Mathura & Vrindavan Travel Guide: Temples, Ghats and the Braj Villages

In Mathura, Krishna Janmasthan is about 2 km from Vishram Ghat on the Yamuna, and Dwarkadhish Temple stands near the ghat. Vrindavan is 15 km away, and the villages of Braj tied to Krishna and Radha lie within about 55 km of Mathura.

Krishna Janmasthan

This temple complex stands over the spot honoured as Krishna's birthplace: tradition holds that he was born here in King Kansa's prison, to Devaki and Vasudeva. A small prison cell marks the place, other shrines tell the rest of his story, and beside the entrance to the cell is a temple of Yogmaya, the eight-armed goddess. Our Braj tours begin here. Vishram Ghat is about 2 km away, so the two fit into one morning.

Dwarkadhish Temple

Mathura's district administration counts it among the city's oldest and largest temples, though the present building dates from 1814, when Seth Gokul Das Parikh, treasurer of the Scindia state of Gwalior, raised it. Krishna is worshipped here as Dwarkadhish, lord of Dwarka, in black marble, with Radha beside him in white marble. It is near Vishram Ghat, so see the two together, ideally in July or August, when Mathura and Vrindavan keep the Hindola festival.

Vishram Ghat

Of Mathura's 25 ghats on the Yamuna, this is the one Incredible India calls the most significant: Krishna is believed to have rested here after killing Kansa. Its evening aarti, with lamps, rangoli and chanting, draws thousands at dusk, and boats take visitors out on the river. Holi and Janmashtami are both celebrated on its steps. The ghat is open all day; come before sunset to find a place for the aarti.

Government Museum, Mathura

Founded in 1874 and run by Uttar Pradesh's culture department, the museum holds sculpture, terracotta, bronzes, coins and paintings, including Mauryan and Kushan-period work from the centuries when Mathura was a centre of trade, learning and Buddhist sculpture. It makes a quiet change from a day of temples and crowds. The museum is closed on Mondays, and its galleries close at 4.30 pm on other days.

Banke Bihari Temple

One of Vrindavan's most visited temples, it holds the image Swami Haridas first worshipped as Kunj-Bihari at Nidhivan: Krishna standing in the tribhanga pose, bent at three points. The priests draw a curtain across the image during darshan, a custom Incredible India explains as sparing devotees the full force of its beauty. Darshan runs in a morning and an evening sitting every day of the year; the times move with the season, at festivals and at eclipses, and the temple posts them on its website. Cars cannot reach the door, so leave yours in one of Vrindavan's car parks.

ISKCON Vrindavan (Krishna-Balaram Mandir)

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness built its first temple here, at Raman Reti in Vrindavan, and its founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, installed the images of Krishna and his elder brother Balarama in 1975, with Radha-Shyamasundar and Gaura-Nitai beside them. The complex has grown since. The temple runs a guest house, booked through its own website, which suits anyone who wants to be in Vrindavan for the mangala aarti, the first aarti of the day.

Prem Mandir

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj opened this temple in February 2012 on a 54-acre site at the edge of Vrindavan, and his trust, Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, maintains it. It is dedicated to Radha-Krishna and Sita-Ram, and carvings from Krishna's life cover the main temple. Come late in the day: the temple's own timetable opens it from 8.30 am to noon and 4.30 to 8.30 pm, and its musical fountain plays at 7 pm from October to March and at 7.30 pm from April to September.

Govind Dev and Vrindavan's protected temples

Four of Vrindavan's old temples are monuments of national importance in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India: Govind Dev, Madan Mohan, Jugal Kishore and Radha Vallabh. Govind Dev's original image was carried to Amer, and later to Jaipur, to keep it safe in Aurangzeb's time, Incredible India records; the building stayed behind. Radha Vallabh stands near Banke Bihari, so both fit one walk through the old town.

Gokul and Raman Reti

Gokul, 10 km from Mathura, is where Krishna is believed to have grown up with Yashoda and Nanda, hidden from Kansa. Its Raman Reti, the sandy ground where tradition says he played with Balarama and the cowherd boys, is now a compound with a deer sanctuary, temples and the Karshni Ashram's old Raman Bihari temple. Mahavan, 14 km from Mathura, and Baldeo, 20 km, are also among the holy places of Braj.

Govardhan

Govardhan, about 25 km from Mathura, is the hill Krishna is said to have raised to shelter the people of Braj from Indra's rain, and around it are Kusum Sarovar lake and many temples. Our 2 Days Mathura Vrindavan with Goverdhan Barsana trip gives Govardhan a morning. Govardhan is busiest at Guru Purnima, in July or August, and at Annakut, the Govardhan Puja, in October or November.

Barsana and Nandgaon

Barsana, which Incredible India calls Radha's birthplace, and neighbouring Nandgaon lie farther from Mathura than any other Braj town on UP Tourism's list. Barsana's Shri Radha Rani temple is its focus, and the town celebrates Radhashtami, Radha's birthday. Both towns are known for Lathmar Holi, the stick Holi of February or March; our Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan experience can include it if your dates allow.

Most of a visit is darshan, the set times when each temple's images can be seen, so build the day around their morning and evening openings. Between them:

• Watch the evening aarti at Vishram Ghat, then take a boat out on the Yamuna.
• Explore Vrindavan's old town: Banke Bihari, the protected temples and Nidhivan, the grove of wild basil where, the temple says, Banke Bihari's image appeared.
• Stay in Vrindavan after dark for Prem Mandir's musical fountain.
• See a Raasleela or the Charkula dance, the performing arts of Braj.
• Eat Mathura's pedas and other milk sweets, with kachori, jalebi and lassi; Vrindavan is known for peda, lassi and chaat.
• Browse the stalls of Krishna-themed handicrafts and trinkets around the temples.

The festivals are the other reason to come. Holi falls in February or March, with Lathmar Holi at Barsana and Nandgaon; Hindola in July or August; Janmashtami, Krishna's birthday, in August or September, with temple ceremonies at midnight; and Annakut at Govardhan in October or November. Our Holi festival guide explains the wider festival.

October to March is the comfortable season, as Incredible India advises. IMD's 1991–2020 averages for Agra, 56 km away, give January about 22°C by day and 7°C at night, with fog on about five days in the month, so bring a warm layer for early darshan. April to June is hot, with May averaging 42°C by day, and long temple queues are hard going in that heat. July and August bring 444 mm of rain between them, nearly two-thirds of the year's total.

Crowds peak at the festivals and, by Banke Bihari's own list, over the year-end holidays from 20 December to 5 January, at weekends and on Ekadashi, full-moon and new-moon days. Festival dates follow the lunar calendar and move every year, so confirm them for your year before booking.

• By road: Mathura is about 145 km south-east of Delhi, by the Yamuna Expressway or NH 44, and under 60 km from Agra. Buses on the Delhi road stop at Chhatikara for Vrindavan, and e-rickshaws run on into the town.
• By train: Mathura Junction (MTJ) is a major junction, with regular trains between Delhi and Agra and to cities such as Mumbai and Jaipur; Mathura Cantt (MRT) is the second station. Vrindavan Road station has no direct trains from the big cities, so take the train to Mathura Junction, about 14 km from Banke Bihari.
• By air: the closest airport is Kheria (AGR) at Agra; Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (DEL) is about 136 km from Mathura.

Each of our trips here, from the day tour to the Holi experience, travels by private car with a driver, who also takes you between the Braj towns. See all our Mathura and Vrindavan tours and experiences in one place.

Rickshaws, tongas, auto-rickshaws, tempos, taxis and buses serve both towns, and cars cannot reach Banke Bihari's door, so expect to walk the last stretch from a car park. Stay in Vrindavan if dawn and evening darshan are the point of the trip: our two-day and four-day trips spend their Braj night in Vrindavan or Mathura, and ISKCON's guest house takes bookings on its website.

At the temples, Banke Bihari's own do's and don'ts make a good rule everywhere: bathe and wear clean clothes, leave footwear and leather outside, follow the queue, and do not eat non-vegetarian food or drink alcohol there. The temple also warns visitors to beware of pickpockets and monkeys, so keep belongings close. Pack cotton for summer and woollens for winter. Uttar Pradesh's other sights, from Agra to Varanasi, are in our Uttar Pradesh travel guide.