In short
The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. The marble shifts colour with the light, which is why everyone comes at dawn.
Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, forty kilometres away, are also World Heritage sites and far less visited.
What it really costs
Agra is cheap for accommodation and food. The budget turns on tickets: the Taj costs 1,100 rupees for a foreigner, plus 200 to enter the mausoleum.
The fast train from Delhi takes two hours and costs little. Many people do the return trip in a day, which rules out sunrise.
What nobody tells you
The Taj is closed on Fridays, without exception. It is the commonest planning mistake in northern India.
The entry ticket only opens the gardens and the terrace: going inside the mausoleum needs a second ticket, bought at the same window.
Mehtab Bagh, the garden across the river, gives the Taj at sunset for a fraction of the price, and almost nobody goes there.
