Famous Places To Visit In Vrindavan, Mathura : Holy Town of India

mathura

Like every working professional longing for a break from his hectic working schedule, my colleagues and I decided to take a short road trip from Delhi to Vrindavan (a holy town in Uttar Pradesh, India which is one of the top holy places to visit in North India). Located in the northern part of India, this is a perfect weekend getaway for those residing in or around the capital of the country, Delhi. 

After looking up for the famous places to visit in Vrindavan (also known as God’s own abode), surfing on the internet to find facts about Vrindavan India and packing our backpacks, we started our 3 hours of road journey to Mathura from New Delhi at half past 5 in the morning. Driving through the beautiful farms of Haryana and watching sunrise was the best part of this journey. 

Though we were tired after driving at a long stretch, we got re-energized looking at the beauty of the town. On our way, we had north Indian breakfast at the very famous Gulshan Dhaba at around 8 AM. As soon as we reached, we parked our car near Brijwasi restaurant and raced for the local sightseeing in Vrindavan. The climate was not very pleasant as the temperature was around 30-32 degrees Celsius that day, 31st March 2018. There was a lot of rush as it was a weekend.

About Vrindavan

As Vrindavan is the birthplace of Lord Krishna, there are many temples to visit and worship Lord Krishna which has made it the best tourist spot in Mathura. Now, talking about the list of places to visit in Mathura Vrindavan. Our one-day road trip from Delhi to Vrindavan included visiting the following places.

Bankey Bihari Temple


The Bankey Bihari temple has a sacred jet black statue of Lord Krishna which is known as Thakur Ji. This temple is one of the most frequently visited & famous places to visit in Vrindavan, Mathura. Devotees enter the shrine of the temple with garlands and flowers to offer Lord Krishna while Brahmins who are the main worshippers of the deity perform rituals and decorate the idol from time to time. The basic structure of the Bankey Bihari Temple consists of a hall and an inner sanctum that houses the lord. 

The imposing structure was built on a platform and we had to mount a flight of steps and get past the crowd to reach the inner recesses of the temple. The main hall and the inner sanctuary were decorated with floral designs. It took us about 30-40 minutes to visit this temple due to the rush and rituals.

Shri Ranganath Temple

This temple is one of the biggest temples in Vrindavan, Mathura. Lord Ranganatha also was known as Rangji which depicts Lord Vishnu is worshiped in this temple. The Shri Ranganath temple is built in the South Indian architecture with eight towers which are built in the Dravidian style. It took approximately 20 minutes to visit this temple.

Nidhivan: Vrindavan’s Haunted Garden

After visiting the 2 temples, our third visit was at the mysterious tourist destination in Mathura Vrindavan, known as Nidhivan. We walked for 1.5 KM from Rangji temple to mysterious Nidhivan; we walked alongside river Yamuna and reached the destination after 20-30 minutes. Even though there was an option of boating, we chose to walk and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Upon reaching Nidhivan, we entered the garden through a huge gate. There is a lot of greenery around in the garden but there’s something weird with the shape of the trees. All the trees are hollow and their branches are twisted downwards. It’s surprising how there is so much of greenery in the garden when the land is so dry during most time of the year. 

We interacted with many locals and priests and henceforth we heard many myths as well as facts about Nidhivan during our visit. One of the stories that every person stated was that the trees were the Gopis of Lord Krishna and after nightfall, they performed Maha Raasleela with the Lord and Radha Rani. While some people believe that the trees of Nidhivan are lit up at night to welcome the Gods. Many residents have claimed that they’ve heard the sound of ghungroos at night. There were many monkeys roaming around in the garden and the windows of the houses surrounding it were painted black. The reason for the black windows is that if people see the garden at night or stay there after sunset then they lose sight, go mad or even die. 

After talking to the people, we visited the Rang Mahal temple situated at the center of the Nidhivan. It is supposed to be Vrindavan’s haunted temple as the God & Goddess visit this temple every night and stay there until the morning. No can prove if these claims are facts or myths but we definitely felt spooky while strolling through the garden.

ISKCON Temple


After a 40 minutes stroll around Nidhivan, we went to ISKCON temple. This temple is one of the primary reasons why Vrindavan is considered to be one of the most famous holy places to visit in North India. Thousands of tourists come and seek blessings from Lord Krishna at ISKCON temple. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has made this temple in Mathura. The temple is huge and has occupied a lot of surface area. It is fully made of white marbles which keeps this temple cooler than the surroundings. When we entered the daily rituals were being held, we performed them too and came back. It was so fascinating to see thousands of Indian as well as foreigners worshiping Lord Krishna.

Brijwasi Sweets Restaurant

After visiting almost all the temples and mysterious Nidhivan, we chose to have a full-fledged lunch. We went to Brigwasi hotel and order food and cold drinks. The food was very good and the one who visits Mathura should have food at this restaurant. We bought the famous sweet dish of Mathura (Pede) from here and left for Delhi.

Our Way Back to Delhi

We came back via Expressway and it took about 2 hours to reach Delhi from this tourist destination in Mathura. Before I started this trip, I doubted that this place is overrated as one of the best holy places to visit in North India and I thought that half a day trip will be enough to explore this place but I guess I was wrong. There were many more other interesting & famous places to visit in Vrindavan that we missed due to time constraint which gives me the reason to plan another trip to Vrindavan soon.

Extra Information / Recommendations for Tourists

Best for

  • Pilgrims & Temples

Weather

  • Winters (6-30 degree Celsius) and Summers (22-45 degree Celsius)

Best Time to Visit

  • January, February, March, September, October, November, December

How to Reach

Personally, I would recommend you to have a road trip from Delhi to Vrindavan but there are several options as follows.
  • Train (nearest railway station to Mathura)
  • Road (via Yamuna Expressway or highway)
  • Airplane (nearest airport IGI airport, New Delhi)

List of Places to Visit in Vrindavan

  • Banke Bihari temple
  • ISKCON temple
  • Prem Mandir
  • Madan Mohan temple
  • Kesi Ghat
  • Nidhivan (Nidhuban or Nidhuvan)
  • Radha Damodar temple
  • Mata Vaishno Devi Dham
  • Rangji Temple (Shri Ranganatha temple)

Hotels for Stay

  • Hotel Krishna Orchid Vrindavan
  • Hotel Kridha Residency
  • Hotel Krishna Vrindavan
  • Hotel Krishna International, Vrindavan

Where to Eat

  • Brijwasi Sweets Restaurant

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