Mausoleum

Bibi Ka Maqbara

#1of 7 places to visit in AurangabadAurangabad, Maharashtra

Also known as Tomb of the Lady · Dakkhani Taj · Poor Man's Taj Mahal

Quick answer

Opening hours: 08:00–20:00. Entry: ₹25 Indian · ₹300 foreign. Allow 1.5 hrs. Best time: 08:00 – 09:30.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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Photo: Ameya Kulkarni / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Opening hours: 08:00–20:00; 08:00 – 20:00 daily (ticket counter closes at 19:30)
Entry fee: ₹25 Indian; Ticket from
Time needed: 1.5 hrs
Best time of day: 08:00 – 09:30
Best months: Oct – Mar
Address: Bibi Ka Maqbara Road, Begumpura, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra 431004

About Bibi Ka Maqbara

Bibi Ka Maqbara charges ₹25 for Indian nationals and ₹300 for foreign nationals as of 2026, making it one of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's few Mughal-era structures still under active Archaeological Survey of India protection. The mausoleum stands inside a walled charbagh garden modelled directly on the Taj Mahal's four-quadrant layout, complete with a central water channel and a raised marble platform. Only the dome and the lower two metres of the plinth are clad in white Makrana marble; above that, the octagonal drum and minarets are finished in polished lime plaster (chunam) mixed with crushed marble dust, a cost-saving substitution visible up close as a duller, chalkier sheen than true stone. Local guides use the marble-to-plaster seam on the plinth as the standard demonstration point for the monument's reduced budget.

Best time of day: 08:00 – 09:30. Before tour groups combining Bibi Ka Maqbara with Ellora arrive and while the dome still holds soft morning light over the reflecting pool.

Photography

₹25 camera fee

Bibi Ka Maqbara timings

Bibi Ka Maqbara opens at 08:00 and closes at 20:00. It keeps the same hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Opening hours: 08:00–20:00; Mon–Sun 08:00–20:00; 08:00 – 20:00 daily (ticket counter closes at 19:30)
Closed on: Open every day

Mon–Sun	08:00–20:00

Opening hours compiled from asi.nic.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Bibi Ka Maqbara ticket price

Entry fees for Bibi Ka Maqbara
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	₹25
Foreign visitors	₹300
Children	Free
Camera	₹25

Children under 15 enter free. The ₹25 video camera fee applies only to handheld video recording inside the garden enclosure; still photography is unrestricted. As of 2026, verify at the counter.

Prices compiled from asi.nic.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit Bibi Ka Maqbara

Quiet
Moderate
Busy

08:00 – 09:30
Morning OpeningBest time to go
Ticket counter opens at 08:00. Fewer than 50 visitors typically inside the charbagh in the first hour, with clear sightlines across the reflecting pool to the dome.
Quiet
09:30 – 13:00
Group Tour Window
Coach groups combining Bibi Ka Maqbara with an Ellora or Daulatabad itinerary arrive in clusters. The plinth walkway around the cenotaph narrows to single file.
Busy
13:00 – 16:00
Midday Lull
Most day-trip coaches have departed for Ellora by early afternoon. Open lawn sections empty out, though the shaded plinth area stays busy with local visitors.
Moderate
16:00 – 20:00
Golden Hour to Close
Local families and photographers arrive for late light on the white dome. Crowd thins sharply after 19:00 as floodlighting is limited near the tomb chamber.
Moderate

History of Bibi Ka Maqbara

Prince Azam Shah, second son of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, commissioned Bibi Ka Maqbara around 1660 as a mausoleum for his mother, Dilras Banu Begum, who died in 1657. Construction concluded around 1669, nearly two decades after the Taj Mahal was completed at Agra for a comparable purpose — the tomb of an emperor's principal wife. Architect Ata-ullah, son of Ustad Ahmad Lahori (the master builder credited with the Taj Mahal), led the project alongside engineer Hanspat Rai. Aurangzeb, unlike his father Shah Jahan, kept tight control over imperial spending during his prolonged Deccan campaigns, and the sanctioned budget is widely reported at a fraction of the Taj Mahal's cost. That constraint shows in the choice of materials rather than in the plan, which repeats the earlier tomb's geometry at roughly half its scale. The complex later served as a garden retreat before passing to state protection in the twentieth century, and it remains the only large-scale Mughal mausoleum in the Deccan built for a woman of the imperial family.

Rules & etiquette at Bibi Ka Maqbara

Bibi Ka Maqbara's ticket counter sits at the outer gate and closes thirty minutes before the 20:00 shutdown, so arrivals after 19:30 are turned away even though the grounds stay lit. Visitors cannot climb onto the marble plinth surrounding the cenotaph chamber, and ASI attendants enforce this actively during weekend crowds. Shoes may be worn throughout the garden and outer courtyards; only the inner chamber housing the actual grave requires a shoe check at a small rack by the doorway. Touts near the parking area offer 'skip the line' guide services for ₹300–500 — the ticket queue rarely exceeds ten minutes outside weekend afternoons, so this service adds little practical value. Drones are prohibited under standard ASI monument rules without prior written clearance from the Aurangabad Circle office.

Tips for visiting Bibi Ka Maqbara

1
Bibi Ka Maqbara looks best from the reflecting pool at the garden's southern entrance, where the dome mirrors in still water during the first hour after opening. The paved approach through the charbagh takes about ten minutes each way, so budget a full seventy-five minutes to see the tomb chamber, walk the perimeter, and photograph the minarets from the corner bastions. Aurangabad Caves lie roughly 2 km northwest on the same hill spur and pair naturally with a Bibi Ka Maqbara visit in a single morning, since both fall under Archaeological Survey of India ticketing. Auto-rickshaws waiting at the exit gate quote ₹150–200 for the caves; agree on the fare before boarding, since meters are rarely used on this route. Interior floodlighting after dark is minimal, so evening photography needs a wide aperture or a steady hand.

How to reach Bibi Ka Maqbara

The red star is Bibi Ka Maqbara; the numbered pins are the 3 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Bibi Ka Maqbara Road, Begumpura, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra 431004Directions in Google Maps

From Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport (IXU)
₹150–₹220
6 km · 15–20 min
Prepaid taxi); ₹100–₹150 (auto-rickshaw, negotiated
From Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Railway Station (AWB)
₹90–₹130
5 km · 15 min
Auto-rickshaw, negotiated
From Central Bus Stand (MSRTC)
₹70–₹100
4 km · 12–15 min
Auto-rickshaw

Nearest airport

From Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport (IXU)

6 km, approximately 15–20 minutes by road.

Nearest railway station

From Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Railway Station (AWB)

5 km, approximately 15 minutes.

Bibi Ka Maqbara FAQs

Is Bibi Ka Maqbara open every day of the week?

Yes. Bibi Ka Maqbara has no weekly closure day and stays open 08:00–20:00 daily, including weekends and most public holidays, as of 2026.

How similar is Bibi Ka Maqbara to the Taj Mahal?

The layout is nearly identical — a charbagh garden, central water channel, and a domed mausoleum on a raised plinth — but the scale and materials differ. Only the dome and lower plinth use Makrana marble; the rest is lime plaster over stone, reflecting roughly a tenth of the Taj Mahal's original budget.

How long does a visit to Bibi Ka Maqbara take?

About 75 minutes covers the tomb chamber, a full walk around the plinth, and time at the reflecting pool. Photographers who want both morning and interior-detail shots should allow up to two hours.

Can Bibi Ka Maqbara and Aurangabad Caves be visited together?

Yes. The two sites sit roughly 2 km apart on the same hill spur north of the city, and a single auto-rickshaw round trip covering both takes about half a day including viewing time.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places