Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh: The Village of Nanda Baba, Its Temple, History and How to Reach

Key takeaways

• Nandgaon is a hilltop town in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh.

• It is revered as the village of Nanda Baba, Krishna’s foster father.

• Its great sight is the Nand Rai temple on the Nandishwar hill.

• It is famous for its Lathmar Holi with neighbouring Barsana.

• It lies about 8 to 9 km from Barsana; the pin code is 281403.

• Darshan is free; there is a climb to the hilltop temple.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018: more than 50,000 of them. Nandgaon is one of the most beloved villages of Braj, revered as the home of Nanda Baba, the foster father of Krishna and it makes a pair with Barsana, the village of Radha, that lies just across the fields. Its hilltop temple, its sacred tank and its world famous Holi make it a place worth the trip out of the towns. Here is everything about Nandgaon, its story, its temple and how to reach it, told by someone from this district. Add it to your Braj trip with our Mathura Vrindavan Tour Package, message on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

Where is Nandgaon?

Nandgaon is a town and nagar panchayat in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, in the Braj region of northern India, set on and around a hill in the countryside to the north west of Mathura city. It lies close to Barsana, about eight to nine kilometres away and the two villages are always spoken of together. It sits at roughly 27.72 degrees north and 77.38 degrees east, at an elevation of about 184 metres and its pin code is 281403. The table gives the essential facts at a glance.

Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh, at a glance.

Why Nandgaon is famous: the village of Nanda Baba

Nandgaon is revered as the home of Nanda Baba, the chief of the cowherds and the foster father of Krishna and it is held that after the family left Gokul, Nanda Baba settled here on the hill with the young Krishna and Balarama and raised them through their boyhood. In this telling, the village takes its very name from Nanda and it became the home from which the boy Krishna would cross the fields to Barsana to meet Radha, so that Nandgaon and Barsana are bound together as the two houses of that great love. This is the living devotional heart of the place and it is why pilgrims come.

An honest scholarly note: the deeper history is layered and I would rather tell you honestly than flatten it. The hill of Nandgaon, Nandishwar, is anciently held to be a form of Shiva himself, who took the shape of the hill to receive the dust of the feet of the gopis and scholars note that the town’s name may originally derive from Nandi, the bull of Shiva, with the strong association to Nanda, Krishna’s father, growing especially from the sixteenth century onward as Braj was rediscovered as the land of Krishna. Both truths live here at once: an ancient hill of Shiva and the beloved village of Nanda Baba and a Brajwasi holds both with ease.

The Nand Rai temple on the hill

The great sight of Nandgaon is the temple that crowns its hill, the Nand Rai temple, also called the Nandaraya or Nand Bhavan temple, reached by a climb up the Nandishwar hill. Within it are worshipped the images of Krishna and Balarama, the two boys, flanked by Nanda Baba and Yashoda, the whole family of Krishna’s Braj childhood together in one shrine, which is what makes it so beloved. The present temple was built in the middle of the eighteenth century by a local ruler, on the ancient sacred site. From the top the view over the village and the fields of Braj, with Barsana’s hill visible across the plain, is beautiful and the climb, though real, is rewarding. Darshan here is free.

Pavan Sarovar and the kunds

Below and around the hill lie the sacred water bodies of Nandgaon, chief among them the Pavan Sarovar, the ancient tank whose name means the pure lake, a still and beautiful body of water tied to the daily life of Nanda’s household in the old stories. Several other kunds and ponds dot the village, each linked to an event of Krishna’s boyhood here. These quiet waters, with the hill and its temple above, give Nandgaon its particular peace and walking among them is part of a proper visit rather than only climbing to the temple and leaving.

Lathmar Holi: Nandgaon and Barsana

Nandgaon is known across the world for its part in the Lathmar Holi, the stick Holi, one of the most extraordinary festivals in India, which it plays together with Barsana. The two villages take turns: on one day the men of Nandgaon go to Barsana, Radha’s village, to play Holi and the women of Barsana drive them off with long wooden sticks; on the following day the men of Barsana come to Nandgaon and the women of Nandgaon return the play. It is a joyous, boisterous re-enactment of the love of Radha and Krishna and of the bond between their two villages and it draws visitors from around the world. It is magnificent but genuinely rough and hugely crowded, so go for the spectacle, keep your group close and not with small children. It falls a few days before the main Holi, so check the dates carefully. Our Braj page has the calendar.

Other festivals: Janmashtami and Nandotsav

Beyond Holi, Nandgaon keeps the great festivals of Krishna with special feeling, for it is his foster home. Janmashtami, his birth, is naturally beloved here and above all Nandotsav, the festival of Nanda, celebrated the day after Janmashtami in honour of the joy of Nanda Baba at the coming of the child, is Nandgaon’s own great day, when the village of Nanda celebrates as no other place can. To be here for Nandotsav is to see the village at its most joyful. Our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide has the seasons.

How to reach Nandgaon

Nandgaon lies to the north west of Mathura, about fifty kilometres away, out among the fields of Braj and is reached by road; it is well beyond the main Mathura and Vrindavan circuit, so it is a deliberate half day or day trip. It sits close to Barsana, about eight to nine kilometres off, so the two are almost always visited together, a short hop of ten to fifteen minutes between them. A private car is much the easiest way, since public transport into the villages is limited and the car can wait while you climb the hill. From Vrindavan it is a similar distance to the north west. Our Mathura Vrindavan taxi service covers the run out to the villages.

Reaching Nandgaon. Distances are approximate; verify on the day.

When to visit

The cool months of October to March are the most comfortable for climbing and walking and the winter light on the hills and the sarovar is lovely. The Lathmar Holi of spring is the village’s world famous occasion, unforgettable but overwhelming and Nandotsav after Janmashtami in late summer is its other supreme day. For a calm visit, a weekday morning outside festival time lets you climb and wander in peace, with the village and its waters quiet around you. Our Mathura trip plan shows how a village day fits into a wider Braj trip.

The honest bit

Honest words on Nandgaon. Darshan at the Nand Rai temple and everywhere in the village is free and no official VIP pass exists here or anywhere in Braj. The climb to the hilltop temple is a real one, so those with weak knees should know it. Nandgaon is a village with basic facilities, so carry what you need and use Mathura or Vrindavan for anything more. On Lathmar Holi the crowd and the play are genuinely rough, not a gentle festival, so dress for it, mind your valuables and do not bring small children. And on the history, I have told you both truths honestly: the ancient hill of Shiva and the beloved village of Nanda Baba, rather than flattening the one into the other, for both are real and both are cherished in Braj.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar and the villages of Braj, Nandgaon and Barsana among them, are the country I know beyond the towns. Guiding since 2018, more than 50,000 pilgrims, 4.5 stars across 204 Google reviews, WhatsApp first, 8 AM to 9 PM daily. For a hilltop village off the usual circuit like Nandgaon, a local matters more, not less: driving the hour out and waiting while you climb, pairing it with Barsana so the two houses of the story are seen together, telling the honest history of the hill and the village and, on Holi, keeping your group safe in a crowd that does not forgive the unwary. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: see Nandgaon and Barsana as one visit, in the right order, for they are the two houses of a single story. Climb Nandgaon’s hill to Nanda Baba’s temple and look across the fields to Barsana’s hill where Radha’s temple stands, then cross to it and you will feel the bond between the two villages that the whole of Lathmar Holi is built upon. Seen apart they are two climbs; seen together they are a love story.

Related guides

• Things to do in Gokul: places to visit and the temples

• Top places to visit in Mathura

• Places to visit in Vrindavan: the full list

• Famous temples of Mathura and Vrindavan

• Vrindavan trip planner: build your itinerary

Plan your visit to Nandgaon

Tell me your dates and your group and I will build Nandgaon and Barsana into your Braj trip in the right order and at the right hours, with a car that drives you out and waits, 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.