Agra, India
Only let this one teardrop, this Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), Indian writer and Nobel laureate
When his beloved wife died giving birth to their fourteenth child in 1631, Shah Jahan spent the next twenty-two years building a suitable resting place for her: the incomparable Taj Mahal (Crown Palace). Often called the most graceful structure on Earth, this shrine to enduring love towers above the banks of the Yamuna River; its white marble dome and twin minarets shimmer in symmetrical perfection, as its mirror image reflects in the gazing pool below.
Whether you are mourning a lost love, celebrating a new one, or still searching, visit the Taj Mahal. Catch an early train from New Delhi or arrive in Agra the night before. Sunrise at this World Heritage site is spectacular.
Remove your shoes to enter the central chamber of the mausoleum, where the light streams through the intricate latticework. Mumtaz’s cenotaph, bearing ninety-nine names of Allah, sits in the center of the semiprecious stone–encrusted interior; her husband’s modest cenotaph is nearby.
Sit by the gazing pool of the Taj Mahal or find another peaceful body of water closer to home. Offer a prayer of love for a loss in your life. Give yourself permission to mourn but also to feel peace.
The cenotaphs are only decorative representations of the actual coffins of the shah and his wife, contained in the lower crypt, where the humid air is heavily scented with incense and rose petals.