Mehtab Bagh

Emperor Babur built Mehtab Bagh in the early 1500s, the last of eleven Mughal gardens along the Yamuna opposite the Taj Mahal. A century later, Shah Jahan identified the crescent-shaped floodplain across the river as the ideal spot for viewing the Taj Mahal and transformed it into a moonlit pleasure garden. Frequent floods ruined the garden, and villagers hauled away the damaged parts for building materials. By the early 20th century, floods had turned it into a pile of sand, and by century’s end, archaeologists excavated the site searching for the rumored Black Taj Mahal. They found no black marble foundation. Restoration began in the 1990s, and the Archaeological Survey of India insisted on replanting only species the Mughals used. The Supreme Court sided with ASI when pollution experts recommended modern plants. Today, an octagonal pool reflects the Taj. The garden floods seasonally. One moonlight view. Five centuries. Zero shortcuts.