Wish to Know about the best places in India for Photography? Read this blog where we share with you 25 top spots for photography in India. Pack the best in photography gear and head to one of the following destinations eagerly waiting to enrol in your photo albums.
Best Places in India For Photography
# 1 Agra
When you have the world’s greatest love icon Taj Mahal as your subject, would you mind finishing your rolls capturing the graceful white marble wonder? Not at all! However, you need to divide your attention among various architectural masterpieces in Agra.The sheer magnificence of Taj Mahal makes Agra as one of the Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera: Taj Mahal (early morning and under the moonlit sky), Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahotsav.Few of the best locations to capture Taj Mahal behind your camera are from Mehtab Bagh (across the river Yamuna) and from Agra fort.
Best Time: November-February (Taj Mahotsav in February to click amazing varieties of handicrafts).
How to Reach: Excellent road, rail and air connectivity.The expressway is perhaps the fastest way to reach Agra and you can drive and reach Agra from Delhi in flat 3 hours.
#2 Agumbe
Can you suggest settings better than rainforests to pursue your passion for photography? If not, think of nothing beyond Agumbe, a small village in Karnataka blessed to turn into paradise during monsoons. Reptiles and nature’s most spectacular facets unite to keep your camera busy.The scenic views of raw nature make Agumbe one of the Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera: King cobra, viper snake, vine snake, Malabar trogon, waterfalls, lush greenery and sunset.
Best Time: Monsoons (July-September) and post-monsoons (October-February)
How to Reach: Mangalore Airport (96 km.), Udupi Railway Station (52 km.), good road connectivity.
#3 Alleppey
Backwaters channels with rows of palms on both sides and beautiful houseboats floating like poetry in motion! Inspiring, isn’t it? You can capture the wondrous sight, along with the heart-warming countryside of Kerala, its mouth-watering platters, festivals, beaches and much more by choosing Alleppey as your photography destination.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera: Lush green paddy fields, landscapes from houseboats, temple festivals and snake boat race, Alleppey Beach, birds, Kerala platter served on banana leaves.
Best Time: Apart from the monsoon months, you may visit Alleppey in any month.
How to Reach: Kochi Airport (83 km.). The place is accessible by good road and rail transport.
#4 Badami
The artists of unimaginable calibre adorned the face of Badami with inimitable specimen of Indian rock-cut architecture. Get inspired by them and recreate the magic in print by capturing the grandeur of this World Heritage Site. You will definitely preserve these photos among your best work.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Cave temples, carvings and sculptures, inscriptions, Badami Fort, red sandstone outcrops, Agasthya Tank, heritage panoramas.
Best Time: October-March
How to Reach: The city is connected by road and rail to the top destinations while the closest airport is at Hubli (109 km.).
#5 Bharatpur
The world’s best birding area, Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur in Rajasthan is a heaven for the ornithologists, bird-lovers and of course, the photographers. The World Heritage Site commands its beautiful wingers to pose for cameras and they follow it religiously.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Siberian crane, waterfowls including herons and cormorants and land birds and mongoose, chital, porcupine, civet and other mammals.
Best Time: Migratory season from November to March.
How to Reach: Easy access by road and rail, nearest airport is at Agra (54 km.).
#6 Dharamshala
The spiritual dwelling of His Holiness Dalai Lama is like a mini Tibet in the folds of Indian Himalayas. So, to picture the extravagant Tibetan heritage, you don’t need to visit Tibet, but choose this mesmerising hill station of Himachal Pradesh. You would love to bring the majestic Himalayan peaks in the frame as well and that is a reason enough for us to list this place as Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Tibetan architecture, monasteries, prayer wheels, Tibetan markets, monks, waterfalls, landscapes, colonial heritage and snow-clad Dhauladhar Range.
Best Time: Through-out the year.
How to Reach: Gaggal Airport (15 km.), Pathankot Railway Station (85 km.) and scenic road trips.
#7 Havelock Island
As the spell of Havelock Island’s charming nature breaks, you suddenly realize that you brought a camera. Thank God that happens because then you can indulge in capturing the flawless nature of this Andaman & Nicobar Islands’ popular holiday destination amidst Bay of Bengal.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Clean beaches with coconut groves, fascinating world of coral reefs, and marvellous sunset views.
Best Time: November-May
How to Reach: Board a flight to Port Blair and then hire a ferry to reach the island.
#8 Kabini
A top-ranker in the list of wildlife photography places in India, Kabini promises special attention if you enter the tiger reserve with camera. It takes no time to reveal the glorious big cats, along with several other vistas. You wonder if wilderness here is crafted for shutterbugs.Keep an eye over the trees as it is there that you may catch glimpse of a leopard lazing around. The chances of capturing a leopard in wild are the highest in Kabini and this is why we have listed Kabini as one of the Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Leopards, tigers, elephants, crocodiles and birds.
Best Time: Throughout the year.
How to Reach: Mysore (about 77 km.) has the closest airport and rail access. Road routes are good from top cities in South India.
#9 Kashmir
When the heaven itself exists on the earth, why deprive your photo collections from it. Head towards the pristine Kashmir Valley where alpine wonders, strikingly beautiful lakes, snow-ridden landscapes and serpentine rivers do justice to your love for photography. It is the place where you don’t need to search for the perfect backdrops, but will have a tough time bringing all of them in the storage.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Dal Lake, houseboats, Shikara boats, floating vegetable markets, Mughal Gardens, Tulip Festival, Gulmarg, meadows of Sonmarg, mountain sceneries.
Best Time: Throughout the year (peak season April-October), April for Tulip Festival
How to Reach: Srinagar Airport or excellent road connections (may shut down during heavy snowfall).
#10 Kaziranga
You are unfair to your craft if you fail to join India wildlife photography tours, especially when the destinations like Kaziranga welcomes you with open arms. The World Heritage Site is the abode of heavyweight statures at the Himalayan foothills and is indeed worthy of your films and rolls.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : One-horned rhinoceroses, tigers, Asian elephants, wild water buffaloes, swamp deer.
Best Time: November-April
How to Reach: NH 37 offers excellent road connectivity. Closest airport and railway station are respectively at Jorhat (109 km.) and Furkating (100 km.).
#11 Khajuraho
Those who visit the World heritage Site of Khajuraho Group of Temples in Madhya Pradesh without camera usually return empty-handed. This fascinating display of erotica via the beautiful art of sculpting should stay in your memories forever. Moreover, the stunning frames you get to capture here are what you will flaunt with pride among your friends and groups.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Erotic sculptures exhibiting the art of love-making and other sculptures showing musicians, dancers, plants, animals and a lot more. Khajuraho Dance Festival that hosts magnetic forms of Indian Classical Dances.
Best Time: November-March (March hosts the dance festival).
How to Reach: Good air, rail and road connections.
#12 Kutch
A hotbed of avifauna and endangered wildlife, Kutch in Gujarat is also the famed host of Rann Mahotsav when riots of colourful celebrations paint the white canvas of salt marshlands. You get enough feed for creating an outstanding collage of timeless memories.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : McQueen’s bustard, flamingos, cranes, larks and other birds, Indian wild ass, desert fox, folk culture and wonderful display of handicrafts.
Best Time : December (start of Rann Mahotsav) to March (return of migrated wingers)
How to Reach: Bhuj, the capital of Kutch, has well-connected airport and railway station. Road connectivity is excellent.
#13 Ladakh
What sets Ladakh apart from the rest of India? Apart from its northernmost location, the bouquet of diverse landscapes and Buddhist heritage as well as the ethnic highlights are simply overwhelming. You certainly need a camera to shoot the spectacle and savour it for the lifetime.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Valleys of Zanskar and Nubra, white sand dunes and Bactrian camels, monasteries, palaces, monks and Tibetan festivals, high-altitude lakes, snow leopard, red fox and more.
Best Time: Summers from June to September (access is easy), winters from November to March (access difficult due to heavy snowfall).
How to Reach: The administrative town Leh has the only airport in the region and is also well-connected by road.
#14 Madurai
The sprawling complex of the world-famous Meenakshi Amman Temple alone is enough to encourage you for South India photo tours. Boasting of more than 33,000 sculptures, the temple is such an enthralling piece of art that you will be afraid to miss clicking from every possible angle. Do carry extra rolls, batteries and memory cards as you would need them.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Sky-reaching temple towers adorned with stupendous sculptures, temple interiors with carved pillars, lit up temple in the evening, other temples and beautiful palaces in Madurai.
Best Time: November-February
How to Reach: Not at all an issue as Madurai has convenient road, rail and air connections.
#15 Mahabalipuram
The first thing every visitor to Mahabalipuram does is search for the lens in his or her bag. The sights of magnificent rock-cut architectures near the coast of Bay of Bengal are so inspiring that you are bound to forget everything else. Capturing the brilliance is a wonderful way to pay respect to the artists who might have spent months creating these masterpieces.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots dedicated to Pandavas), Shore Temple, Descent of Ganges (an outstanding open bas-relief), Krishna’s Butterball
Best Time: November-March
How to Reach: Chennai Airport (54 km.), Chengalpattu Railway Station (29 km.), scenic road drive via East Coast Road.
#16 Majuli
Photography tours from India enter the unexplored trail in the northeast where the wonders like Majuli, the world’s largest freshwater island on River Brahmaputra, are willing to be captured. As you take a ferry, ride a bicycle or wander on foot, you are game for a stupendous album in making.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Lush green landscapes, migratory birds, riverside spectacles, religious satras (monasteries), cultural dance performances and crafts like pottery and mask making.
Best Time: Throughout the year.
How to Reach: Jorhat offering ferry rides to the island also has the closest airport and railway station.
#17 Nagaland
If you love to discover the isolated worlds with camera, Nagaland in the far northeast is what you need to choose form this list. The indigenous Naga tribal people preserve their centuries old culture and lifestyle which is no less hypnotic to cover. Tribal dances, attires, festivals and heritage arts are something you must have never come across.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Bizarre clothes, jewellery and headgears, Naga folk dances, paintings, wood carvings and the must-attend Hornbill Festival.
Best Time: November-March, Hornbill Festival in December
How to Reach: Dimapur in Nagaland has well-connected airport and railway station and road access is convenient.
#18 Pushkar
Ditch even the most important commitments when the holy town of Pushkar summons you to the grand animal fair. And forget everything else to pack, but not your camera or you will regret. This Rajasthani town in the heart of Thar Desert is where you would create the masterpieces with lens.Take a evening shot at Pushkar Lake with the shimmering lights leaving colourful reflections in the lake water and you would agree with us that Pushkar is surely one amongst the Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Decorated and embellished camels, moustache-flaunting men, women clad in ethnic clothes and jewellery, cultural performances, sand dunes, Pushkar Lake and temples.
Best Time: November (Pushkar Fair) till February if you wish to capture magnificent forts and palaces.
How to Reach: Jaipur Airport (150 km.). Road and rail accessibility is good.
#19 Ranthambore
Entering the tiger’s territory with camera is both heroic and exciting. At Ranthambore, you come face-to-face with tigers habitual of charging at jeeps. But, don’t be afraid of establishing the relation of them being the performers and you being the admirer. The popular national park in Rajasthan surprises you with historical wonders as well so that you get a variety of shots and this makes Ranthambore as one of the Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Tigers, panthers, leopards, sloth bear, Ranthambore Fort, palaces and picturesque lakes and ponds.
Best Time: October-May
How to Reach: Jaipur Airport (158 km.), Sawai Madhopur Railway Station (14 km.), excellent road accessibility.
#20 Sandakphu
And, how can you forget to snap the soaring peaks of Himalayas, including the world’s tallest Mount Everest. For the best footage for your camera, trek to Sandakphu, the highest peak in West Bengal from where the visual treat of lofty Himalayas is best clicked than described. Reach out early in the morning and you would be awestruck by the colours in the sky at sunrise and this is reason why we have listed Sandakphu as one of the Best Places in India For Photography.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Lhotse, birds, colourful flower valleys and wilderness.
Best Time: April-May and October-November
How to Reach: The trekking base station has the closest airport and railway station respectively at Bagdogra (118 km.) and New Jalpaiguri (130 km.).
#21 Shillong
‘The Abode of Clouds’ in the northeast, Shillong enjoys proximity to the world’s wettest region and is truly blessed with untouched natural beauty. It’s good that your eyes forget to blink at this paradise and you pay better heed to the vistas unfolding before your vision.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Orchids, Elephant Falls, landscapes, limestone caves (must-to-click), living root bridges, tribal culture.
Best Time: March-April, October-November
How to Reach: Guwahati (118 km.) has the nearest airport and railway station. Road travel time may be higher than expected.
#22 Spiti
Star-filled canopy at night – inspiring! Snow-laden peaks waking up to the rising sun – inspiring! Isolated honeycomb-like monasteries – inspiring! Stark landscapes that keep the herds of tourists away – absolutely inspiring! With so many inspirations for the shutterbugs, the crowd-free valleys of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh are surprisingly missing from your collections. It’s here that you find exotic and uncovered locations at every inch.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Mountain roads, gushing rivers, silent lakes, postcard villages, ever-smiling people, Key Monastery
Best Time: Mid-May to early-November
How to Reach: Stunning roads lead to the region from Shimla and Manali. Closest airport is at Bhunter (about 230 km.)
#23 Tadoba
Joining an India tiger photo tour is the best thing you can think of for your next photography expedition. Among the top destinations for the same is Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra where the fearless beast seems to intentionally roam around seeking attention from cameras.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Bengal tigers, four-horned antelopes, butterflies, spiders, birds, flame of the forest.
Best Time: April-May (for best tiger spotting)
How to Reach: Nagpur Airport (130 km.), Chandrapur Railway Station (45 km.), road trip is convenient.
#24 Valley of Flowers
Mother Nature seems obsessed with colours at Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand and you will thank her for that. Trekking and photography go hand in hand as you walk over the multihued carpets of flowers. Be absolutely stunned and let your lens do all the action.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Unlimited varieties of alpine and sub-alpine flowers, waterfalls, snow leopard, landscapes.
Best Time: July-September, the blooming time.
How to Reach: Dehradun Airport (304 km.), Rishikesh Railway Station (269 km.), road connectivity till Govindghat from where the trek of 17 km. begins.
#25 Varanasi
River Ganga descended from the heavens to bless the earth and continues to do so. At Varanasi, you devote an extended photography session to the life so religiously revolving around the holy river. No wonder you will feel sanctified in the process and bookmark this holiest Hindu city in your best photo tour memories.
Top Subjects to capture through your camera : Sacred ghats bustling with rituals associated with birth, life and death, evening Ganga aarti, temples, saffron-clad sages, myriads of colours and old world charm.
Best Time: October-March
How to Reach: Varanasi has a busy airport, an important railway terminus and excellent road connectivity in every direction.
Each of these places can keep you click-frenzy for days or weeks altogether. Whether you are just a hobbyist or planning a career in the landscape, wildlife or ethnic-photography, you won’t find better choices ever to start.
Waytoindia.com organises Photography Tours in India which include Wildlife Photography tours, Street Photography Tours and Travel Photography Tours.to find more details you may write to info@waytoindia.com .