People widely consider ‘Taj Mahal’ as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Located in the historical city of Agra, the Taj Mahal is called as the ‘symbol of love’. A wide range of visitors come around admiring the beauty of the monument and appreciate the architecture. Taj Mahal is known as the Crown of Palaces in Persian, giving a breathtaking sight to its aficionados.
Regarded as one of the finest illustrations of Mughal architecture in India, Taj Mahal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the best parts of visiting the Taj Mahal is to appreciate the elegance of aptness of extents and luxuriousness of geometrical prototypes of such gracefully done gardens that enhance the dignity of the Taj Mahal, adding glory to the slenderness of this symbol of love, perseverance and beauty.
One is advised to visit the Taj either during sunrise or sunset since these two timings in the day provide breathtaking views of this monument against the colors of the sky.
So who would not want to visit Taj Mahal and witness the beauty of it? Thus me, my room mate and one of my brother and his friend made a sudden plan to visit this wonder along with Vrindawan for a 2day trip. And, this is how our journey began.
Date : 5 July 2022
We woke up at 3:30 AM to prepare ourselves to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. My brother and his friend was right on time by 4:30 am. I stay in Noida sector 77. So it is about 16kms away from our location to Taj mahal.
After we reached Taj Mahal, we drove for 15 minutes to the ticket booth to buy the entry ticket.
You will be distributed with a plastic bag which you will need to cover your shoes as you walk up to the Taj Mahal.
After we got the ticket, we were told that no cars were allowed from this point on so we had to take a shared electric bus to the western gate of the Taj Mahal. As we walked to the gate, there was a little line full of foreigners waiting to see the Taj Mahal.
This is the western gate where we went through. You will have to run through a security checkpoint before you are able to enter this sacred place.
I heard many people grasped at the beauty of the Taj Mahal as they approached. Oh god, I even mumbled “wow”. This place is just freaking beautiful. This place blew all the other monuments I visited and hands down one of the most memorable experience I ever had. We experienced the beautiful sunrise and hands down it was breathtaking. Pictures are worth more than thousand words.
Inside there are 2 tombs, the Shah Jahan’s tomb and his wife. Unfortunately, taking photos inside is prohibited, so this was all I got, the exit. After 2,3 hours of admiration of this massive structure, we all clicked pictures and made videos too. After admiring this wonderful monument, we were hungry so we went out and travelled a bit to a restaurant to have our breakfast as we were really very hungry. After having our breakfast we headed to our second destination that was Vrindavan.
Our second destination of the day, Vrindavan.
One of the holiest cities of India, Vrindavan is blessed with some of the most gorgeous yet humble temples that you will ever see.
Vrindavan is approximately 70kms away from Agra so it took us approximately 2 hours to reach Vrindavan. Also, we stopped at one point for a short break. Finally we reached Vrindavan and this time we specifically wanted to visit Prem Mandir and Banke Bihari Mandir in this Vrindavan tour of us. So we did.
Prem Mandir:
If you don’t visit the breathtaking Prem Mandir in your Vrindavan Tour then you are seriously missing out.
The beautiful Prem Mandir emanates exactly what it is named as. Love or Prem, this temple is located on the outskirts of Vrindavan. This regal temple is dedicated to Shri Krishna and to Sita and Ram. Goddess Sita and Lord Ram are said to be the epitome of love and thus, the temple is only a fitting devotion to their love and bond.
Prem Mandir is truly an architectural marvel in their own right, and you must visit it to experience it in your own way. Prem Mandir is built with white marbles, and you can almost hear the walls echo the history of Sanatana Dharma.
Once you enter the Prem Mandir, you will find it hard to leave. This 54-acre pious complex has a wonderful way of captivating you and making you feel loved.
There are stunning detailed carvings all around the temple, and the mesmerizing sculptures of Krishna are breathtaking.
There are also elegant portraits of Krishna Leela, Parwat Leela, and Krishna Kaliya Naag Leela. The feeling and idea of love are radiated throughout this temple, and you genuinely feel blessed just by visiting this temple.
Banke Bihari temple
The stunning Banke Bihari Tempe is dedicated to Lord Krishna, and is one of the top visited temple in Vrindavan. The locals believe that Lord Krishna is bent in three places, from which the temple also gets its name. Banke Bihari means The Bent Enjoyer.
The original temple is extremely ancient, but the one that you will get to visit was made in the 19th Century. The temple also opens its gate later than other temples. Prayers at this temple start at 9 am, whereas in every other temple it starts latest by 5 am.
Banke Bihari Temple is one of the most important temples in Vrindavan. It is also one of the seven temples of the Thakur of Vrindavan.
After hours of admiration of both these temples, we travelled to a hotel because it made us really tired waking up so early and travelling the whole day. We booked rooms for one night, had our dinner and went to sleep after this tiring yet worth it day of ours.
The next day we woke up and returned back to our apartments and this beautiful tour of mine came to an end.
END
THE TRAVEL MANIAC 