Mehtab Bagh 🇮🇳

Mehtab Bagh, which translates to "Moonlight Garden," is a square-shaped Mughal charbagh garden situated in Agra, North India. Measuring approximately 300 by 300 meters, the complex is positioned directly across the Yamuna River on the floodplains north of the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Perfectly aligned with the Taj Mahal on the opposite bank, the garden grounds experience partial flooding during the annual rainy season.

Originally constructed by Emperor Babur, the garden was the final addition to a series of eleven Mughal-built riverfront gardens situated along this stretch of the Yamuna River. Emperor Shah Jahan later selected the crescent-shaped, grass-covered floodplain as an ideal vantage point for viewing the Taj Mahal, developing it into a moonlit pleasure grounds. Designed to match the width and riverfront terrace style of the Taj Mahal, the original site featured white plaster walkways, open pavilions, pools, fountains, fruit trees, and narcissus plants.

Over time, river floods and the removal of building materials by local villagers left the garden in ruins, leaving it largely forgotten beneath silt and wild growth by the 1990s. The site is also linked to the legendary myth of a "Black Taj Mahal," first mentioned by the seventeenth-century French traveler Jean Baptiste Tavernier and later reinforced in 1871 when archaeologist A. C. L. Carlleyle mistook moss-blackened pond remains for a structural foundation. Historically, the land was also owned by Raja Man Singh Kacchawa of Amber.

Restoration of the site began in the 1990s under the Archaeological Survey of India with American assistance. Archaeological excavations involved moving 90,000 cubic meters of soil, revealing a four-compartment garden layout and an octagonal tank with 25 fountains. Following a legal intervention by the Supreme Court, authorities replanted the grounds exclusively with 81 historical plant species favored in Mughal horticulture, including neem, hibiscus, guava, ashoka, and citrus. These plants were organized in tiered height arrangements, with certain night-blooming varieties chosen for their moonlight appearance.

Today, visitors to the complex can see surviving architectural features, including a partially intact sandstone river wall, the remaining southeast corner tower, water channels, ruined pavilion foundations, and a large octagonal pond that reflects the Taj Mahal. The site also contains non-original elements, such as a Dalit shrine, private plant nurseries, and a statue of B. R. Ambedkar. In addition to offering an exceptional view of the Taj Mahal, the restored garden serves as a habitat for both resident and migratory bird species.