Mathura to Nandgaon Distance: The Route, Time and What Awaits at the Home of Nanda

Key takeaways

• The Mathura to Nandgaon distance is about 54 km by the fastest route.

• It takes about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes by road.

• The fastest way is via NH 44.

• Nandgaon is the boyhood home of Krishna and the village of Nanda.

• It is best seen with its sister village Barsana, the home of Radha.

• A private car is the easiest way; darshan is free.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018: more than 50,000 of them. From Mathura, the birth city of Krishna, it is an easy hour by road to Nandgaon, the hill village where the Lord spent his boyhood in the home of Nanda Baba, in the west of Braj. The distance is short and the road is good and the real question is not how far it is but what awaits you there and how best to see it. Here is everything you need: the distance, the routes, the time and what to see at Nandgaon and around it, told by someone from this land. Book a car with our Mathura Vrindavan taxi service, message on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

Mathura to Nandgaon distance and time

The distance from Mathura to Nandgaon is about fifty four kilometres by the fastest route and the drive takes about one hour to one hour and ten minutes by road, depending on the traffic and the way you take. The quickest route runs by the national highway, the NH 44, up the western side of Braj; there are one or two slightly longer variants, by the NH 44 and the Barsana road or by the NH 44 and the Rajasthan state highway, running up to about sixty kilometres. For such a short and easy journey, a private car or taxi is much the best way, letting you go straight to the village and on to Barsana close by. The table gives the routes from Mathura to Nandgaon.

Mathura to Nandgaon by road. Distances and times are approximate; verify on the day.

What awaits at Nandgaon

The short journey is worth making for what awaits at its end, for Nandgaon is one of the loveliest and most beloved of all the villages of Braj. It is the boyhood home of Krishna, the village of Nanda Baba, his foster father, the chief of the cowherds, to which Nanda moved his household from Gokul when Krishna was a boy and so it is the place of the Lord’s boyhood leelas, among the cowherds and the cows and the woods. Crowning its hill stands the great Nand Bhavan, the temple of the home of Nanda, where Krishna is worshipped with his foster parents, reached by a climb of stone steps with beautiful views over the Braj country. Around it lie the sacred kunds, the Pan Sarovar and others and the hill and the woods of the boyhood leelas. And above all Nandgaon is bound to Barsana, the village of Radha, only a few kilometres away, with which it shares the world famous Lathmar Holi. Our Nandgaon, UP guide and places to visit in Nandgaon guide cover the village and its holy places in full.

Nandgaon and Barsana together

The great thing to know about a visit to Nandgaon is that it is bound to Barsana, the hill village of Radha Rani, only some seven or eight kilometres away and the two are almost always seen together, for they are the twin villages of the boyhood of Krishna and Radha, of Nanda and of Vrishabhanu. It is between these two villages that the world famous Lathmar Holi is played, when the men of Nandgaon go to Barsana and the women drive them back with staves in joyful play and the men of Barsana come to Nandgaon the next day, a festival found nowhere else on earth. So a visit to Nandgaon is naturally a visit to Barsana too, the home of Krishna’s boyhood and the home of Radha and a pilgrimage of the western Braj. Our Barsana tourist places guide covers the village of Radha and the three day Mathura Vrindavan pilgrimage tour takes in the western Braj with the whole of the holy land.

How to travel from Mathura to Nandgaon

For such a short journey through the Braj countryside, a private car is far and away the best way to travel from Mathura to Nandgaon. A taxi or private car carries you straight to the village in about an hour, waits for you at the hill and the temples and takes you on to Barsana and the other places of the western Braj at your own pace, which buses and shared vehicles cannot do. There are buses and shared jeeps from Mathura towards Chhata and the Barsana and Nandgaon area, but they are slow, indirect and tiring and leave you to find your way up to the villages. For a pilgrimage that takes in Nandgaon and Barsana and perhaps more of the western Braj, the private car is the sensible and comfortable choice and the one I recommend. The table sets out the ways.

Ways from Mathura to Nandgaon. A private car is the easiest.

Distances from Nandgaon to nearby places

Once at Nandgaon, the other holy places of the western Braj lie close by and it helps to know the short distances between them, for they are all naturally seen together. Barsana, the village of Radha, is only some seven or eight kilometres away; the great Govardhan hill is about twenty five kilometres; and the sacred groves and villages of the Barsana country, such as Gahvar Van and the sakhi villages, lie all around. The table gives the distances from Nandgaon to the nearby places, to help you plan a pilgrimage of the western Braj.

Distances from Nandgaon to nearby places. Approximate; verify on the day.

Our Govardhan to Barsana distance guide covers another leg of the western Braj.

When to travel

The cool months of October to March are much the best for the journey and for a visit to Nandgaon and Barsana, pleasant for the drive and for the climb up the hill to the Nand Bhavan. The supreme time of all is the Lathmar Holi, in the spring before the great Holi, when Nandgaon and Barsana are alive with the most joyful and famous of all the festivals of Braj, though they are then immensely crowded; Janmashtami and Radha Ashtami are other great days in these villages of Krishna’s and Radha’s boyhood. The peak summer of May and June is very hot for the open country and the hill climb, so the cool season is far kinder. Our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide is the seasons.

The honest bit

Honest words on the Mathura to Nandgaon journey, from one born in Braj. The distance is short, about fifty four kilometres and the road good, so agree your car fare in advance and beware anyone who inflates the distance or the price. Nandgaon is a hill village and the Nand Bhavan temple that crowns it is reached by a climb of stone steps, so wear easy footwear and take it gently, especially in the heat or for the elderly, though the views from the top over the Braj country are worth the climb. Darshan everywhere is free and no official VIP pass exists here or anywhere in Braj. Being in the open western country, Nandgaon is best seen by car and best joined with Barsana close by rather than visited alone. Plan your car ahead, keep the fare clear, wear good shoes for the hill and this short journey will bring you to one of the sweetest and least spoiled corners of the holy land, the boyhood home of Krishna.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar, in the Mathura district and the western Braj of Nandgaon and Barsana is part of my own home ground. Guiding since 2018, more than 50,000 pilgrims, 4.5 stars across 204 Google reviews, WhatsApp first, 8 AM to 9 PM daily. What a local brings to the journey from Mathura to Nandgaon is the fastest route and the fair fare set in advance, the pairing of Nandgaon with Barsana and the western Braj in the right order, the story of Krishna’s boyhood told on the ground, the guidance up the hill to the Nand Bhavan and a car that waits and carries you between the villages. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: do not visit Nandgaon alone as a there and back trip from Mathura, but make a day of the western Braj and join it with Barsana, its sister village, only a few kilometres away. See the Nand Bhavan on its hill at Nandgaon, the boyhood home of Krishna and the Radha Rani temple on its hill at Barsana, the home of Radha, the twin villages between which the famous Lathmar Holi is played and if you have time the sacred groves and kunds around them. A car to carry you between the two and up to the hill temples, turns a short drive into a full and lovely day in the sweetest country of Braj. It is the way I love to show these villages.

Related guides

• Gahvar Van, Barsana: the forest of Radha Rani

• Barsana parikrama: the circle of Radha’s hills

• Kirti Mandir, Barsana: the temple of Radha’s mother

• Chiksauli, Barsana: the village of Chitra Sakhi

• Braj Chaurasi Kos Yatra: the 84 kos parikrama guide

Plan your journey to Nandgaon

Tell me your dates and your group and I will build the journey from Mathura to Nandgaon and Barsana into your Braj trip, the fastest route, the twin villages of Krishna’s and Radha’s boyhood seen in the right order, the hill temples and the sacred country, with a car and a guide born on this soil, for one clear price. WhatsApp +91 7302265809, any day 8 AM to 9 PM. Packages from Rs 1,999 per person, 4.5 stars from 204 Google reviews. Born in Gokul, Mathura.