2 days in Agra

Day by day

1. Day 1: Taj Mahal and Agra Fort

   Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah and Mehtab Bagh, then Sadar Bazaar in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Taj Mahal

      The tomb stands on a raised platform at the end of a formal charbagh garden, flanked by a mosque and its mirror-image guest house, with calligraphy and pietra dura inlay of semi-precious stones covering the surfaces. Entry is through the East, West or South gates, and a small museum sits inside the complex. The Taj is closed to sightseers every Friday.

   2. Late morning

      Agra Fort

      Inside the 2.5 km of walls are the Jahangiri Mahal, the Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas halls of audience and the octagonal Musamman Burj, where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb and could see the Taj downstream.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Petha

      Long-established petha shops in Sadar Bazaar, Noori Darwaza and around the city; buy from busy stores with high turnover.

   4. Afternoon

      Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah

      Its walls are covered in inlaid wine cups, cypresses and flower vases, and its riverside garden is peaceful.

   5. Late afternoon

      Mehtab Bagh

      From its riverbank you see the Taj's full symmetry reflected in the water at sunset, without the crowds inside the monument.

   6. Evening

      Sadar Bazaar

      Come after dark for aloo tikki and golgappe, and buy petha from a busy shop to take home.

2. Day 2: Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra and Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani

   Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra, Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani, Guru ka Tal and Jama Masjid, then Sunrise at the Taj in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra

      Blackbuck deer and langur monkeys roam the lawns, which makes it more relaxed than the Taj.

   2. Late morning

      Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani

      The building was originally a garden pavilion, and its plain red sandstone exterior and vaulted interior are rarely visited.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Bedai and jalebi

      Morning stalls and sweet shops in the old city around Kinari Bazaar and Belanganj.

   4. Afternoon

      Guru ka Tal

      The red sandstone complex is built around a historic water tank, and like all gurdwaras it serves free communal meals (langar) to visitors of any faith.

   5. Late afternoon

      Jama Masjid

      Its red sandstone domes are patterned with white marble zigzags, and its courtyard faces the lanes of Kinari Bazaar near Agra Fort station.

   6. Evening

      Sunrise at the Taj

      Walk through the gate as the sky lightens and watch the marble turn from grey to pink.

Before you go

• Taj Mahal: Buy tickets online in advance to skip the ticket queue; entering the main mausoleum needs a separate add-on, and limited night-viewing slots around the full moon must be booked ahead.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 10–13 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.4 hours in December to 13.8 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Ride-hailing. Uber and Ola cars and autos operate across Agra and are the easiest way to avoid fare negotiations between the Taj, the fort and the station.

More or fewer days

• One day in Agra
• 3 days in Agra

Questions travellers ask