The Metab Bagh was laid by the first Mughal ruler Babur in 1530 comes with a series of 11 parks. This garden was the last in that series which is situated on the bank of river Yamuna and also just opposite of Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. It is well-known for its beauty as its name reveals the meaning of the garden is this moonlight-pleaser garden and later on, it is known as a Mehatab Bagh. Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty stayed in this city but he did not like the climate of this country. Moreover, he was fed up with India. Due to climate, once he made up his mind to leave this country. But finally, he decided to live here. Therefore, he built a series of gardens in this city. The first garden which is laid by Babur is the Rambagh garden that is also located on the bank of the river Yamuna.
Metab Bagh was re-built by shaha jahan who was the fifth Mughal ruler and builder of Taj Mahal Agra. Mehatab Bagh used to be decorated with many kinds of fruits and flowers. The layout of this garden is taken from Persian gardens that come with charbagh concepts along with water channels in which garden is separated in four equal parts and these water channels give a look of paradise according to Islamic text. This garden used to be one of the best gardens of its time because the king would come to walk during the moonlight with his queens and would enjoy the beauty of this place.
The integral part of this garden is identical to the Taj Mahal’s garden. According to the legend which is given by a French traveler whose name is Jean-Baptiste Tavernier said that emperor Shahajan had wished to build one more Taj Mahal here which would have been built in white for himself. Unfortunately, his son Aurangzeb could not let his father build another Taj Mahal moreover; he put him in jail till his death.
The first-time excavation of this site was done during the British era under A.C.L. Carlyle who noticed this site first. Subsequently, the land near the Mehatab Bagh was owned by Raja Man Singh of Amer. The beauty of this garden was ruined by flood and local people left no stone unturned. In 1990, nothing was there only a mound of sands, wild vegetation, and alluvial silt. This garden was degraded completely.
Inscription of this monument reveals wonderful history regarding this place, next to this garden, there used to be one more garden but at the monument which cannot be found which used to be made with plaster, and lime later on local people took that material to construct their houses. Thus, there is no existence of that garden. On the other hand, the wall of Mehatab Bagh is still existed with measuring the length of 289 meters along the river. Octagonal domed towers were existed on a raised platform with its height of a 2-2.5 meter and made of red sandstone at every corner of the garden. One of the four sandstone towers still exists which is very close to the statue of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. In the center o this garden, there is a water tank with a fountain.
Agra had witnessed a series of Mughal gardens during the Mughal period. But most of the gardens cannot be found, and the land of those gardens have been encroached by local people and over there built their houses. On the other hand, the beauty of Mehatab Bagh is so captivating and keeps inviting tourists to come here and get the sun-set view of the Taj Mahal from here.