I doubt there is anyone in the world who hasn’t heard of the Taj Mahal, its one of those iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building, the Sydney Opera House or the Louvre.

No visit to the north of India would be complete without a visit.  Visting the Taj Mahal left a huge impression on me.  Its beautiful and photos don’t do it justice.  From afar its just a large white, marble building.  Up close its spectacular, the carvings, the soft buttery yellow of the marble that changes colour with the light.

The building was constructed between 1632 and 1653 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.  While most are familiar with the main large white building, its actually a series of buildings in a complex with gardens.  Even with thousands of other visitors, we found it was still possible to find a quiet place to just simply sit and reflect for a while.

Also note as you approach the central main building, the one you know from the photos, you need to remove your shoes and you enter the area.  There are shelves for leaving your shoes while you wander around it.

For more on the history of the Taj Mahal, I recommend the Wikipedia page.

If you are visiting, entry for foreigners is 750INR / $NZ15 / $US12.   For  Indian nationals its virtually free to go and visit, as it should be (20INR / $NZ0.41 / $US0.32).