The most iconic monument in Aurangabad, this 17th-century mausoleum was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1660 for his wife Dilras Banu Begum — and the debt to the Taj Mahal, completed just a generation earlier by his father Shah Jahan, is unmistakable. The four slender minarets, the bulbous central dome, the long reflecting pool flanked by cypress gardens: it is the same composition, rendered in lime plaster over black basalt rather than pure Agra marble, at roughly half the scale. The nickname "Taj of the Deccan" is both a compliment and a slight.
Come early in the morning, when the light is soft and the crowds thin, or just before sunset when the white plaster glows orange. The gardens are well kept and pleasant to walk, and the interior — though not as elaborately inlaid as the Taj — contains fine marble screens and calligraphy. Entry for foreigners is ₹100.