Spending more time at the Taj Mahal is going to cost you a tad bit more from now on. A three hour limit has been implemented at Taj Mahal, disappointing thousands of tourists who travel miles to catch a glimpse of this majestic beauty .Visitors who spend more than three hours at the Taj Mahal will be charged an additional fee. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, this step is to protect the heritage site which has started showing signs of ageing and deterioration. 

This move has been taken to reduce the daily footfall of tourists. Instead of the massive 60,000 to 70,000 tourists every day, there will be around 40,000 visitors daily. The sale of tickets will stop both online and offline after the 40,000 mark. 

In order to prevent unauthorized entry, turnstile gates have been introduced at the iconic monument. Vasant Kumar Sawarankar, Superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India said that as many as seven turnstile gates have been installed at both the east and west entry points and five gates each for visitors exit have been installed at the monument. . Entry to the site is through a token which is valid only for three hours exceeding which the visitor will be required to recharge the token at the exit point.

Earlier visitors were allowed to stay at the Taj Mahal from morning till evening. The gates would open thirty minutes before sunrise and close thirty minutes before sunset. But these new set of rules have left tourists disappointed who are of the view that this move will cost the tourism industry heavily.