Agra & the Taj Mahal

Currency

Exchange at a bank or an authorised dealer, never on the street. Cards are widely accepted in hotels and restaurants but not at the smaller shops. Keep small notes for tips and rickshaws, and check that any note you are handed is not torn.

ATMs & cards

SBI, HDFC and ICICI machines inside bank premises are the reliable ones. Many cap withdrawals at 10,000 rupees and charge per transaction. Avoid standalone machines near the monuments.

Use machines inside bank premises. Withdrawals are usually capped at 10,000 rupees with a fee each time, so plan around fewer, larger ones.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Violent crime against visitors is rare, but Agra has a persistent and practised scam industry: unofficial guides, gem shops, and drivers who take you somewhere you did not ask for. Book guides through the ticket office. Women travelling alone should expect staring and unwanted attention and are usually better off with a pre-booked driver. The Taj closes on Fridays.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Rabies — India has the world’s highest rate of rabies deaths
• Japanese encephalitis for rural stays
• Hepatitis B for longer stays

Getting treated

Private hospitals in the big cities are genuinely excellent and inexpensive, which is why medical tourism is a major industry. Standards drop sharply outside them, and Agra in particular is thin — serious cases go to Delhi, two hours away. Payment up front is expected.

Never drink tap water or take ice outside good hotels. Traveller’s diarrhoea affects a large share of visitors — give street food a few days. Any animal bite or scratch, including from monkeys at the monuments, means a clinic the same day.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Mughlai food is the local tradition — try dal Agra and petha, the local sweet. Eat where there is a queue of locals, drink only bottled or filtered water, and give street food a few days before trying it.

Getting around

• Uber and Ola — cheap, metered and the simplest way to avoid the fare argument entirely
• Auto-rickshaw — agree the price first; the Taj’s east and west gates both have fixed-rate stands
• Electric rickshaw — the only vehicles allowed within 500m of the Taj, so the last stretch is always one of these
• Gatimaan Express — the fast train from Delhi, 100 minutes, far better than driving
• Airport: most visitors arrive by train from Delhi rather than flying

Must-see

Things to do

• See the Taj at sunrise, when it is coolest and emptiest
• Spend an hour at Agra Fort looking back at it
• Cross to Mehtab Bagh for the view from the far bank
• Take a half-day to Fatehpur Sikri
• See the "baby Taj", which almost nobody visits

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Hindi

• HelloNamastena-mas-TAY
• PleaseKripyaKRIP-ya
• Thank youDhanyavaaddhan-ya-VAAD
• Yes / NoHaan / Nahinhaan / na-HEEN
• How much is it?Kitne ka hai?KIT-neh ka hai
• Too expensiveBahut mehengaba-HUT me-HEN-ga
• No thank youNahin, dhanyavaadna-HEEN dhan-ya-VAAD
• Water, pleasePaani dijiyePAA-nee DEE-ji-yeh

Namaste with palms together works everywhere in the north and is never wrong. In Goa, Konkani is the local language but Hindi and English are both understood.

Religion

Hindu majority, with large Muslim and other communities

Around 80% Hindu and 14% Muslim, plus Sikh, Christian, Buddhist and Jain communities. Remove shoes at every temple, and at many shops. The Taj Mahal is a working mosque on Fridays, when it closes to tourists.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Eat and give with the right hand — the left is considered unclean
• Remove shoes before entering temples, and often before entering a home or a shop
• Dress modestly outside beach areas: shoulders and knees covered, and more conservative for women
• Accept that the head wobble means yes, agreement, or acknowledgement, depending entirely on context

Don't

• Do not show public affection beyond hand-holding; it draws stares and in places open disapproval
• Do not photograph people, religious ceremonies or cremation grounds without permission
• Do not touch anyone with your feet, and apologise if you do it by accident
• Do not assume "yes" means yes — a reluctance to disappoint often replaces a direct no