Ticket prices
Taj Mahal Ticket Prices: What You Actually Pay
ASI sets three fee tiers plus a separate ₹200 mausoleum charge. Here is the verified breakdown — and what the ₹500 toll inside it buys.
Check dates and availability ↗Taj Mahal entry fees, checked against ASI's live booking system, August 2026
| Visitor category | At the gate | Online | Mausoleum extra | Online total with mausoleum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign national | ₹1,100 | ₹1,050 | ₹200 | ₹1,250 |
| SAARC citizen | ₹540 | ₹535 | ₹200 | ₹735 |
| BIMSTEC citizen | ₹540 | ₹535 | ₹200 | ₹735 |
| Indian / OCI | ₹50 | ₹45 | ₹200 | ₹245 |
| Child under 15, any nationality | Free | Free | Not specified by ASI | — |
Three tiers, set by nationality
The Archaeological Survey of India prices entry by nationality, not by age or residency. Foreign nationals pay ₹1,100 at the gate. Citizens of SAARC countries — India's immediate neighbours — and of BIMSTEC countries pay ₹540. Indian citizens and OCI cardholders pay ₹50. These are the counter prices published on the official visiting-hours page. There is no student rate, no senior rate and no resident rate; a foreign national living in India still pays the foreigner fee. Children under fifteen enter free regardless of nationality, which ASI states explicitly. You will be asked for photo ID at entry, so carry the passport you booked with.
The ₹200 mausoleum ticket is separate — and you choose it upfront
The white marble tomb chamber at the centre, where the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan sit behind a perforated marble screen, is not covered by the entry ticket. It costs an extra ₹200, and that ₹200 is identical for everyone — Indian, SAARC, BIMSTEC or foreign. ASI describes it as optional, and a great many visitors skip it, since the exterior, the gardens and the plinth are what most people came to see. The important practical point: when booking online you must pick “Taj Mahal with Mausoleum” at the moment of purchase. There is no way to add it afterwards to an existing e-ticket.
What is actually inside the price
The foreigner ticket is not a single fee. ASI's booking system breaks it into an ASI component and a ₹500 pathkar — a toll levied by the Agra Development Authority. That ₹500 is more than half the ticket, and it is the same ₹500 whether you are a foreign national or a SAARC citizen, which is why the SAARC ticket costs ₹540 while an Indian pays ₹50. The toll is not wasted money: Agra district administration confirms it is valid the same day across the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's Tomb and Itimad-ud-Daulah, reducing what you pay at each.
What the foreigner ticket includes
ASI bundles several things into the foreign, SAARC and BIMSTEC tickets at no extra cost, and states so plainly: shoe covers, a half-litre bottle of water, a tourist guide map of Agra, and the battery bus and golf cart service that carries you the last stretch from the car park. None of these inclusions is listed against the ₹50 domestic ticket. Shoe racks sit free of charge immediately below the main mausoleum. Wheelchairs and a first aid box are available at the ASI office inside the complex. It is a genuinely decent bundle, and worth knowing about before someone at the gate offers to sell you shoe covers.
The ₹5 and ₹50 that people miss
Booking online is cheaper than queuing. ASI applies a discount of ₹50 per foreigner ticket and ₹5 per Indian ticket, so the online prices become ₹1,050, ₹535 and ₹45 respectively. The saving is small in absolute terms and is not really the reason to book ahead — avoiding the ticket queue in Agra heat is. Note that the discount applies to the base entry fee only; the ₹200 mausoleum supplement is charged at face value either way. Ticket windows at the gates open one hour before sunrise and shut forty-five minutes before sunset, which is earlier than most people expect.