Mehtab Bagh

Mehtab Bagh, the Moonlight Garden, lies beside the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna and offers a quieter view of the monument than the main complex. Its name joins the Urdu words for moonlight and garden, and tradition says Shah Jahan laid it out so he could look at the Taj.

The garden follows the Charbagh plan. It once had white walkways, large fountains with reflecting pools, and pavilions among fruit trees. Its original crescent layout became square after floods in the early 1900s damaged the older features, and the Archaeological Survey of India restored it by 1994. A central pool is placed to catch the moonlight, and on full-moon nights the reflection of the Taj in the water is the main attraction.