Taj Mahal: Tickets, Hours and How to Visit
The Taj Mahal is not in Delhi, it’s 230km away in Agra, and the fact that wrecks the most schedules is that it’s closed every Friday for mosque prayers, no exceptions. From a Delhi base, the Gatimaan Express gets you there in 1h40min; budget ₹1,300 for full foreigner access (₹1,100 for the main complex plus ₹200 for the mausoleum interior), and go in the first hour after opening or the last before close if you want it without a few thousand other people in your photo.
Key facts
| Key facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Entry price | ₹1,100 foreigner (main complex) + ₹200 mausoleum access, ~₹1,300 total; ₹50 online discount; under-15 free |
| Hours | sunrise to sunset, roughly 6am-6:30pm; CLOSED every Friday |
| Time needed | 2-3 hours, longer with sunrise plus the mausoleum |
| Booking lead | book online the same week via the official ticketing site; gate tickets available but slower |
Getting here from Delhi
The Gatimaan Express, India’s first semi-high-speed train, covers Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra Cantt in 1h40min at up to 160km/h, departing 8:10am daily except Friday, when the Taj is closed anyway. Vande Bharat options run the same route. Fares span ₹860 (AC Chair Car) to ₹1,695 (Executive Class), book through IRCTC 30-60 days out in the November-February peak. Driving covers the 230km in 3-4 hours, only worth it if you’re continuing straight on to Jaipur. Compare a Taj Mahal day tour on GetYourGuide if you’d rather not sort the train and local transport yourself.
Is the sunrise slot worth the extra effort?
Yes, if the crowd-free photo matters to you. Gates open around sunrise, and the marble genuinely shifts color as the light changes, pale pink at dawn, white at midday, gold under a full moon. The trade-off is an earlier Agra arrival than the standard day-trip train allows, meaning an overnight in Agra rather than a same-day round trip from Delhi.
What does the 200 rupee mausoleum ticket actually get you?
Access to the inner chamber holding the actual cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, the reason the whole complex exists. Skip it and you’ve seen the famous exterior and gardens but not the tomb itself. It sells out on busy days since only a limited number enter at a time, buy it alongside your main ticket rather than deciding at the gate.
Book direct, and confirm the Friday closure before anything else
Buy tickets through the official ticketing site rather than a third-party reseller charging a markup for the same entry. The Friday closure catches more visitors than any other single planning mistake here, if your only free day in Agra lands on a Friday, move it, there’s no workaround.
Where this fits in a longer trip
The Taj is one stop in a wider loop: Agra Fort (foreigner ₹650) and Fatehpur Sikri (foreigner ₹550) share a ₹500 combined foreign-visitor toll ticket with the Taj if you’re seeing more than one on the same day. For hotel options in Agra itself, check rates on Booking.com . Our Delhi Golden Triangle guide and 2 to 7-day itineraries lay out exactly how to fit the Taj alongside Jaipur, Rishikesh and Amritsar, and the Agra Fort UNESCO writeup covers the fort’s own history in depth.
Reconfirm the day of the week before you book your train, not just the date, the Friday closure is the single detail that ends more Agra day trips in disappointment than anything else on this list.