A Trip to Mathura , Vrindavan and gokul :— Krishna Bhoomi

Mathura is the adobe of lord Krishna and it has a great religious sanctity among the Hindus.
Mathura (or Brajbhoomi) is famous as the birth place of lord Krishna. A lot of tourists visit during janmashtami. It is the perfect place to disconnect, relax, unwind and reconnect with mind body and soul.

I have been to Mathura and Vrindavan many times. But this time I want to share my journey experience with you all.
Well, last Saturday, we started our journey to Mathura and Vrindavan and gokul. You can go there by train, by road or by flight (as per your convenience).

HOW TO REACH MATHURA

BY TRAIN :–

There are many regular trains to Mathura from all major towns and cities. When you reach Mathura , you have to book a cab or rent a private vehicle to reach Vrindavan . It will take approx 35-40 minutes to reach there.

BY ROAD :–

If you are going from Delhi, then the road conditions from Delhi to Mathura, via yamuna expressway are excellent. It is the fastest route with light traffic , some tools on the way, but no road closure. If you book at taxi, then the fare is approx rupees 1600 for a good sedan car like etios, dzire and is approx rupees 2100 for SUV car.

BY FLIGHT :–

There is no airport in Vrindavan so the town has no flight connectivity. The nearest airport is in Agra at kheria Airport, about 72 km southward. From Agra you have to take local buses, book a cab or rent a car to reach Vrindavan by road.

So you can choose any of them.

We went Mathura by road. The drive on the Mathura road is very nice and smooth. We reached Mathura around 12 0′ clock. Upon reaching Mathura we came to know that all the temples are closed by 12 0′ clock and they open at 4 p.m.
But the Krishna janam-bhoomi is open all day. So we headed towards the Krishna janam-bhoomi in Mathura. The experience of visiting this place was awesome, the place was full of devotees.
Everyone was chanting Krishna ‘s name , they were performing kirtan. You can just feel Krishna in the air of Mathura and Vrindavan.
Since all the other temples were closed our next stop was at Gokul, the village where Krishna was brought up. It must be around 10 kms from Mathura. Gokul is a small village on the banks of yamuna.
There we visited the house where Krishna was brought up. As per locals, the house is 5000+ years old.
The house looks so ancient. In the main pooja room, you can’t stand up and walk, you have to walk on your knees, because people say Krishna used to walk here on knees when he was a little kid.
The experience of Gokul was awesome. It felt like coming back to Krishna’s childhood.

                 After Gokul, we headed towards Govardhan. Govardhan is 20 kms from Mathura. The road to Govardhan is a single road and many village lie across the road. After reaching there, we did '"parikrama " of Govardhan parvat. After completing our parikrama we started our journey back toward Mathura. 

Once we reached Mathura, we drove to vrindavan.
Vrindawan is around 10 kms from Mathura and then further 6 kms inside the highway. When we reached Mathura ,first we went to the Prem Mandir. Because it was around 7p.m. when we reach there. And Prem Mandir is a must visit place during night. One can’t describe the beauty of the place in words. It is incredible, you should visit there and feel the magic by yourself only.
We spend almost two hours there. After that we went to our hotel, had dinner and went to sleep early because we had to get up early in the morning as we decided to go all the temples as soon as possible.

Next morning we wake up at 4 and got ready to visit Nidhivan .
We wanted to go there first because when Pandit Ji opens the door of the main temple early morning he show the room of Radha and Krishna to all the devotees present there.

We thought we would be the first one to reach there but when we left hotel we saw many devotees like us on the way to Nidhivan.

                    We visited Nidhivan early morning and we experienced a surreal experience there. You can completely feel Krishna. 

After Nidhivan, we went to the most magical place which is “Banke Bihari ” . The temple was decorated beautifully with flowers, the idol of Krishna was breathtaking, I felt like just watching him.
Then we bought some different types of peda . After that we visited Isckon temple and shri Radhavallabh Temple .
We were running out of time. So we directly move to Mathura from temple.

And we came back home by train. It was really a surreal experience. Everyone should experience the vibe of mathura, vrindawan at least once.

Now let me share some tips for you all, that you can check before visiting there.

  BEST TIME TO VISIT :-- 

sitting in northern plains, Vrindavan’s weather experience extreme patterns. The summers are hot and sultry and winters are cold and chilly but pleasant.
So the best time to visit is during the winters, between Oct to March. You can choose rainy season as well, but try to avoid when there is too much rain.

  WHERE TO STAY :-

There are numerous hotels and Dharamshala in Vrindavan, where you can stay from the best luxury resort to cheapest Dharamshala, you can find all binds and options. Some of them are :-
(hotels)
(i.) Country inn hotels and resort
(ii.) Anandam Clark’s Inn suite
(iii.) The Vrindawoods Hotel
(iv.) Resort Hare Krishna orchid

(Dharamshala)
(i.) Radha kunj
(ii.) Dwarka kunj
(iii.) Shri Radha Ashtami seva Ashram
(iv.) kukhrain Bhawan

    WHERE TO EAT :-

There are some of best restaurant in Vrindavan to sample the local flavours.
(i.) Shri govind ‘s restaurant
(ii.) Dasaprakash
(iii.) MVT restaurant
(iv.) 56 delight restaurant
(v.) Nidhi sarovar portico

You can enjoy street food from local stalls as well. Some food items that you should try are :- Lassi, peda, kachori, bedai, chat, bhalla, ghewar, sweets etc.

  FAMOUS TEMPLES IN VRINDAVAN :-

If you want to know more about the famous temples, below I have mentioned the top 20 temples you can visit in Mathura and Vrindavan.

     MATHURA 

(i. ) Shri Krishna Janam-bhoomi Temple
(ii.) Dwarkadheesh Temple
(iii.) Gita Mandir
(iv.) Baba Jaigurudev Mandir
(v.) Kesava Deo Temple
(vi.) Chamunda Devi Temple

    VRINDAVAN 

(i.) Banke Bihari Mandir
(ii.) Prem Mandir
(iii.) Nidhivan
(iv.) Shri Rangji Mandir
(v.) ISCKON
(vi.) Gopi nath Temple
(vii.) Shri Radha Vallabh Mandir
(viii.) Priyakant Ju Temple
(ix.) Radharaman Temple
(x.) Madan Mohan Temple
(xi.) Govind Devji Temple
(Xii.) Shahji Temple
(xiii.) Jugal Kishori Temple

If you like reading this blog please share it with everyone seeking a tour to Mathura and Vrindavan .