Mathura & Vrindavan Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Mathura & Vrindavan

Plan the day around darshan

Images are shown at set times, morning and evening; Banke Bihari and Prem Mandir close at midday. Banke Bihari posts its seasonal hours online and asks visitors to leave phones, umbrellas and leather behind. Our Mathura and Vrindavan tour times its guide and car to these hours.

Begin at Krishna Janmasthan

Our Braj itineraries start at the temple complex over the prison cell honoured as Krishna's birthplace. Security is strict: phones, watches and key rings stay in the car.

Join the aarti on the Yamuna

Thousands gather on Vishram Ghat's steps as lamps are raised at dusk, and boats take visitors out on the river. Our two-, four- and eight-day trips end day one at an evening aarti on the Yamuna ghats.

Walk Vrindavan's old temples

Radha Vallabh, near Banke Bihari, Govind Dev, Madan Mohan and Jugal Kishore are old temples in the Archaeological Survey of India's care. ISKCON's Krishna-Balaram Mandir is calmer, and our tours pair it with Banke Bihari.

Circle Govardhan and visit Barsana

Pilgrims walk the parikrama around Govardhan, the hill Krishna is said to have raised against Indra's rain; Barsana, Radha's birthplace, keeps her temple on its hilltop. The 2 Days Mathura Vrindavan with Goverdhan Barsana gives both its second day.

Play Holi in Braj

Holi here lasts about a week, with Lathmar Holi at Barsana and Nandgaon, where women playfully beat the men with sticks, and colour at Banke Bihari. Our Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan experience brings a guide who knows the safest routes, a car, viewing areas and eye protection on request.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

The Holi experience, under festivals in Mathura and Vrindavan, is one intense day for people happy in crowds and colour. Our tour packages fit the rest of the year: the twin towns in a day or with a night, two days with Govardhan and Barsana, four days with the Taj at Agra, or eight days on to Kedarnath, with a trek in its season.

When to go for these

October to March suits temple days on foot; IMD's averages for nearby Agra give January 22°C by day and 7°C at night, and May 42°C. Holi falls in February or March and Janmashtami in August or September. Banke Bihari is busiest at weekends, on Ekadashi, full-moon and new-moon days and from 20 December to 5 January.

Planning tips

Cars cannot reach Banke Bihari's door, so walk from a car park, and mind pickpockets and monkeys, as the temple warns. Each temple's story is told in our Mathura & Vrindavan travel guide.