One of the seven wonders of the modern world, the majestic Taj Mahal in Agra, India, is visited by seven million people every year.
Keen to see the Taj Mahal, with its sprawling gardens and stunning reflecting pool, thousands across India and the world visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site every year.
Built between 1631 and 1648 in the Mughal-era, emperor Shah Jahan built the beautiful palatial monument in memory of his most cherished wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Ever since then, the Taj Mahal has been a cultural symbol of India and was also voted one of the New7Wonders of the World in 2007.
With such a renowned status, millions travel from across the world to visit the ‘monument of love’.
But those yearning to spend dawn to dusk exploring the ivory-white mausoleum and even get a photograph at the infamous ‘Lady Di’s chair’ will be disappointed, as visitors tickets are now being limited to only three hours a day.
This decision, taken by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), is to curb overcrowding, congestion and prevent incidents from taking place.
Speaking to Sky News, Bhuvan Vikram, the Taj Mahal’s superintendent archaeologist, commented: “We decided three hours was enough time for tourists to see the Taj, even at a leisurely pace.
“We will monitor it for months in both high and low seasons and then make a call on whether we need to improve the process.”
However, many visitors are disappointed with the new changes, as the public order which came into effect on 1 April 2018, starts from the moment you buy tickets, and visitors must endure long queues before entering the Taj Mahal.
The introduction of the new time-capped system comes after the number of tourists visiting per day was capped at 40,000 in January 2018.
Before this, on busy days, numbers could easily surpass 70,000.
Foreign tourists pay 1,000 Indian rupees (the equivalent of £10.95) to visit the 400-year old monument, while Indian visitors pay 40 rupees, roughly 44p.
Those wanting to stay for longer than three hours will be charged extra.
The relatively low entry cost is likely to have played a part in attracting visitors in their droves.
Overtourism is affecting many destinations around the world, with Dubrovnik, made popular by TV programme Game of Thrones, introducing drastic plans in order to save the city from ruinous overcrowding.
Peruvian marvel, Machu Picchu, has also trailed timed entry tickets to control tourism numbers, after fears the ancient Incan citadel was suffocating as a result of its popularity.
Express.co.uk has contacted the ASI for a comment.
