Almost everyone sees the Taj Mahal by day. Very few see it the way it was arguably meant to be seen — glowing softly under a full moon, the white marble catching the moonlight while the crowds are gone and the monument falls silent. The Taj Mahal opens for night viewing on just five nights each month, and getting in takes a little planning. Here’s exactly when it’s open in 2026–27, and how to make sure you’re there for it.
When is the Taj Mahal open for night view?
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) permits night viewing of the Taj Mahal on five nights around every full moon — the full-moon night itself, plus the two nights before and the two nights after. Night viewing is closed every Friday and closed entirely during the month of Ramzan.
Viewing happens between 8:00 PM and 11:59 PM (midnight), in 8 batches of up to 50 people — so only about 400 visitors per night. Each batch gets 30 minutes. You view the Taj from a platform at a distance (there’s no entry to the mausoleum itself at night), and you must report at Shilpgram, near the East Gate, 30 minutes before your slot for security checks. Bring valid photo ID — it’s required.
Taj Mahal Night Viewing Full-Moon Dates 2026–27
Here are the official ASI full-moon viewing windows for the Taj Mahal across 2026–27. Each window is the five-night span around the full moon (the full-moon night plus two nights before and after). Note that any Friday inside a window is closed — those specific dates are listed in the last column and again below the table.
| Month | Night Viewing Window | Full Moon | Closed (Friday) |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 31 Mar – 4 Apr 2026 | Thu 2 Apr | 3 Apr |
| May 2026 | 29 Apr – 3 May 2026 | Fri 1 May | 1 May |
| May 2026 | 29 May – 2 Jun 2026 | Sun 31 May | 29 May |
| June 2026 | 27 Jun – 1 Jul 2026 | Mon 29 Jun | — |
| July 2026 | 27 – 31 Jul 2026 | Wed 29 Jul | 31 Jul |
| August 2026 | 26 – 30 Aug 2026 | Fri 28 Aug | 28 Aug |
| September 2026 | 24 – 28 Sep 2026 | Sat 26 Sep | 25 Sep |
| October 2026 | 24 – 28 Oct 2026 | Mon 26 Oct | — |
| November 2026 | 22 – 26 Nov 2026 | Tue 24 Nov | — |
| December 2026 | 21 – 25 Dec 2026 | Wed 23 Dec | 25 Dec |
| January 2027 | 20 – 24 Jan 2027 | Fri 22 Jan | 22 Jan |
Important — February 2027 closure: There will be no night viewing of the Taj Mahal in February 2027, as the Ramzan month runs from 17 February 2027 to 8 March 2027. If you’re planning a spring trip, factor this blackout in.
Dates NOT available due to Friday closure: The Taj Mahal is closed every Friday, so the following dates fall inside a viewing window but are not available — plan around them: 3 April 2026, 1 May 2026, 29 May 2026, 31 July 2026, 28 August 2026, 25 September 2026, 25 December 2026, and 22 January 2027. On months where the full moon itself lands on a Friday (1 May 2026, 28 August 2026, 22 January 2027), that full-moon night is skipped — choose another night within the same five-night window instead.
How to book Taj Mahal night view tickets
This is where most travellers slip up, so read carefully:
- Booking opens 7 days before the full-moon day. Tickets for night viewing are released one week ahead of the full moon — so plan to book as soon as the window opens, because the limited 400-per-night slots go quickly.
- Book online through the official ASI ticketing portal: asi.paygov.org.in. This is the government’s official site — avoid third-party resellers charging inflated prices.
- Ticket prices: ₹510 (Indian adult), ₹750 (foreign adult), ₹500 (child aged 3–15, Indian or foreign).
- Carry a printed ticket with a clear QR code, plus your ID — both are checked at Shilpgram.
- Report 30 minutes early at Shilpgram near the East Gate. Late arrivals are not admitted, and entry is only through this gate for night viewing.
Tickets are non-refundable, including for poor visibility due to weather — another reason a full-moon night with clear skies is worth timing for.
Is the Taj Mahal night view worth it? An honest take
Let’s be honest, because most guides won’t be. The night view is a distant, 30-minute view from a platform — you don’t walk up to the marble as you do by day, and you won’t get the moon and the Taj in a single frame (the moon is above and behind you, lighting the monument). If you’re expecting a close-up, you may be disappointed.
But if you go with the right expectation — a quiet, almost meditative glimpse of the world’s most famous monument bathed in moonlight, with only a few hundred people present instead of tens of thousands — it’s genuinely one of the most atmospheric experiences in India. It pairs beautifully with a sunrise visit the next morning, giving you the Taj in two completely different lights.
Can’t get tickets, or visiting on a Friday? Taj View Point (ADA)
If the night-viewing tickets are sold out, or you’re in Agra on a Friday (when the monument’s night viewing is closed), there’s a Plan B: the Taj View Point (ADA), across the Yamuna near Mehtab Bagh. It’s open sunrise to midnight, every single day — including Fridays and full-moon nights — with no advance booking and entry of around ₹50.
Be honest with yourself about what it offers, though: this is a distant view of the rear of the Taj from the far bank of the river. On a full-moon night the moon sits behind you, so the marble appears dark and silhouetted rather than glowing — it’s not the luminous moonlit-marble experience of the official night viewing. What it is: a peaceful, crowd-free vantage point that lets you glimpse the Taj at night when the monument itself isn’t an option. Treat it as a fallback, not a replacement — and for the glow, come back for a proper night-viewing slot or a sunrise visit.
The perfect timing: full moon + festival
Here’s something almost no one connects. The 24 November 2026 full moon isn’t just any full moon — it’s Kartik Purnima, one of the most sacred nights in the Hindu calendar. On that single night, you could witness the Taj by moonlight in Agra, while Pushkar’s camel fair reaches its holy-dip climax in Rajasthan and Dev Diwali lights up a million lamps on the ghats of Varanasi. Time a single trip well and you touch all three — a once-in-a-lifetime Kartik Purnima across North India.
And since Agra sits on the Golden Triangle, a full-moon Taj viewing slots naturally into a Delhi–Agra–Jaipur route — turning a standard first-timer’s circuit into something timed and unforgettable.
Plan your full-moon Taj trip with Travebrate
Timing a Taj Mahal night viewing takes real planning — the five-night window, the Friday and Ramzan closures, the booking that opens exactly 7 days ahead, and the festival overlaps that can turn one night into a whole journey. That’s exactly what we do. We’re India trip planners based in Udupi, Karnataka, and our craft is timing: we build your itinerary around the right full moon, weave in the Golden Triangle and any festivals falling in your window, and hand you a day-by-day PDF you book yourself or through a travel agent of your choice. We don’t book flights or hotels — staying independent keeps every suggestion about your experience, never a commission. Our personalised itinerary is a flat USD 100.
See the Taj by moonlight
Tell us your travel dates and we’ll build a Golden Triangle itinerary around the right full moon — and time in any festivals that fall in your window.
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