Taj Mahal, Agra

The Taj Mahal is the greatest love story ever built in stone. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it in 1632 as a mausoleum for his beloved third wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. Twenty thousand artisans worked for 21 years to complete it, using white marble transported from Rajasthan and 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones inlaid in intricate patterns. The calligraphy panels that border the arched entrances are designed with letters that grow larger as they rise - an optical illusion that makes them appear uniform from the ground.

What no photograph prepares you for is the colour. The Taj changes through the day - pale pink at dawn, blazing white at noon, golden in the afternoon, and luminescent under a full moon. Entering through the Great Gate, the first sight of the mausoleum framed perfectly by the arch is one of travel's most visceral emotional moments, even for those who have seen the images a thousand times. The reflecting pool creates a perfect symmetry. Shah Jahan spent his final eight years imprisoned in Agra Fort by his own son, gazing at the Taj across the river - allowed only to see it through a mirror.