Tips for visiting Taj Mahal and more in Agra 👑 Backpacking Golden Triangle, India

Hi there!

Being one of the modern 7 wonders of the world, you can imagine that the Taj Mahal gets a ton of visitors every day.

Well, there are tons of people visiting the Taj Mahal every day except Friday. The Taj Mahal is closed on Friday.

Also be sure to see how to spend your days in Udaipur (city of lakes), Jaipur (pink city), Jodhpur (blue city), Jaisalmer (golden city), the Thar Desert (camel safari), Rajasthan (land of kings, forts, and palaces), the rest of Agra, and… the Kerala backwaters!

Get ideas on how to get around Rajasthan, including by bus, local train, and overnight train.

And if you’re backpacking around the Golden Triangle and Rajasthan alone, you may like the idea of staying at one of the best hostels in Rajasthan.

So…

What are some things to know before going to the Taj Mahal?

Tips for visiting the Taj Mahal

1. When planning out your Agra itinerary, you’ll also want to add in some buffer room for getting into the Taj Mahal

This can include things like:

• Walking to the ticket booth
• Walking to the Taj Mahal gate entrance
• Security check
• Checking a bag into a luggage storage locker

These things may not seem like a lot, but the time can add up as you are walking around outside the grounds of the Taj Mahal.

2. There are separate lines for foreigners and Indians

At both the ticket booth and the entry gate, there are separate lines for foreigners and Indians.

3. The lines may not be as long as they seem. (So don’t let the tour guides let you believe that they are!)

Are the lines long at the Taj Mahal?!

When I went, the separate line for foreigners was pretty much non-existent.

I was there around noon on a Monday in the month of March, and I went through the south gate of the Taj Mahal.

But the long lines really all depends on when you go.

When you first arrive at an entry gate of the Taj Mahal, you may feel overwhelmed by all the people you see and the incredibly long lines.

You will likely have people approach you telling you that you can pay them to skip ahead to the front of the line.

But there may not be a reason to pay for this “service.”

So first check how long the line actually is before considering a tour that includes the “skip the line” service.

Just because you see an intimidating long line doesn’t necessarily mean the line will be long for you!

You may have the experience when you visit the Taj Mahal of finding really long lines for foreigners and short lines for Indians.

But just know that just because a tour guide offers you a tour to skip the line and points at a long line, it doesn’t mean that the line you’ll be taking is actually long.

4. If you don’t take a backpack or bag, you can get visit the Taj Mahal quicker!

Are backpacks allowed in the Taj Mahal?

I had a small backpack that I took with me to the Taj Mahal. (There’s a picture below of my backpack that I’m wearing in front of the Taj Mahal.)

Bringing a backpack did mean that I had to wait in an extra line so that the backpack could be checked by security before entry to the Taj Mahal.

The security bag check is combined for Indians and foreigners, but I didn’t think the wait time for this was that bad.

If you don’t have a bag that needs to be scanned, this can be totally skipped!

And that means… quicker access to the Taj Mahal!

5. If you bring a prohibited item with you, there’s an easy solution. (There’s a luggage storage area.)

As a global icon and national monument, security at the Taj Mahal is tight.

Guards with guns were all around. Even on the train to Agra from Jaipur, officers with guns were frequently walking through.

I went through the Taj Mahal security check and had a flashlight that’s not allowed in my backpack (oops) so I had to walk over to the luggage storage area, then walk back again.

This probably added a total of around 20 minutes of time.

I was happy to have this easy solution, but if you’re in a rush trying to make the most of your time with just one day in Agra, you may consider it to be somewhat of an inconvenience.

So make sure you know the rules of what is not allowed and what not to bring to the Taj Mahal.

If needed, you can head to the luggage storage lockers before you go to the Taj Mahal.

This way you won’t have any prohibited items that will cause you a delay in getting in.

If you do take a backpack or purse, you also may have some things in there that you don’t think twice about.

Among the list of items that are prohibited at the Taj Mahal include phone chargers, headphones, and tobacco products.

6. It costs 20 rupees (30 cents) to check a backpack

The lockers that I went to were located to the far left of the ticket booth of the south gate.

There are both lockers and a bag rack.

You can store your big backpack here.

7. If you are forced to go check your bag from the entry gate, you don’t have to go back through the line when you return

This is my daypack that I was allowed to carry into the Taj Mahal.

When I went back to the entry gate, the security guy allowed me to go straight through the gate instead of the proper line.

Although in my case there was no line anyway.

But in case this happens to you when there IS a line, you don’t have to worry about standing in line all over again!

You will have to go back through the security check again though.

Then once you finally get through the Taj Mahal entry gate…

What you came for!

And then…

What to do for the rest of your time in Agra after the Taj Mahal

If you don’t want to leave Agra immediately after seeing the Taj Mahal, see more places to visit in Agra beyond the Taj Mahal.

Among those places, the Agra Fort can be a fort worth visiting when you’re backpacking the Golden Triangle.

There are also more forts to be seen in North India for a glimpse of the royal past in cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Chittorgarh.

And for more things to do in Agra, try going to a garden so you can see the Taj Mahal from the back, or to a rooftop restaurant for views of the Taj Mahal from a distance too!

HAPPY TAJ MAHAL VISIT!

How to spend 2 weeks in Rajasthan

• 3 days in Udaipur (city of lakes)
• 2 days in Jodhpur (blue city)
• 3 days in Jaisalmer (golden city)
  • Thar desert (camel safari)
• 3 days in Jaipur (pink city)
• 1 day in Agra

PLUS: How to spend one month in South India