Wonder of the modern world, the Taj Mahal is worth almost the trip to India alone. This mausoleum built for the wife of a Mughal emperor devastated by his death is a hymn to love. Even centuries after the end of its construction, white marble still shines, giving an extraordinary dimension to the site that can leave you only admirable. You and the seven million annual visitors.
It’s therefore difficult to visit the Taj Mahal and to make photos without other tourists on it. Here is the story of our visit and all our tips to visit the Taj Mahal to avoid hordes of tourists and get the most of your experience.
And needless to add that he had planned to be built a black Taj Mahal on the other side for himself.
Our visit of the Taj Mahal
We already arrived the day before in Agra, the city where the Taj Mahal is located, from New Delhi, where we started our discovery of India, in 4-5 hours by car. Thus we were able to go to the Taj Mahal directly at its opening time the next morning.
Arrival at the ticket office: 0530
To avoid hordes of visitors, we arrived at the East Gate shortly after the opening of the ticket office at 5:30 am, after walking on foot from our hotel (about 15 minutes). On the way, many rickshaws offer to take you by promoting that it is “Very cheap, very cheap.” The inspiration of Céline at 5:15 in the morning made her tell this magnificent replica to one of the drivers “Yes, but walking is free”. He was speechless and all the other drivers had a good laugh.
When we arrived, a long queue is already present.
While Céline is waiting in line, I am going to see if a foreigner queue exists as it is very often the case in India. I only found the queue to pay by credit card but it is significantly shorter than cash! And as it is cheaper by credit card than by cash, we decided to line up there. Obviously, there was a trap: the guides can pass in front of the line to buy the tickets for their customers. So, although there is a lot less people, we spend more time than if we had stayed in the cash line. Céline went back to start the cash queue again from behind. She will finally arrive only a few seconds after I was able to pay by card.
We then move to the second line at the entrance of the site.
Since we haven’t been very smart and have both queued for the tickets, this second line is also already substantial. It takes me about fifteen minutes to get to the ticket checkpoint.
After ticket control, my bag is scanned.
The lady from the security told me that tripods and card games (two things that I always have in my bag) are forbidden in the site and that I have to go and put them in the luggage room outside. A guard accompanied me to the exit and I quickly dropped those things in the luggage room. I skipped the queue and went directly to control through the guard.
As the queue for women is longer, Céline joined me at that moment.
Basically, we did everything wrong.
If you are going to the Taj Mahal, don’t do like us and rather follow our advices here below.
It's 6:15 when we finally enter the site.
We entered a square outside the perimeter of the gardens where the three entrances meet. The front door is already beautiful. In red marble, it’s a guardian of the splendor hidden behind.
We passed this main door and the Taj Mahal suddenly appears in the back, with its gardens and fountains in front, letting its majestic beauty pierce you.
The first picture stop is the balustrade in front of the door.
From there, we can see the Taj Mahal being reflected in the water of the fountains that cross the site through its length. It’s necessary here to make for yourself some room and to be patient in order to have your pictures without (too many) tourists.
We then began to walk through the gardens heading towards the masterpiece. We stopped several times to admire the building and take some pictures.
The second stop is the promontory located in the center of the gardens.
The place is ideally located and allows you to take pictures of yourself and the whole Taj Mahal.
The fountains on each side of the promontory are also very nice to take pictures as less people are interested in those locations.
Entering the Taj Mahal
We then go towards the Taj Mahal with the intention of entering it. There are two entrances to go up on the forecourt of the mausoleum, one for the foreigners and the other for the Indians. The one for foreigners is on the left when you look at the Taj Mahal. The ticket for foreigners acts here a bit like a cut line ticket as the length of the queue for the Indians is so loooooong.
We enter the mausoleum in a single line.
We were very disappointed with the inside of the Taj Mahal. Not because of what we see which is beautiful but because of what we live there. Indeed, it’s forbidden to stop and you are forced to continually move forward. Many guards abusively whistle to move the herd forward – given the number of persons, it looks more like a flock than persons. Moreover, although it’s asked to remain silent, an incessant hubbub echoes in the dome, removing a little splendor at a moment. Instead of marvel at the magnificence of the place, we rather fight against the noise and actively monitor our bags because of the proximity of other visitors.
As we came out, we looked closely at the engravings embedded in the white marble. The complexity and the level of precision show us, if needed, the great dexterity of the 20’000 craftsmen of the time who worked to realize this marvel.
This masterpiece is the culmination of Mughal architecture. Indeed, it is inspired by the tomb of Humayun in New Delhi and the Gour Emir of Samarkand.
Around the Taj Mahal
We will then sit down at the feet of one of the two mosques bordering on the left and right the Taj Mahal. They alone would already be a monument of their own but fade being placed next to such a monster. We thus spend a moment seated on a step to contemplate this marvel and to impregnate our memory with this splendor.
Around 9am, we moved towards the exit not without stopping several times on the way to look at the Taj Mahal, which we could never get enough of.
What's next for us?
Praticals tips to visit the Taj Mahal
How to get to Taj Mahal?
The Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra about 4-5 hours from New Delhi by car. The city also has an international airport. It is therefore possible to arrive directly in Agra.
It is recommended to arrive in Agra the day before so you can visit the Taj Mahal as soon as it opens and avoid the crowds to minimize the crowd.
Depending on where you stay in Agra, it is faster to get there on foot than by car as no gasoline vehicles are allowed near the site. An electric shuttle is available from the car park. In addition, for the more lazy ones, you will come across several rickshaws on the way proposing to bring you to the entrance.
The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays.
It is open every other day of the week.
To avoid the crowds, you have to go very early in the morning as soon as the site opens at 6 o’clock. The ticket office opens a little before at 5:30 already.
How to get in the Taj Mahal?
The site has three entrances: West, South and East.
All sites recommend using the East entry because less Indians (and therefore fewer people) use it. This is the entrance that foreign tourists use the most. Since these tourists all come very early in the morning, the East entrance is very popular at the opening. Therefore, if you are alone or travel as a couple and arrive very early in the morning, it would be better to use the West entrance as it’s less used.
Tous les sites recommandent d’utiliser l’entrée Est car moins d’indien (et donc moins de monde) l’utilisent. C’est l’entrée que les touristes étrangers utilisent en grande majorité. Etant donné que ces touristes viennent tous très tôt le matin, l’entrée Est est très prisée à l’ouverture. Si vous êtes seuls ou en couple et arrivez très tôt le matin, il serait recommandé d’utiliser l’entrée Ouest car moins utilisée.
All three entrances meet on the same square outside the perimeter of the Taj Mahal gardens.
The access to the site is then made by a first big door. The first sight of the Taj Mahal will be a one from the front and not from the side as I was afraid by taking the East Gate. Probably a stupid fear, but it’s said that the first impression counts, right?
Queuing intelligently
If you are two or more, the best is to split, while one lined up for the tickets, the other will already queue to enter the site. Indeed, since the ticket office opens before the site, a queue is formed quite quickly at the entrance of the site, which can make you waste time after buying your tickets.
From our experience, the cash line is faster than the credit card line because in the credit card queue, you are overwhelmed by guides who buy the tickets for their customers. Moreover if you want a guide, there are plenty waiting at the box office and this can save you time to buy your tickets.
There is a queue for men and one for women besides. So if you are a couple, this technique is not ideal.
That’s why, early in the morning, it’s better to go to the West Gate when visiting the Taj Mahal as a couple and without a guide.
A whole bunch of objects are forbidden inside the Taj Mahal
Such as books, tripods, card games and food. Every bag is scanned when you enter the site. And if a forbidden object is discovered, you must get out of the site, go to the deposit (free) and return to the security check.
How much cost the Taj Mahal entrance ticket?
In December 2018, the Indian government decided to increase the price of tickets to reduce the number of people visiting the site every day and thus preserve the monument which is altered by the many daily visitors. During the weekends, there can indeed be up to 70’000 visitors, they hope to have “only” 40’000. During the week, between 10,000 and 15,000 people visit the site each day.
For foreigners, admission now costs 1330 rupees (19 CHF or 16.6 €) in cash and 50-100 rupees less per credit card. It is very common in India that entry is cheaper by credit card than by cash. A bottle of water and over-socks (to go on the forecourt) are included in the price.
For Indian people, the Indian government has decided to multiply the price of entrance tickets by five: from Rs 50 to Rs 250.
It would be possible to buy your ticket the day before, which would allow you to queue only once in the morning (and thus gain a few minutes of sleep). But it has to be confirmed, if you can confirm or deny this, please comment below.
