The Taj Mahal looks like a fairy tale indeed from the banks of the river Yamuna. As it is one of the seven wonders of the world, it is always occupied with people coming from different parts of the world. Though, the ideal time to visit Taj is from October to February, as it can be crazily hot or rainy from March to September. I visited it in the month of October, when the temperature was moderate in the morning, hot in the afternoon and cold at night!
🔹Ticket bookings :
Tickets can be purchased either online or at the ticket counters near the entry gates. The ticket price for Indians is INR 50 and for foreigners it is INR 1100. Children upto the age of 15 years can enter for free.
You can buy tickets online at this website :
https://asi.payumoney.com/#/
For night viewing, the tickets are priced at INR 510 for Indians and INR 750 for foreigners. Children between the age of 3-15 years need to pay INR 500 for the same.
These tickets need to be purchased a day before from the Archeological survey of India office between 10am to 6pm.
🔹Different entrance gates :
There are 3 different entrance gates. The South, East and West.
1. The south gate : This gate opens at 8 am, so avoid this if you want to see the sunrise. Also, the market is near to this gate, so it is basically crowded.
2. The west gate : This is far from most of the hotels, less crowded during the sunrise and more crowded during the daytime.
3. The east gate : This is the least crowded one amongst all three. It is closest to most of the hotels situated in the area of Taj.
Arrive to the ticket booth early (around 5 am) if you want less people and want to see the Taj dipped in the lights of sunrise. The entry booths open at 6 am.
🔹Things you can take inside :
The security at the Taj is quite strict. Only a small bag containing one cell phone, one camera and one water bottle is allowed per person. You can store the rest of your luggage at the entry gate.
🔹 Accommodation :
There are a plethora of hotels located in the vicinity of the taj, at a walking distance from the entry gates. I stayed at hotel Sheela, which was located at a 5 minutes walking distance. It costed me around INR 900 per night. The rooms were quite small and basic, but fine for a night stay. The lawn and garden were quite picturesque though! 😁
🔹Inside the Taj :
Entrance :
There is a huge lawn surrounding the Taj. As you enter, you will find this gate, which is the entrance for the actual monument.
The inside view of this gate is something like this :
There are lot of people generally, so getting a perfect angle is quite difficult.😅
After crossing this gate, you will be able to see the Taj like you might have seen in the most of the pictures.
Moving forward towards the entry into the monument, you will first find an area where you have to remove your shoes and wear shoe covers. (You don't need to pay for keeping your shoes in the rack) There is quite a huge line, in which you have to move for about 2-3 hours (during the daytime), so be patient!
🔹Close to this beautiful piece of architecture :
Those who appreciate art are truely going to be mesmerized by seeing this stunning monument up close. Needless to say, the incredible details have to be seen in order to appreciate it. Words definitely cannot do the Taj justice. Worth the 3 hours wait!
P.s. - You cannot take food inside, so have it before going inside. Also, do not hire any person posing as a photographer inside the Taj, the quality is really mediocre and they charge a huge amount for the same. There are only a few professionals, the rest are just random people with a camera!
Happy visiting! 😊
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