Agra Entry Requirements

Touch down in Agra and the air itself tells you where you are: jet fuel mingles with the sweet, resinous drift of dhoop curling from old shrines, and the first glimpse of white marble glints beyond the terminal glass. Most foreigners land at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and cover the final 230 km by train or taxi; a handful come straight to Agra's Kheria Airport (AGR), a civil enclave on an Indian Air Force strip. Either way, humidity wraps around you on the jet-bridge, Hindi syllables float from the ground crew, and immigration officers wait beneath neon tubes that bleach every face the same washed-out yellow. Hand over your passport, watch the violet date stamp slap down, answer two or three clipped questions, purpose of visit, length of stay, first hotel. Keep your printed eVisa and confirmation of tonight's room within easy reach. Once you hit the desk you'll be through in twenty minutes, often less. Baggage reclaim leads straight into the customs hall where beagles in khaki jackets sniff for contraband mangoes and the sharp tang of homemade pickle leaking from someone's hold-all. Step outside and winter mornings can bite, pack a shawl between November and February, while April to June turns the tarmac into a tandoor. Buy a litre of chilled water before you do anything else. Pre-paid taxis line up under a tin roof, drivers leaning out with the same melodic offer: "Tāj Mahal, madam?" Change a fistful of rupees at the airport booth so you can tip the porter and still have coins left for the three-hour run past mustard fields to Agra.