Your free audio walking tour of Shah Jahan's marble mausoleum, custom-built around the light you want and the queue you'd avoid. Tell us a story, theme, or vibe and your tour is ready in 30 seconds. Works offline, 9 voiced languages, 30 free minutes on signup.
East Gate at 05:30. Marble flushes pink for 20 minutes, then white. The classic moment.
Darwaza-i Rauza gateway, charbagh garden, the bench shot, the tomb, the mosque.
The love story. 14th child, the deathbed promise, 22 years of construction, 20,000 workers.
Pietra dura. 28 types of precious stone in the cenotaph screen. Look with the torch.
Across the Yamuna. Moonlight Garden. ₹50 entry. The other half of Shah Jahan's plan.
2 km away. Shah Jahan's prison with a view of the Taj where his son confined him.
The four-part Persian garden as paradise. Reflecting pools, raised paths, original cypress.
Itimad-ud-Daulah, 1628. The earlier marble inlay tomb. Smaller, quieter, the prototype.
Quranic verses around the gate and the cenotaph - sized so all read the same to the eye.
40 km west. Akbar's abandoned red-sandstone capital. Half-day, often skipped, magnificent.
Type a theme, an angle, a question - we'll build the walk in 30 seconds.
Local knowledge
The things you only learn after you've walked it.
01
The East Gate has the shortest dawn queue. Be there 30 minutes before official sunrise: in winter that's 05:30, in summer 04:45. The marble glows pink for 15-20 minutes - the most photographed dawn on the planet, with reason. By 09:00 the bench is a queue of selfie sticks.
02
The on-site mosque is functional and the complex closes every Friday. Plan accordingly. The Mughal calendar also closes the mausoleum interior for the five full-moon nights of the month except Friday - separate Night Viewing ticket then.
03
asi.payumoney.com is the official site. ₹1,300 foreign adults plus ₹200 if you want to enter the mausoleum. Booking online gets you a separate (much shorter) queue at security. Bring the QR code on your phone and your passport.
04
No food, no tobacco, no large bags, no books, no professional tripods. Phones and small cameras yes. Free shoe covers at the platform - you wear them up the marble steps. Cloakroom at the East and West Gates for everything else.
05
Across the river by tuk-tuk (15 min, ₹150). The Moonlight Garden was originally designed to be the symmetric reflection of the Taj. ₹50 entry. Watch the marble go orange. Locals also sit on the back-gate sand below the garden for free.
06
2 km from the Taj. ₹650 foreign adults. Shah Jahan was imprisoned here by his son Aurangzeb for the last eight years of his life, with a view of his wife's tomb. The Musamman Burj balcony is where he died. A morning Taj + afternoon Fort is the classic Agra day.
How it works
Three things, in 30 seconds.
01
Any element, theme, or vibe. "Sunrise reveal", "Marble inlay", "Love story". iWander writes you the walk in 30 seconds.
02
Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, the 22-year build, the calligraphy, the pietra dura, the river-side plan for a black Taj that never came. Stories whispered as you cross the gardens.
03
What does the inscription say? What stones are in this flower? Why is one minaret cracked? Point your camera, ask out loud, or type. Your guide answers in seconds.
Works offline · 9 voiced languages · 30 free minutes on signup
How to visit
Tickets, timings, transport - the practical stuff most pages bury.
TICKETS
Adult foreign tourist ₹1,300 (~$15). Mausoleum interior +₹200. Indian citizens ₹50. SAARC/BIMSTEC ₹540. Under-15s free. Book on asi.payumoney.com - separate online-ticket queue is significantly shorter. Tickets valid 3 hours from entry.
HOURS
Open Sa-Th sunrise to sunset (roughly 06:00-18:30 summer, 06:45-17:30 winter). Closed Fridays for mosque prayers. Night viewings on 5 nights around full moon (Sa-Th) for an extra ₹510 - book at the Archaeological Survey office a day in advance.
GETTING THERE
Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin → Agra Cantt by Gatimaan Express or Vande Bharat, 1h 40, ₹1,200-1,500 chair car. Tuk-tuk to the East Gate ₹200. Day trips from Delhi: doable but rushed. Stay one night in Agra to catch sunrise plus sunset.
GATES
Three entrances. East Gate has the shortest queues and quickest access to the gardens. West Gate is closer to most hotels but busier. South Gate is exit-only most of the day. Online tickets give you a fast-track lane at all three.
VIEW FREE
Mehtab Bagh (₹50) or the back-gate riverbank (free) give you the south-front view across the Yamuna at sunset. Agra Fort upper terrace also has a Taj-view across the river, included in the Fort ticket. Half the tourists never see it from here.
BUNDLE
Delhi + Agra + Jaipur is the classic 4-7 day circuit. Add Fatehpur Sikri (between Agra and Jaipur) and Bharatpur bird sanctuary. Trains and chauffeur-driven cars both work; the latter lets you stop at Fatehpur Sikri en route.
Questions
Practical info
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Updated 19 May 2026 by the iWander local team · Curated for accuracy