marble building reflect symmetrically in the water gardens and within the octagonal burial chamber delicately carved entwining vines, lotus flowers and geometrical patterns are inset with precious stones.

A long queue of Indian people wound across the huge platform waiting patiently in turn but being foreign visitors Juan and I were waved through the arched doorway by security guards…it’s a pity you are not allowed to take photographs of the tomb or statues inside.

In many Asian countries including India it’s customary to leave your shoes outside and walk barefoot inside a building –the home, a shop and particularly sacred places like a temple- but considering there are thousands of visitors a day at the Taj everyone puts on shoe covers. The rear of the raised plinth looks down to the river which borders the monument to the north.

Two identical sandstone buildings flank the Taj Mahal, the one to the west is actually a mosque.

Staying overnight in Agra means there’s no rush to look around the Taj Mahal gardens, so we spent most of the day just relaxing there. After all, it’s a once in a lifetime experience for us! The small museum is interesting to see too with the original architect’s drawings on show, portraits of Shah Jahan and his wife, Mughal era paintings and a collection of old coins.

Once the capital of India during the Mughal Dynasty, Agra’s other main attractions are the Red Fort World Heritage Site and the Metab Bagh gardens on the opposite side of the riverbank which is the ideal spot to watch the Taj Mahal at sunset.

We walked back to the home stay passing some white holy cows along the way! A home-cooked vegan meal was waiting for us, prepared by the owner, a lovely lady who looks after the household. Her husband is a tour guide, an amusing guy whose life ambition is to provide his children with a good education, and the son we met is a medical student who chatted to us for a while after dinner.

Agra Train Station

Next day we had an early start to Jaipur… to see ‘pink city’. The extensive Indian Railway system is a great way to get around the country although patience is required. Our travel plans are flexible, we don’t have a time limit, and so I just need to adapt my ‘western mentality’ I am told… train routes can cover thousands of kilometres which means they are often running late.

Stations are busy with people day and night, with many sleeping on the platforms. Overhead electronic boards conveniently show arrival and departure information in English too.

The two hour wait on Agra platform was entertaining… just watching people come and go, friendly families, the ladies wearing bright saris, shy teenagers practicing their English with us, and small kiddies throwing bananas to the resident monkeys playing over the railway lines! Food booths sell cheap snacks and lovely hot masala chai…tiny cups of sweet, spiced, milky tea.

The express train from Agra to Jaipur was not a superfast, it stopped along the way at countless stations and the journey took some five hours instead of three and a half.

Getting to Jaipur from Agra

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