India, Feb. 16 -- Every year, as winter begins to fade, Agra prepares for a festival that briefly shifts the focus away from its monuments. Taj Mahotsav has become a regular fixture on the city's cultural calendar. Here is everything you need to know about the Taj Mahotsav 2026, including dates, times, what to expect, how to get there, and more.

It is a grand event, and it had better be, for it is named after the world's second-most loved landmark ('mahotsav" means festival or celebration in Hindi). And yet, the occasion has never been marketed as a spectacle, nor does it make an effort to drastically change every year. Rather, it tends to follow a formula. That familiarity is exactly what many visitors look for.

What is Taj Mahotsav an...