Mehtab Bagh is a charbagh complex situated north of the Taj Mahal complex and the Agra Fort on the other side of the Yamuna River, at a distance of 9.5 km from Agra Cantonment Railway Station. The last of eleven Mughal-built gardens along the Yamuna River was the Mehtab Bagh garden; the first was Ram Bagh. Emperor Shah Jahan remembered this crescent-shaped flood plain lined with grass around the Yamuna River, and considered it a perfect place to see the Taj Mahal from a distance. Then, from 1631 to 1635, he conceived it as a pleasure garden lined with moonlight and called it Mehtab Bagh.
Mehtab Bagh is a 25 acre garden on the opposite side, square in form, measures about 300 x 300 m and is perfectly aligned with the Taj Mahal. The field gets partly overflooded during the rainy season. The garden has several pavilions, along with fountains and ponds. None of the proportions in the gardens were comparable to Taj Mahal’s. Mehtab Bagh later came in the hands of Raja Man Singh Kacchawa, king of Amber.
Mehtab Bagh also westwards enters two other gardens. Four sandstone towers originally marked the corners of Mehtab Bagh, of which only one remains at the southeastern tip. The gardens also have a wide pond at its outer edges that reflects the Taj’s face. In addition to water channels that improve the park’s charm, there is also a small tank in the garden centre.
Frequent flooding had destroyed the area. Villagers took much of the damaged part to use as construction materials. The structures which remained within the garden are not properly maintained. In the 1990s ASI started some restoration. Recent excavations carried out by ASI discovered an enormous octagonal tank fitted with 25 fountains on the southern periphery, a small central tank and an eastern pavilion. It is also known as the Moonlight Garden because from here one can enjoy a beautiful night view of Taj Mahal on the day of full moon.
Entry Fee: For Indians Rs.10, for Foreigners Rs.100
Timings: from 6 AM to 6 PM. Friday locked.
