Every temple, kund and ghat of Braj, in one place
Radhe Radhe! Use this as your yatra companion. For each place you get the leela and where it comes from in the scriptures, the history, darshan timings, dress and photo rules, parking and the walk, distances, food nearby and honest tips. Come with an open heart and let us take care of the rest. We follow Krishna's word in the Gita: do your duty fully, own your part, and trust.
65 places across 7areas. Timings change, so look for "check locally".
Suggested plans
Routes in a sensible driving order. Your driver can adjust to the day.
One day: the essential yatra
Mathura in the morning, Vrindavan through midday and evening. Start by 6:30 am.
- Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi (Keshav Dev)6:30 am. Leave your phone with the driver. Allow 1.5 hours
- Dwarkadhish TempleShort darshan window; then walk to Vishram Ghat
- Vishram GhatKachori breakfast and the river
- Banke Bihari TempleReach by 10:30 am in summer, before the midday close
- NidhivanShort, before sunset
- ISKCON Vrindavan (Krishna Balaram Mandir)Afternoon rest and sattvik lunch
- Prem MandirStay for the evening lights, then drive back
Driving: About 40 km in all, with two 12 km legs between Mathura and Vrindavan
Two days: Braj heart and Govardhan to Barsana
Day 1 as above but slower, Day 2 into the hills of Radha.
- Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi (Keshav Dev)Early
- Dwarkadhish Temple
- Vishram Ghat
- Banke Bihari Temple
- Radha Raman Temple
- Nidhivan
- Prem MandirEvening
Driving: About 40 km
- Daan Ghati TempleLeave Mathura by 6:30 am
- Mansi Ganga
- Radha Kund
- Kusum Sarovar
- Radha Rani Temple (Shriji / Ladli Ji), BarsanaReach by 2 pm before the afternoon close, or by 5 pm for the evening opening
- Nand Bhawan, NandgaonIf time and energy remain
Driving: Mathura to Govardhan about 25 km, Govardhan to Barsana about 25 to 30 km
Three days: the unhurried yatra
A slower, deeper Braj with Gokul, a full Vrindavan day and the hills.
- Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi (Keshav Dev)
- Potra Kund
- Dwarkadhish Temple
- Vishram GhatLunch
- Gokul: Nand Bhawan and Gokulnath jiAfternoon
- Raman Reti (Gokul)
- Brahmand GhatDusk
Driving: About 35 km
- Radha Damodar TempleEarly
- Seva Kunj
- Nidhivan
- Banke Bihari Temple
- Radha Raman Temple
- Madan Mohan Temple
- Kesi GhatDusk for the aarti
- ISKCON Vrindavan (Krishna Balaram Mandir)Optional evening
Driving: About 20 km
- Daan Ghati Temple6:30 am
- Mansi Ganga
- Radha Kund
- Radha Rani Temple (Shriji / Ladli Ji), Barsana
- Nand Bhawan, Nandgaon
- Pavan SarovarDusk, then drive back
Driving: About 100 km in all
Browse by area
Vrindavan
The forest of Tulsi, where Krishna danced the Rasa. Dozens of temples in a small old town.
Parking and rulesMathura
Krishna's birthplace on the Yamuna. A city of ghats, bazaars and the prison cell where it all began.
Parking and rulesGokul, Mahavan and Baldeo
The infancy of Krishna: the cradle, the mortar, the mud and the elder brother.
Parking and rulesGovardhan
The hill Krishna lifted. A 21 km walk of devotion with kunds at every turn.
Parking and rulesBarsana
Radha's hometown on the hills, home of Lathmar Holi.
Parking and rulesNandgaon
Nand Baba's village on the hill, 8 km from Barsana.
Parking and rulesFurther out
Kokilavan, Kamyavan and the Holi grounds: add-ons for a longer Braj yatra.
Parking and rulesAll places
Braj Chaurasi Kos Parikrama (84 kos)
The great circuit of Braj, about 252 km, covering the twelve forests, Govardhan, Barsana, Nandgaon and Gokul.
Akrur Ghat
The ghat where Akrura saw Vishnu rising from the Yamuna and understood who Krishna truly was.
Banke Bihari Temple
The beating heart of Vrindavan: a deity so alive that the curtain keeps closing to protect you from his gaze.
Bhandirvan
The forest across the Yamuna with the great banyan where Radha and Krishna were married, and where Balarama killed Pralamba.
Bhuteshwar Mahadev
Mathura's guardian Shiva (Kshetrapal), traditionally visited before Krishna's Janmabhoomi.
Brahmand Ghat
Where little Krishna ate mud and his mother saw the whole universe in his mouth.
Chandra Sarovar (Parasoli)
The moon-lit lake of Parasoli where, by tradition, Krishna danced the Rasa, and where the blind poet Surdas sang.
Chintaharan Mahadev
The Shiva who takes away worries, listed among the Gokul-Mahavan sacred sites.
Chir Ghat
Where Krishna took the gopis' clothes and sat in the kadamba tree: a lesson in surrender.
Daan Ghati Temple
The toll gate of Krishna: where he stopped the gopis carrying curd and asked for a tax of love.
Dauji Temple (Baldeo)
The temple of Krishna's elder brother Balarama, with the stately Dauji and Revati Maiya, and the wild Huranga on the day after Holi.
Dwarkadhish Temple
Mathura's grandest haveli temple, with a Pushtimarg service of eight darshans a day and richly decorated swings in the monsoon.
Gopeshwar Mahadev
Shiva as a gopi: the Lord of Lords who put on a woman's dress to see the Rasa Lila.
Govardhan Hill and the 21 km Parikrama
Walk around the hill Krishna lifted. The Giriraj circuit takes about 6 to 8 hours on foot, or 2 to 3 hours by e-rickshaw.
Govind Dev Temple
A ruined seven-storey red sandstone giant that was once the grandest temple in North India.
Govind Kund
Where Indra and the divine cow Surabhi crowned Krishna as Govinda after the Govardhan Lila.
Gyan Gudri
The place where Uddhava's philosophy dissolved into the gopis' love.
Harideva Temple (Govardhan)
Often called the oldest temple of Govardhan, Harideva honours Krishna as the Lord of the hill.
Barsana and Nandgaon Holi Grounds
Laddu Holi, Lathmar Holi and Huranga: the weeks of Braj's colour, played where it began.
Imli Tala
An ancient tamarind tree where Krishna is said to have sat in the pain of separation from Radha.
ISKCON Vrindavan (Krishna Balaram Mandir)
Raman Reti: the sandy lane where Krishna and Balarama played, and the temple where kirtan never really stops.
Jatipura (Mukharvind)
The Mukharvind, the 'face' of Giriraj, where Pushtimarg's Shrinathji first appeared.
Kaliya Ghat
Where child Krishna danced on the hoods of the serpent Kaliya, and a kadamba tree is said to stand from that day.
Kamyavan (Kaman)
One of Braj's twelve sacred forests, a hidden gem of ancient kunds, the Vimal Kund and the 84 pillars.
Kans Qila
The old fort on the Yamuna said to stand on the site of Kansa's palace.
Katyayani Shakti Peeth
The Goddess the gopis prayed to for Krishna as their husband, and one of the 51 Shakti Peeths by tradition.
Kesi Ghat
The principal bathing ghat of Vrindavan, where Krishna killed the horse-demon Kesi and the Yamuna aarti glows at dusk.
Kokilavan Shani Dham
The grove where Shani Dev came to see Krishna, and where thousands circle on Saturdays.
Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi (Keshav Dev)
The prison cell where, at midnight, Krishna was born. The heart of Mathura and the first stop of any Braj yatra.
Kusum Sarovar
A grand sandstone tank with royal chhatris, where Radha came to pick flowers and met Krishna.
Maan Mandir, Barsana
The shrine of Radha's sulk (maan), where Krishna comes to coax her.
Madan Mohan Temple
The oldest stone temple in Vrindavan, on a hill above the Yamuna, where Sanatana Goswami saw Krishna as a little boy.
Mahavan: Chaurasi Khamba
The 84-pillar hall of Mahavan, said to be Nanda Baba's old house, and the heart of Braj's Old Gokul.
Mansi Ganga
The lake made by Krishna's mind, with a stunning Deepdaan of thousands of lamps on Diwali.
Government Museum, Mathura
Where Mathura's ancient art lives: Kushan and Gupta sculptures, early Krishna images, and the famous Mathura school of Buddha figures.
Gokul: Nand Bhawan and Gokulnath ji
Krishna's infancy: the cradle, Putana, Trinavarta, and the little boy tied to the mortar.
Nand Bhawan, Nandgaon
On the Nandishwar hill, Nand Baba's home village, where Krishna lived as a cowherd boy and the men play Lathmar Holi.
Nidhivan
A grove of twisted tulsi trees that tradition says become gopis each night.
Pagal Baba Temple
A ten-storey modern temple on the Mathura-Vrindavan road, built by the followers of a saint known as Pagal Baba.
Pavan Sarovar
The 'pure lake' where Krishna brought the cows to drink.
Potra Kund
The stepped tank beside the Janmabhoomi where the baby Krishna's swaddling clothes were washed.
Prem Mandir
A white marble temple that tells the Govardhan and Rasa stories in stone, glowing at night.
Prem Sarovar
The lake of love, between Barsana and Nandgaon, where Radha and Krishna met.
Punchari ka Lautha
The 'tail' of Giriraj and the shrine of Lautha Baba, the friend who stayed behind.
Radha Damodar Temple
A small, quiet temple with a Govardhan stone that devotees circle four times to earn a Govardhan parikrama.
Radha Gopinath Temple
The temple of Gopinath, 'the Lord of the gopis', one of the three great deities of the Goswamis.
Radha Kund
The holiest of all Braj's tanks: Radha's own pond, said to be dearer to Krishna than any other place.
Radha Raman Temple
A deity that rose, self-manifest, from a shaligram stone, in a kitchen whose fire has burned since 1542.
Radha Rani Temple (Shriji / Ladli Ji), Barsana
On top of Bhanugarh hill, the home temple of Radha, the Queen of Braj, reached by a long stairway.
Radha Shyamsundar Temple
The temple of Shyamananda Pandit's deity, whose name comes from a golden anklet Radha was said to have given him.
Radha Vallabh Temple
The only temple in Vrindavan where the deity is Krishna, with Radha shown as a crown: a place of samaj gayan and sweet singing.
Raman Reti (Gokul)
The 'delightful sand' of Gokul where the child Krishna and Balarama played in the dunes.
Rangeeli Mahal, Barsana
The playful palace of Radha's friends, in the colour and garden spirit of Barsana.
Rangji Temple (Sri Ranganatha)
A South Indian gopuram in the Braj landscape, where Vishnu rests on Ananta and the car festival rolls out every spring.
Raval (Radha's birthplace)
The village across the Yamuna from Gokul where, by tradition, Radha was born.
Sankari Khor
The narrow pass between Barsana's hills where Krishna and his friends waylaid the gopis for a 'toll'.
Sanket
The 'signal' village halfway between Barsana and Nandgaon where Radha and Krishna fixed their meetings.
Seva Kunj
The quiet bower where Radha is said to adorn Krishna and the night's service begins.
Shahji Temple (Chhote Radha Raman)
A 19th-century marble jewel with twisted columns and the famous Basanti Kamra, opened only once a year.
Shyam Kund
The tank Krishna created with his heel, next to Radha Kund and joined to it.
The Twelve Vans (forests) of Braj
Braj's sacred geography: twelve forests where Krishna's boyhood lilas unfolded.
Vamshi Vat (Vanshivat)
The banyan where Krishna played his flute and the gopis left their homes to come to him.
Vishram Ghat
The 'resting' ghat on the Yamuna, where Krishna rested after Kansa's end and where every Mathura parikrama begins.
Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir
A giant temple under construction, planned as one of the tallest in the world. Visit to see the scale, not yet the finished shrine.
Vrindavan Parikrama
The circuit of about 10 km around Vrindavan, walked barefoot by thousands each Ekadashi and full moon.
Let us do the driving
Braj-local drivers know the parking lots, the no-entry lanes and the darshan timings. Tell us your plan and we will fit the cab to it.
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