Day 8 Agra and Taj Mahal

Another early start of 545 for dawn and to beat the crowd !
There’s a chill in the air as we progress to the main entry gate as the sun begins to come up and then we witness over the next two hours the changing colours of the Taj Mahal ! It doesn’t disappoint !

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. In has “harmonious proportions and fluid incorporation of decorative elements” , it is distinguished as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a blend of Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. It’s certainly reminiscent of many a Silk Road structure but it’s pure white which makes it so iconic! Weird to think it was scaffolded by mud being built up from ground !

After Taj Mahal-ing we hit the road to DelhiRead more