Explore Entire Mathura - Vrindavan in a Day and half from Delhi NCR

Mathura is famous as the birthplace of beloved Lord Krishna. It is a sacred city located on the banks of river Yamuna  in Uttar Pradesh and attracts great numbers of Hindu pilgrimages and tourists every year who visit the multiple temples & holy places around Mathura -Vrindavan. Devotees throng here to experience the pious beginnings of the Hindu God. The city has numerous small and big temples along with 25 ghats on the river Yamuna where people taking a dip in the evenings would not be an unusual phenomenon.

I planned for a quick trip along with family during the closure of the year. We decided to travel via train till Mathura and boarded Taj Express in the Morning from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station. Shatabdi was another good option but considering the short route & associated cost we preferred Taj Express which started little later than scheduled departure of 07:00 AM however, was  good to recover during the other half and brought us in Mahura Junction around 08:55 AM.

TIP - 1. If you are not travelling by your own vehicle ( Mostly preferred by folks in Delhi NCR due to close proximity & good road) Taj express (12280) is the most effective option to save time & money.

2. If possible avoid the trip during Winter Holidays/New Year as roads are jam packed and you may not be able to take your vehicle close to places and would be a lot inconvenient. For info related to trains operated by Indian Railway please go to  https://enquiry.indianrail.gov.in/ntes/index.html or http://www.indianrail.gov.in
Once we got down at Mathura we booked Ola Rental for about 8 hours package. Thankfully we got a fantastic car along with professional and knowledgeable chauffeur. As demanded by us he first took us to the Shri Krishna Janma Bhumi which was hardly at 10 minutes distance from the railway Station. We were lucky to be there so early as it was not very crowded then and it took about 15 minutes to deposit Mobile & storage devices that were not allowed inside and post security checks we were inside the sacred campus.

Shri Krishna Janma Bhumi 

 The first thing that caught our attention was the adjacent Mosque wall which reminded us that Mughal emperor Aurangjeb demolished the Janmbhumii Temple and erected a mosque over it. Though Priests and Saints resurrected the Shri Krishna Janm Bhumi temple, yet there is a adjoining wall. The temple is said to have been destroyed and rebuilt 17 times in its history. Today the temple is one of the most frequently visited temples in India. We deposited our foot wears at the designated place, washed our hands and feet before starting to see all temples. First we visited the Kesava Deo temple which is  situated beside the main Krishna janm bhoomi complex. after that we went to see smaller temples and then went to the main Birthplace of deity of Lord Krishna. The Prison where Lord Krishan was born. It was a quick passage through prison cell Like Temple but was truly divine to have witnessed the place itself. Post that we went towards the "Radhe Krishan" Temple which was the most beautiful among all in the campus with adorable statues of Radha Rani & Lord Krishna. In the same temple there were smaller set of temples of all Hindu Gods & Goddesses. The most beautiful factor was the paintings on the ceiling and wall which are said to be done by artists over the years using natural colors.

We were fortunate enough to have gotten the glimpses of God at every temple and also got "Prasad" ( Butter & Misri). Once we came out of the temple we also got "Khicri" distributed by one of the trusts inside the complex. We took one round of the entire complex to see and observe and then moved out of the complex by 10:30 AM. We boarded our cab towards Dwarkadhish Ji Temple. It took only 10 minutes to reach around the close locality and we left the cab to save time and hired battery Rickshaw that took us to Dwarkadhish Ji Temple. 

Dwarkadhish Ji Temple

On our way to the temple we could observe banks of River "Yamuna" which were cleaner than before and had long queues of boats for interested travelers. It took about another 10 minutes due to slow traffic towards the temple. By the time we entered the temple complex it was 11 AM and place was full of devotees. We managed to get the "darshan" of Dwarikadheesh Ji ( Lord Krishna) and took a round about of the temple sanctum and came out. 

Dwarikadhish ji

After moving out of the temple we had few local snacks at the near by stalls and I must tell you that they were quite delicious. I also took 1 kg of peda ( famous sweets of Mathura) from Brijwasi. We decided to walk back to our cab and enjoyed the scenery around the river bank. few places were dirty along the way but some were equally beautiful.

Yamuna Ghats

Now we decided to pay our visit to the "Govardhan Temple" which is famus as "Giriraj".  It took about 40 minutes since Govardhan was 22 kms away from the Dwarkadhish Temple. Traffic was slow and was a bit irritating to spend that much time on the road. But we finaaly managed to beat the crowd and traffic to reach Giriraj - Govardhan.

Govardhan - Giriraj

It is believed that Lord Krishna held Govardhan Hill on his little finger to save the town from wrath of the rain God Indra. There are many temples around this place. Devotees come and worship and perform pooja(prayers) with milk and flowers. There are many temples in this town Haridev Mandir, Daan-Ghati Mandir and Mukharbind. The temple god is another form of Lord Krishna. The town is also famous for its 21 kilometer long parikrama that devotees offer once their wishes are fulfilled. Govardana Parikrama is a sacred ritual performed by many believers as spiritual purification by going around the Govardhan Hill which is a narrow sandstone hill known as Giriraj with a length of about 8 KM. It was extremely crowded with devotees. We were told that during Janmsahtami the aerial round about could be completed by helicopter as well. Mansi Ganga, Radha Kund and Shyam Kund are along the way while people go for  parikrama of Govardhan. One needs to complete parikrama of them as well since they are considered the integral part of the sacred Govardhan parikrama ( Round about )

We prayed at Danghati Govardhan temple and then started towards Barsana.

Shri Radha Rani Temple - Barsana

Barsana village is situated about 25 Km from Mathura however from Govardhan it was only about 20 kms and even then it took about 40 minutes to reach there and then we had to walk up to hundreds of stairs to reach the main temple complex.We were lucky to have reached on the top of the hill where the main temple is situated and got the sight of Shri Radha Rani before the temple's door were closed for afternoon. It is believed that Barsana is the place where Radha used to play with her friends. This temple is considered to be the most sacred among all in Brij Bhumi. There is a huge space opposite main sanctum where various rituals and events keep happening through out the year. We cold see many groups organizing bhajans and other rituals there. Another aspect of the entire place was the lovely and delicious "Lassi" that you could have along the serpentile stair-path as there are many shops through out that offer you fresh Lassi ( Sweetened beverage made of curd). We spent some time at the temple complex and indulged in the atmosphere os love and devotion.

Shri Radha Rani Temple

Entry Gate of Main Temple of Shri Radha Rani

I must tell you that this was the most amazing place so far and reminded me of "Sharda Mata" temple of Maihar ( Madhya Pradesh) along with the the famous bhajan - Radhe-radhe-Radhe, Barsane wali Radhe". Now we quickly moved to nand Gram saw the temple and started towards Vrindavan. We reached Vrindavan via Chattikara and observed "Vaishano Dham" while entering towards Main Vrindavan". 

Mata Vaishno Dham - Chhatikara Vrindavan

It was about 2'O clock now and we were in dire need of some rest and food so I asked our Ola drive to take us to our Hotel that was on Raman Reti Road in Banke Bihari Colony. Fortunately for us "Shri Banke Bihari Temple" was at walking distance and we decided to start the evening with that itself. We stayed back at hotel for about two and half hours while we took our Lunch and gave some much needed rest to the body after a frenetic yet fruitful first half of the day.

Shri Banke Bihari Temple

We were already in close proximity to the temple and hence decided to walk and reached the temple in 10 minutes. Though the path was through narrow lanes filled with shops, it also had various outlets shocasing devotion and form of prayers along wit the certain articles utilized during prayers. It is said that Shri Haridas Swami got Bankey bihari ji appeared in Nidhivan(about 800 meters from the temple). The idol of deity of Lord Krishan is much older and used to be worshipped in Nidhivan till 1863.  Post construction of temple idols were shifted to the current banke Bihari Temple which is among the holiest temples in Vrindavan. Bankey means “Bent at three places” and Bihari means “Supreme Delighter”. Idol of Shri Bankey bihari ji is worshiped and looked after as a child. The moment we entered the Temple we encountered huge number of devotees who were hustling through to catch the sight of Shri Banke Bihari Ji. After some struggle we did catch the "Darshan". It was a devine feeling and I could co-relate with my childhood memories where after every chapter during "Satyanarayan Vrat Katha" Pnditji used to say "Bolo Vrindavan Bihari Lal ki Jai". I was truly ecstatic to have visited and seen something that we knowingly/unknowingly used to say during prayers. 

On the Way to Shri Banke Bihari Ji

After Darshan We returned to the main road and started towards ISKCON Temple

ISKCON Temple

This temple is on te main Vrindavan Road and we got to this temple via battery rickshaw which took only 10 minutes from Banke Bihari Temple. The best thing about ISKCON is their evening Aarti which we were able to attend by sheer timings as we didn't waste time in depositing shoes at the designated area. ( Tips - Keep your shoes at hotel / or in vehicle to save valuable time and hassle during the process ) This temple is among the most famous and loved. It is also known as "Angrejo Wala Mandir" or "Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir", this temple was built in 1975 on the instructions of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is the founder-Guru of ISKCON. The core objective of this temple was to increase awareness about the Vedic scriptures and the Bhagavad Gita. It is regarded as one of the most popular temples in Vrindavan and one must visit to submerge in the "Hare Krishna" Bhajans and chants. You get the feeling when you see people from all parts of the globe submerged in the love and devotion across the ISKCON temple complex.

Now it was about Eight and we quickly moved towards "Prem Mandir". The newwst and the most beautifully decorated temple in Vrindavan.

Prem Mandir

This is a place which took us back to all mythological stories associated with Lord Krishna. I must say that we could spend hours here provided we had enough time. Though we managed to get in well before the gates were closed. ( We made the second visit next Morning as well :) .  This temple has been founded and shaped by Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj in the year 2001. Known as "the temple of God's lovePrem Mandir is beautiful not only for values depicted but for maintaining the essence of love propagated by Lord Krishna. The temple campus is huge and spread across in acres of land with eye catching and splendid depiction of Life events from the life of Lord Krishna. Statues and large scale monuments coupled with lush green garden and flowers keep you in awesome company. Idols in the main temple are adorable and that's a sight and treat to eyes. It is recommended that you visit during night to see the lovely campus and fountain show. You got to be there before 8:30 PM as by that time gates are closed.Not a place to skip if you are in Vrindavan! Must go and indulge in Spiritual love.

After spending about an hour in the temple Complex we were told to vacate as it was the closure time. We took an auto and came back to our hotel, took our dinner and went on to catch some wonderful sleep with lovely and devotional memories of the day. Next Morning we paid another visit to Prem Mandir and then went on to see the Vaishno Dham and then managed to board the bus to Delhi from bypass  ( Chhatikara ). This concluded our short yet amazing trip to the Gokul, Brij Bhumi.