Everyone has loads of good things to say about the Taj Mahal, and so, as we're finding it the way here.

Our delayed train finally pulls into Agra at midnight, there are no touts around and the pre-paid rickshaw stand is still open, so we have an easy escape from the station. We end up at the Shanti Lodge, not far from the Taj's eastern gate, although it's not until breakfast that we realise how close we are. The view from the rooftop cafe is fantastic: the Taj Mahal gleams in the morning sun like a pearl. It's searing hot already, so we decide to relax and head over there late afternoon.

From the immaculate lawns of the Chowk-i-Jilo Khana courtyard, the Taj is hidden by the huge arched red sandstone gateway, topped with domes and decorated with verses from the Koran: "Enter thou My Paradise". And then you pass through the inner gateway and before you is the majestic, perfect, Taj Mahal. It deserves its place as one of the seven wonders of the world. — travelblog.org

— Posted by Faye Thompson