Taj Mahal Visit (All You Need To Know & The Best View Points)
Last Updated: November 17 2020
If you ever find yourself visiting India then witnessing the Taj Mahal is a must. The Taj Mahal is one of India’s most iconic attractions with millions of people visiting this incredible site each year. The mausoleum was commissioned in 1632 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife, who had passed away during childbirth.
The Taj Mahal is a bucket list experience and a must for any India itinerary! However, visiting Agra for the first time is a shock to the system.
With it being so popular, and one of the new 7 wonders of the world, we thought it would be a good idea to share with you all the information you’ll need for your Taj Mahal visit! In this blog post, we will go through the best viewpoints of the Tah Mahal, all the travel tips you will need and where to stay for your Agra trip.
Although the Taj Mahal is beautiful, Agra itself isn’t very pleasant. Don’t get us wrong there are places to visit in Agra that are nice to see, however, we found it very intense, full of scammers and very busy. Despite this, you should still pay a visit to Agra even if it is just to see the Taj Mahal.
What Do You Need To Know For Your Taj Mahal Visit?
Where is the Taj Mahal found?
The Taj Mahal is located in Agra (Uttar Pradesh); about 215km away from New Delhi and is found by the side of the Yamuna River. It is part of India’s famous golden triangle.
How to visit the Taj Mahal?
We had already heard from people including some of the locals that Agra wasn’t very pleasant. We arrived in Agra at 5 am from Ranthambore National Park, so decided to stay two nights. This gave us the chance to see another view of the Taj Mahal the first day (which was probably better) and have time to go to the Taj Mahal for sunrise the next morning.
After we visited the Taj Mahal at sunrise, we checked out and moved on. By doing it this way, we avoided spending too much time in Agra.
In terms of visiting this incredible monument, we would recommend doing it this way. Get in, see what you came for and get out. Agra isn’t the place you want to spend any more time than necessary.
Although the Taj Mahal is beautiful, Agra itself isn’t very pleasant. Don’t get us wrong there are places to visit in Agra that are nice to see, however, we found it very intense, full of scammers and very busy. Despite this, you should definitely pay a visit to Agra even if it is just to see the Taj Mahal.
The best viewpoints of the Taj Mahal
There are two viewpoints of the Taj Mahal that are definitely worth a visit. Make sure you add both these sites to your golden triangle India itinerary!
The Taj Mahal
The first viewpoint is, of course, visiting the Taj Mahal itself. The best thing to do when visiting the Taj Mahal is to get there very early. I know it may sound cliche, but it’s true.
When visiting the Taj Mahal we found it best to head straight for the famous viewpoint by the water. We were at this spot around 6:00 – 6:30, and by 8 am this spot was super busy. It is a lot quieter at around 6 am however as it was raining and there was no sunrise we didn’t get much colour in our shots.
After this, you should head to the main monument, where you can get some awesome photos. The two gates either side of the Taj Mahal are the perfect places to take photographs; especially under the arches.
Originally any amount of visitors were allowed into the Taj Mahal; however, after a stampede in 2018 caused multiple injuries the government put a cap of 40,000 tourists daily.
Mehtab Bagh
Another beautiful view of the Taj Mahal is at Mehtab Bagh – a park located on the opposite side of the river, which overlooks the amazing monument. It can be visited as a day trip from the city centre of Agra along with Agra Fort, as both are only a short tuk-tuk ride away.
For only 300 rupees each (about £3.30) you can get incredible views from this beautiful park. This is a cheap option to get some good views of the Taj Mahal, and we would argue that we preferred the experience here. It was one of the places in Agra that we enjoyed the most!
The park was peaceful, with hardly anybody around. We spent around an hour here taking photos and admiring the Taj Mahal. We definitely would have spent longer, but we had a driver waiting outside. Make sure you add Mehtab Bagh to your Agra itinerary.
One thing to be aware of here is children asking you for money. We refuse to give children money, as usually, it goes straight to the parents meaning more often than not children are kept out of school to do this.
They stayed there for about 10 minutes continuing to ask for money until they spotted a security guard coming over. After which they went straight back to their parents, so be mindful of that!
Taj Mahal entry fee
The ticket for foreigners costs 1300 rupees (about £14.50), and 250 rupees (about £2.65) for Indian citizens.
How to get your Taj Mahal ticket?
You can get your tickets for the Taj Mahal either online or by queuing up at the ticket office in the morning.
The ticket office is located by the Taj Mahal east gate. We arrived at the ticket office just after 5:30 am to buy our ticket, and we were third in the queue. There were plenty of other people already in the Taj Mahal when we got there though, so we presume the ticket office opens earlier than that.
The other option is to buy your ticket online or book a guided tour of the Taj Mahal online using websites such as Klook. You can hire a Taj Mahal tour guide at the entrance to show you around but make sure you negotiate a price beforehand or you are likely to be ripped off. However, be careful as with India it is always difficult to tell who is trying to scam you!
The Taj Mahal visiting hours
You can visit the Taj Mahal either during the day or at night.
The Taj Mahal is open every day 6 am – 6:30 pm except Friday. Every Friday the Taj Mahal is closed apart for Muslims to attend prayers in the afternoon.
If you want to visit the Taj Mahal in the evening the times are 8:30 pm – 12:30 am.
Things To Remember/Recommendations
There are a few travel tips to remember when visiting the Taj Mahal that will make your experience better. Here are just a few:
- Don’t take a tripod– Tripods are prohibited in the Taj Mahal and Mehtab Bagh. If you do take one they will take it off you and give it you back on the way out. That was our experience anyway, it is always best to leave it at the hotel though.
- Drones are illegal– If you take one in or fly one nearby you can face prosecution. This can result in a large fine for you and your hotel.
- Be wary of ticket touts and scammers – There are plenty of locals trying to make money of the Taj mahal and this includes people who are willing to charge you lots of extra cash. Be wary of this and always go for the official ticket from the Taj Mahal itself. We had already heard so many reviews of scams located in Agra.
- Book onward transport in advance– Booking onward transport from Agra in advance makes life so much easier and you avoid paying extra if there are any problems. We couldn’t physically book transport and left it too late. As a result of this, we had to suck it up and pay an agent at least £10 more to book us transport. (Don’t be like us haha).
- Be wary of the heat – Depending on what time of year you travel to Agra, the heat can be surreal! Make sure you have a shawl to cover up and drink plenty of water.
The negative side of the Taj Mahal
As much as we enjoyed visiting the Taj Mahal, as with any tourist hot spot there were aspects we didn’t like. The main one being the obsession over getting ‘that shot’. Of course, we wanted to take pretty photos, but we were there to see one of the new seven wonders of the world for our own eyes. Not to spend the whole time looking at it through a camera lens.
We had people shouting at us telling us that we were in their photos and to move, and we also had people pushing to try and get past us with their camera. By the time we left, we were pretty fed up with it!
Another aspect of our visit that we didn’t enjoy was the amount of rubbish that was lying around. When you go into the Taj Mahal you get given shoe covers for the Mausoleum.
There were bins everywhere for these, yet they were lying on the floor everywhere. It was obvious that a lot of people didn’t have respect for this incredible place, and were just leaving them on the floor.
Where to stay in Agra?
There are so many places near the Taj Mahal to stay. By situating yourself nearby, you can easily get to the monument in no time.
We stayed in Sai Palace, which had a rooftop cafe with amazing food and an awesome view of the Taj Mahal. If you are looking for cheap hotels in Agra then this is a really good option.
If you are want to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal, this place is perfect. It is just a 5-minute walk to the ticket office. They also have lockers available for your items, if you need to check out but want to spend the day around Agra. We found that a lot of hotels and restaurants offer this locker service.
Thank you so much for reading this post! We had planned to visit the Taj Mahal for so long, and we are glad we finally got the chance. We hope this post has given you all the information you need to know about your travels in Agra and your Taj Mahal visit so make sure you add it to your India travel itinerary!
Have you ever been to India? We would love to hear your experiences if you have! why not drop them in the comments below?
P.S If you want to follow our journey, why not follow our Instagram here.
Thanks,
Jack & Abbie.
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I’m one half of Acouplescalling. I'm passionate about all things travel and photography and I love sharing my experiences with others. I've seen a lot of the world already and I want to help as many people as I can do the same thing!
