The Beautiful Taj Mahal, Agra ~ 40 Days In India

Going to India without visiting Taj Mahal? No way!

After our adventurous stay in Vrindavan, we headed to Agra to visit the famous Taj Mahal. We arrived in Agra and spent the night in a house, which Ivan found through Couchsurfing. Fist thing in the morning was to head to the legendary building.

It is located in a beautiful park full of monkeys. I love how they always seem to have some important work to do. Like this one, which looks like he awaits for his date.

We finally get to the entrance, pay a fee to go in and were given the right of a 3 hour visit. The time limit is necessary to prevent overcrowding, due to the huge tourist interest .

This is how the entrance gate looks like.

There are three more gates like this one on the other three sides of the central mosque. Each built to head to the directions of the world.

It was very hard to actually enjoy the experience, instead of taking pictures all the time. I tried to find a balance between the two. We were lucky enough to find a professional photographer who instructed us to pose in this lovely pose. Even though our life paths separated with Ivan, this photo always brings a warm feeling in my heart.

After making sure we have some original photos of ourselves with Taj, we approached it to enjoy its majestic beauty.

I really love the ornaments and how detailed they are.

Legend says that the building was created by the order of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The only area which is accessible to the public the the chamber where she lays. It is forbidden to take pictures inside. This is the entrance.

A look from the side.

To get a better idea of the building's scale, notice how tiny the people are compared to it.

I also loved the structures surrounding Taj.

It was time to head back. These are some details from the garden-entrance gates, which I found fascinating.

Forever grateful to life for the opportunity to experience the beauty of Taj Mahal and its surroundings.

This visit was last year in March. Since then I want to post my whole India story here on steemit. This way I will always have access to these beautiful memories. I hardly find the right time to do so bit my intention stays. There are many stories to tell, as Agra was only the third of the six places we visited. Next we headed to Goa, to attend a reggae festival and enjoy the seaside. My next "40 Days in India" post will be about it, so stay tuned.