Taj Nature Walk

Seventy hectares of woodland sit 500 metres from the Taj's East Gate, run by the state forest department: sandy trails, flowering mounds and watchtowers placed so the marble dome rises clear above the treeline. It is among the cheapest ways to look at the monument with nobody else in the frame: about ₹50 for Indians and ₹200 for foreigners, open through daylight hours. Early morning and the last hour of light do the most for the view. Peacocks turn up on the paths, and the casual birding is good enough to fill the gap between two monument visits.

The Taj framed by forest instead of crowds, for roughly the price of a chai