Lucky for us, we celebrate our birthdays in the same month. This year we were celebrating our milestone birthdays and wanted to make it even more special. Around this time we were visiting India, our home country and thought what better than celebrating at Taj Mahal - the eternal symbol of love.
As this was a special occasion for us we decided to splurge a bit and check off one of our bucketlist experiences in India. We decided to stay very close to Taj at 'The Oberoi' - one of the very well-known and respected hotel chains of India, and capture the moments with memorable photoshoot at Taj Mahal, adorned in our favourite traditional attires.
Our stay - Oberoi Amarvillas, Agra
We had heard a lot about Oberoi Amarvillas - its traditional design, impeccable hospitality, and elegant rooms with the views of Taj. It was on our bucketlist to stay at this place for a true royal experience.
As we arrived at the hotel around 4.00pm in evening, we knew we were in for special treatment, with the twilight colors ready to put on a show.
After being greeted with marigold garlands and traditional Indian welcome drinks, we were directly taken to our room for personal check in. As soon as we stepped into our room, we were stunned with magnificent view of Taj right from our own private balcony.
Room decor is well inspired by Mughal period designs, hand crafted furnishings and warm hospitality. Every room comes with personal butler who will go above and beyond to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable.
Oberoi Villas is perfectly situated, just 600 metres from the Taj Mahal with its own super convenient path to the entrance of monument.
They also provide complimentary golf
buggy ride to the entrance, for their guests only.
Every evening hotel hosts cultural folk dance infused with classical music instruments creating a royal atmosphere amidst the beautiful architectural backdrop.
In evening, hotel can arrange candlelight romantic dinner for two on the balcony of your room, against the silhouette of Taj Mahal, this is a magical experience to remember. We fell in love with this estate during just one night stay.
Visit To Taj Mahal
On the day of arrival, we could not contain our excitement to see Taj Mahal in person and therefore after resting a while in hotel, we headed out for our sunset visit to Taj. At this time, monument is very crowded, therefore we decided not to spend much time taking pictures and rather use it to learn about it's history. We took certified guide with us who gave detailed overview of the building history, timeline and meticulous details about art and materials used for the building.
As sun set across the horizon, white marbles started glowing in reddish orange glaze in the evening. If you are visiting Taj Mahal, its highly recommend to visit at both sunrise and sunset as well.
Early morning captures
If you want to capture unadulterated beauty of Taj Mahal, early morning is your best bet. As we decided to do traditional photo-shoot at Taj, we arrived around 6 in the morning. At this time, crowd is very parse and you get this place to yourself to have intimate experience and appreciate beauty of this Wonder of the World. Inside the monument you cannot carry tripod or professional camera gear unless you have license, so this time we made an exception and outsourced the job of taking pictures to very talented local artist. We spent most of the morning, visiting and capturing Taj Mahal from all different angles and locations possible.
Words simply can not do justice to beauty of this place, and these pictures say it all.
Beauty of Taj from different locations:
1. Main Gateway to Taj Mahal
Before you even see beautiful Taj Mahal, you will be witnessing royal entrance. The four storeyed main gateway of the Taj Mahal is 100 feet high and is built in red sandstone. The Arabic calligraphy from the Holy Quran and motifs of entwined flowers, leaves and vines spiraling down its niches. This is perfect backdrop for classical couple portraits.
2. Reflecting Pools
As soon as you enter the premises, you will be greeted with these silent pools which are reflecting beauty of the Taj. This is "I was here" picture location. Take your time to take it in, it will be crowded so be patient. Once you get the perfect shot, you won't be disappointed, you will treasure it for life.
3. Mehmaan Khana
Mehmaan khan was designed solely on right side of Taj Mahal to balance out Mosque on left side. Its beautiful building itself and also provide different vantage points to capture Taj in unique style.
Also if you go early morning, sun is rising from this side, so light would be perfect.
4. Get up close
Don't be afraid to get up close, it would be perfect for solo portraits. As you get close to monument, it would be difficult to capture everything in shot. Make sure to to pack wide angle lens for this purpose.
Also once you are here pay attention to intricate artwork, incredible workmanship.
5. Gardens
Gardens on the monument grounds add lush green blend for your composition. As gardens are vast, look for less crowded places for intimate shots. If you have extra time in your hands, head for Mehtab Bagh on the opposite side of river. It provides far back angle of Taj.
6. Dashera Ghat on Yamuna River
Once you are out of monument, head towards Yamuna river for this postcard perfect picture. You can hire private boat from Dashera ghat and roam around in river for about half an hour while capturing Taj in different angle. In the morning river will be smooth and not many locals around makes it perfect to soak in the beauty from far distance.
We returned to hotel in afternoon, had delicious lunch and said good bye to Oberoi, Taj Mahal and this beautiful city of Agra. We fell in love with this place and definitely plan to return to celebrate some future special occasion.
