The Taj Mahal in moonlight sounds like a photographer's dream.

We were also lucky enough to be at the Taj Mahal for the full moon and I HIGHLY recommend going. It's simply an amazing experience.
Although it's somewhat limited (you're not able to roam the grounds and are kept in a specific area), the beauty of the Taj Mahal, glowing in the moonlight, cannot be described. It may or may not be good for photography (small point-and-shoots will have a hard time capturing the image), but for the experience and memory alone, makes the visit worth it.
Have a wonderful trip!

Interesting, it looks like I'll be there 2 nights before the full moon in January. What do I need to do if I want to be there in the evening?

When you arrive, go to the Archaeological Survey of India where you can reserve and purchase tickets in advance. Enjoy!

Thanks so much, it sounds amazing

Have just found some posts on this explaining that the instructions for buying tickets is confusing. Apparently you cannot buy tickets for the evening visits on the same day you are going, it has to be done at least 24hrs in advance. Even if there are tickets unsold for that night they cannot sell them to you.

As I won't be in Agra until that afternoon I can't book them myself. I have asked my tour operator if they can book the tickets for us, and failing that I will ask the hotel in Agra to do it.

Someone also said that cameras are not allowed in at night, anyone know whether this is the case?

Given our limited time in Agra (we arrive by train at 2.30pm and leave the following day with a driver to go to Jaipur, this is what I was thinking:

Go to Mehtabh Bagh on the far side of the Yamuna River to photograph the Taj at sunset (5.30pm). Go back to hotel, have dinner, then go to Taj Moonlight Viewing (sometime between 8.30pm and 12.30am), where we go into the Taj but are restricted to certain areas.

Go back to Taj when it opens at sunrise (7am the day we are there), spending a few hours there, then head off towards Jaipur. Think we might skip Agra Fort but do some other sightseeing stops on the way.

How long do people normally spend in the Taj? Am I being realistic?

I was at the full moon viewing on Nov 28, 2012. It was definitely not worth the 750 rubies. First, you could not walk all over the ground for the full moon viewing. There was a gate installed a sort distance after you walked through the main Taj gate, and you coudn't go beyond that. Second, the moon was not anywhere behind the Taj; It was a small white circle high up in the sky on the opposite side that couldn't light up much of anything on the ground, much less the Taj. And there was a slight fog that evening. Forget any romantic image about seeing a beautifully large full moon behind the Taj, and the Taj's white marble glistening under the light from the full moon (That's the image the brochures are trying to sell you.) Basically all I and the people that were there saw was a somewhat fuzzy, muddy, big black silhouette of the Taj in the distance. People, of course, tried to photograph it. It was dark and a good distance away, so needless to say it was difficult to do it. I'm not sure what kind of images people with compact cameras were getting, but it looked like most just gave up after a few tries. I got a few so-so images using my 50mm f1/4 lens set wide opened and at the hightest ISO my DSLR allowed. No tripod allowed. I had to manual focus since the auto focus couldn't lock to anything in the dack. I got a few images that came out, but of couse it was very noisy. Maybe I'll turn it into grainy B&W for my own use.

Maybe there is a month and year where the sky is clear and the full moon is huge and is behind or close to behind the Taj, so that you could see a really cool image of the Taj under the full moon? For my experience, i didn't think it was worth it at all staring at a muddy, black building for 30 minutes, even if if was the Taj Mahal. Having said that, I think if this is something that you want to experience for yourself then you should go ahead and do it and then judge it for yourself.


Import notes about buying ticket for the full moon viewing:

1. Like someone has mentioned, you need to buy the ticket the day before you want to view it.

2. When you go to the ASI building on the main street to buy your ticket, you MUST provide a photocopy of your passport to buy the ticket. If you don't have a photocopy, the office will NOT get one for you. I have not seen it mentioned in any guide book that you need to bring a photocopy of your passport with you to buy the full moon ticket.

I didn't know if their copy machine was broken the day I was there, or if they simply didn't have one; Whatever the case, they didn't get one for me and did not offer any assistance as to where I could go and get one. All I got was a blank look. I was very frustrated with them at that point.

Thankfully I met an English-spoken man standing nearby, and he graciously helped me out. He talked to my rickshaw driver to pedal me to a photocopying place a bit of a distance away for me to copy my passport and then come back to the ASI office to buy my ticket.


As for how long people spend in the Taj...I think most people spend a few hours and then leave. It's very unfortunate that you cannot enter the Taj multiple times on the same day with the same ticket though. Once you leave, you have to buy a new ticket to re-ente. At 750 rubies a pop, I do not think that's a fair rule, but they have to make their money, I guess. I visited the Taj on three different mornings plus one full moon viewing (Believe me, the guards thought I was crazy when they saw my face again at the same time on the 3rd day ,LOL). The Taj opens at 7. I was in the queue before 6 and was in the ground from 7 to around 10-11-ish and then I needed to leave to get some breakfasts and showers; I would've stayed morning to closing time if I could, but you couldn't buy any food or water inside.

I also want to note the 'No bag'rule in the Taj. On my third day visiting the Taj, I saw a handful of people walking around the Taj with back-packs and camera bags, and they were good size bags too. I was envious of them, since I had to walk quite a good distance to and from my hotel to the Taj with a DSLR and two heavy lenses around my neck. I would've loved to have my camera bag with me. So I really don't know how strick the security is regarding 'no bags' rule on the Taj's ground.

Thanks for your input, it's so useful to hear different perspectives, and great to pick up on the detail like no food or drink and buying tickets etc. I guess with the weather moon etc, its just your luck. We are there the night before the full moon and my tour operator has told me it won't be as bright as full moon night, and of course there could be mist, cloud ...

We won't be at Agra the day before our moonlight viewing so my tour operator (Arvind from Castle & King) is organising the tickets for me and has asked for photocopies of passports. Thought that was a great point you made about taking photocopies - I hadn't seen that anywhere either, but if people know before they go its so much easier.

I've heard camera bags are fine but not large backpacks ...

I've noticed a lot of people complaining about the entrance fee ... I've waited 40 years to see the Taj, and now I'm travelling 6,000 miles and spending thousands of dollars to get there. It will probably be a once in a lifetime visit so I don't really get it - I think $13 entrance fee is actually pretty cheap!

>>I think $13 entrance fee is actually pretty cheap!<<

That's true when you put it in U.S. dollars perspective. When I travel and use foreign currency, I find it's difficult for me to mentally convert between currencies on the spot; All I see is the 750 rubies and not the $13.00. I probably would have re-entered the Taj on the same day with a new ticket if my brain had thought of $13.00 instead But I also try to limit my visit to the ATM to reduce the bank's overhead charges, so I have to balance the total amount I currently have with how long it'll last me for the rest of my trip.