Showing posts with label day tour from delhi to agra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label day tour from delhi to agra. Show all posts

Monday 14 April 2014

Visit the Taj Mahal by Moonlight

Day Tour from Delhi to Agra with ReadyClickAndGo

Visiting the Taj Mahal by Moonlight involves bureaucracy, tight security, the risk of fog in January and February and you aren’t even allowed to get very close, but the silvery gleam of the white marble and the shimmer of precious inlay stones through the darkness makes it all worthwhile.
The Taj Mahal is open at night for five nights a month when there is a full moon, and for 2 days before and 2 days after– except on Fridays when it is always closed for prayer and during the month of Ramzan (Ramadan).
You have to apply for tickets the day before you want to go, you cannot buy them for the same day. To get there you go to the Shilpgram parking lot (from the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal it’s past the Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel) between 10am and 6pm, and from where you will be collected and taken by van to the office. You will need to take your passport so that your name, date of birth, nationality and passport number will be recorded, tickets cost 750 Rupees and are not transferrable. Each evening, 400 people in 8 groups of 50 are allowed to the first platform which is about 350 metres away from the main building, for 30 minutes between 8.30pm and 12.30am, but you must get there half an hour before the time on your ticket for security checks and x-rays. You can bring binoculars and cameras but not video cameras, handbags, tripods, tobacco, matches, food or mobile phones.
Full moon dates in the 2014 are as follows, so you can apply to see the Taj Mahal by moonlight on these dates plus 2 days before and 2 days after;
15th January 2014
14th February 2014
16th March 2014
14th April 2014
14th May 2014
12th June 2014
11th Jul 2014
10th August 2014
8th September 2014
7th October 2014
6th November 2014
5th December 2014
4th January 2015
3rd February 2015
If you would like to visit the Taj Mahal by moonlight but are not able to buy tickets 24 hours in advance,ReadyClickAndGo can arrange the entry tickets for you as part of their selection of private day trips in Agra with your own guide, car and driver. If you are not staying in Agra you can book a same-day Agra tour from Delhi, and a comfortable, air-conditioned car will pick you up from your hotel in Delhi and take you to Agra where you meet your guide for the day. After exploring Agra Fort and the ‘baby taj’ you can enjoy viewing the Taj Mahal before returning to your hotel in Delhi. Email Tara Today!

Monday 17 February 2014

Will the Taj Mahal open on Friday nights?

Will the Taj Mahal open on Friday nights?

India’s most revered monument, the Taj Mahal, is closed to visitors on Fridays as it is flanked by a functioning mosque and Fridays are the day of prayers. But plans have been announced to open up the building on these days between 7am and midday – at around US$100 per person as opposed to the usual fee of US$12. Currently the Taj Mahal is open every day except Fridays from 6am to 7pm.
The Taj Mahal hosts a festival every year between the 18th and 27th February called the Taj Mahotsav, and it takes place by the eastern gate, Shilpgram. Showcasing the region’s arts, crafts, music and folk dancing, it’s a great place for visitors to pick up great quality goods such as wood and marble carvings, pottery, brassware, carpets, jewellery, silk from Varanasi, Kashmir shawls, handmade carpets and paintings, and to enjoy the best of traditional foods from around the country.
Some historians say that the emperor Shah Jahan who built the magnificent white marble mausoleum for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal which means ‘Jewel of the Palace’, also planned to build one for himself in black marble on the opposite bank of the river and have the two connected by an ornamental bridge. However, before he could do this his son declared war, deposed him and imprisoned him in a pavilion further along the river, from which he would gaze at the beautiful testimony of his love for his wife. What a sight it would have been had he completed his own planned mausoleum too!
If you are planning to be in India for just a short time, ReadyClickAndGo can arrange private one-day trips by road or train from Delhi to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal as well as the impressive Agra Fort and the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, the so-called ‘baby’ taj. Tour Agra with your own guide, car and driver by emailing Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com