From whichever angle you look at Taj Mahal, it looks like an eternal beauty constructed on earth. At the time when the sun sets, the sun’s feeble rays kiss the minarets, bathing them in a soft, calm light. When the crowds gather in the evening, the dying light casts a heavenly glow over it. Quite amazed, that the monument of love beats the likes of the Great Wall of China, the old city of Jerusalem, Machu Picchu in Peru, to come at the 2^nd in the list of world’s most amazing heritage sites.

A survey conducted by online travel portal lists the UNESCO Cultural and national heritage sites which are amazing and best rated by travellers around the world. With approximately 8 million visitors in a year, the Taj was ranked only to Cambodia’s mighty Angkor Wat. Either you desire to take a tour or explore its mesmerising beauty on your own; it’s all up to you. It is sure that each experience will leave you hypnotized. Starting from the plant motifs, to the Persian calligraphy on the wall, elaborated inlay work, reflective tiles, the monument is a sight to behold.

Taj was entitled to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It is also described as “the jewel of Muslim” art in India and one of the globally admired monuments of the world’s heritage. According to the government statistics, every fourth foreign tourist visits the heavenly monument. It is said that the best views you will see at the time of dawn or dusk, when the crowds have gone and the lighting reveals its real majesty.

India’s best known and best internationally appreciable heritage has seen many celebrities, high-profile visitors. Currently, it has been caught in a controversy over Indian identity. Taj, is indeed a stunning and heavenly monument, as writer Rabindranath Tagore described it as, “a teardrop on the cheek of time”. The priority of preserving our cultural heritage is important, and groups like UNESCO are crucial in this endeavour.