It may not be the best of circumstances, but here's a chance to make the best of the circumstances. When the Taj Mahal reopens to tourists later this month, it will have far fewer visitors. To maintain social distancing, authorities are capping the number of tourists per day to 5,000. That's barely a fourth of the 20,000-odd footfalls that the iconic Agra monument was getting each day in pre-COVID times. And even these will be split into batches of 2,500 each, in pre- and post-lunch slots, with a further cap of three hours per visitor. It's possibly your best chance of seeing the Taj minus the crowds.
Guidelines for tourists to Taj Mahal and Agra Fort
The Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort are set to reopen on 21 September, six months after they were closed to the public as part of the nationwide lockdown .While many other monuments across India reopened in July, several in Agra remained shut as they fell within buffer areas of containment zones. This unlock now comes with its set of rules:
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Guidelines for visits to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort
Only 5,000 tourists will be permitted at the Taj Mahal each day. This number is capped at 2,500 for the Agra Fort.
No physical tickets will be available for sale at either monument. Tickets for both the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort will be sold online alone on the website and the mobile phone app of the Archaeological Survey of India. For the Taj, tickets will first be sold for the first slot. Only once all 2,500 tickets are sold out will tickets for the next 2,500 be available for sale. Similarly, for the Agra Fort, 1,300 will be sold for the morning slot and 1,200 for the evening. Tourists can also buy tickets by scanning the QR Code on standees outside the monuments.
Licensed commercial photographers permitted at the Taj Mahal will be given time slows. They won't all be allowed on the premises at the same time. Group photography is prohibited.
Visitors have a time limit of three hours and will have to carry their own sanitisers and water bottles inside.
The Taj Mahal will be closed to the public on Fridays and Sundays. The Agra Fort will be closed on Sundays.
Masks are mandatory to enter the monuments. Visitors will also undergo thermal checking at entrances and be asked to sanitise their hands and maintain physical distancing at all times inside the monuments, which will be sanitised twice a day.