In December 2024, I spent 11 days in India, travelling around Delhi, Jaipur and Agra
I spent 3 nights in Agra - of course everyone comes to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and I visited both at sunset and sunrise, but there are other things to see / do in the chaotic city that is Agra.
There is no way you'll get to photograph the Taj without people anytime other than sunrise - to do this get in the ticket queue at the Eastern Gate 30 minutes before it opens and get in the queue to enter asap. Once you are through security, head inside and don't go through the main gateway, keep right and go down the side of the gate - most people run for the Princess Diana bench and a queue happens very quickly. I headed to the right side with the guesthouse and had at least 10 minutes to myself to photograph.
Some photos...
Map of places of interest
🛌 Hotel
Holiday Inn Agra [map] - I thought this was a decent hotel, good locations, my room was nice, the bar was good, restaurant was big and service was slow, but it had good food. [Room video]
Places visited
✅✅ Taj Mahal [map]
✅ Agra Fort [map]
✅ Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah - "The baby Taj" [map]
✅ Tomb of Akbar [map]
✅ Mehtab Bagh [map] - gardens with view of Taj from the other side of the river - 300R to get in the gardens or you can walk past and pay 50R for the viewpoint which is better/closer to the river and therefore the Taj