> WHEN YOU GO

Before you go: You need a visa and can get one electronically at indianvisaonline.gov.in, but remember you must have two blank pages in your passport. Get there: I flew United Airlines via Newark, N.J. Air Canada flies non-stop from Toronto to Delhi. Agra is 230 kilometres from Delhi via the Taj Express Highway. I travelled by private van. There are day tours and regular trains from Delhi to Agra, including an express train. The Taj Mahal is closed Fridays for worship at the mosque. Take a bicycle rickshaw, bike or walk to the gates. Guests of the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra are taken from the hotel to the entrance 600 metres away by electric golf carts. How to visit: The Taj Mahal is open sunrise to sunset and costs 1,000 rupees (about $20). Tickets at the gates or online at asi.payumoney.com. Bring your passport, get there by 6:30 a.m. for dawn entry and enter by the east or west gate. The south gate opens 8 a.m. There are four lines: foreign women and men and local women and local men. Security is tight and you will be searched. Leave everything but a half-litre of water, camera and phone at the hotel. Phones must be in silent mode. No big bags or backpacks allowed and no food or smoking, no pens or anything sharp can come in. No tripods. A video camera can be brought in for a small fee. Booking a tour: Travel company Abercrombie & Kent can book transportation, guides and arrange Luxury Tailor Made custom itineraries based on travellers’ wish lists; abercrombiekent.com Stay: I stayed at the luxurious The Oberoi Amarvilas, which has a Taj Mahal view from every guest room, including some bathrooms. Do your research: incredibleindia.org and tajmahal.gov.in/index.html. The Uttar Pradesh (state) site is up-tourism.com.