Agra

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 favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan, the builder.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

The fastest way of reaching Taj Mahal, Agra is by air. The city of Taj, Agra, has its airport that is around 7 km from the city center. Indian Airlines operates flights to Agra daily.

There is a good network of trains connecting Agra with the rest of the country. Apart from the main railway station of Agra Cantonment, there are other two stations also, that of Raja-ki-Mandi and Agra Fort. The main trains connecting Agra with Delhi are Palace on Wheels, Shatabdi, Rajdhani, and Taj Express.

There are regular bus services from Agra to many important cities. The main bus stand of Idgah has several buses running for Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Fatehpur-Sikri, etc.