Mehtab Bagh

The Taj Mahal is a breathtaking site. It’s beauty and scale can not be depicted in photographs. It’s majestic - and can only be fully realized in person. I, like many other tourists of India, spent hours wandering around the grounds of the Taj Mahal. Upon leaving the grounds, I happened to meet a very determined rickshaw driver who promised he could show me an amazing view of the Taj Mahal. So, he took my friends and I to the Mehtab Bagh. Nicknamed the Moonlight Gardens, it is right across the Yumana River that the Taj Mahal sits on. It truly was an amazing view, but also a unique perspective. The hour that we spent there, we only came across one other tourist couple. It was fascinating to watch local women and men working so hard in the garden, while a short distance away, tourists wandered around one of the Wonders of the World. Every time I look at this photo, I offer a silent thank you to that cab driver!

The opposite side of the Yamuna River is a good place to view the Taj Mahal in peace and quiet. My visit was only disturbed by a persistent postcard seller who chased me across the muddy flats at the side of the river for quite some time before abandoning his pursuit. There’s a garden -Mehtab Bhag – which supposedly contains the remains of the apocryphal “Black Taj” and just before the entrance a trail leads off to the right, down to the river. A rickshaw can take you over there, and there are also apparently boats which go back and forth not far from the Taj.