Places to Visit in Nandgaon: The Temples, the Hill and the Sacred Sites

Key takeaways

• The Nand Rai temple on the hill is the chief place to visit.

• Pavan Sarovar is the sacred lake at the foot of the hill.

• Charan Pahari holds Krishna’s footprints seen in the rock.

• Many kunds and nearby sites dot the village and its surroundings.

• Darshan is free; most sites open through the daylight hours.

• Nandgaon lies about 8 to 9 km from Barsana; pin code 281403.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018: more than 50,000 of them. Nandgaon, the hilltop village of Nanda Baba where Krishna spent his boyhood, holds more places than the one famous temple most visitors climb to and leave. There is the sacred lake below the hill, the rock where Krishna’s footprints are seen, the many kunds and the nearby sites of the surrounding country. Here is each place, with its story, its timings and how to reach it, so you can see Nandgaon properly. Book it for your Braj trip with our Mathura Vrindavan Tour Package, message on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

The places to visit in Nandgaon at a glance

The places to visit in and around Nandgaon. Darshan everywhere is free.

Nand Rai temple: the temple on the hill

The chief place to visit in Nandgaon is the Nand Rai temple, also called the Nand Bhavan or Nandaraya temple, that crowns the Nandishwar hill and is reached by a climb up its steps. It stands on the spot where the home of Nanda Baba is said to have stood and 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. The present temple was built in the middle of the eighteenth century on the ancient sacred site. From the top, the view over the village and across the fields to Barsana’s hill is beautiful and the climb, though real, is well rewarded. Darshan is free.

Nandishwar hill: the hill of Shiva

The hill on which the temple stands is itself a place of reverence and its name, Nandishwar, means the lord of Nandi, a name of Shiva. In the tradition, Shiva took the form of this hill so that he might receive the dust of the feet of Krishna and the gopis and so the hill is held to be Shiva’s own form. This is the older layer of Nandgaon’s sacredness, beneath the beloved association with Nanda Baba and to know it is to understand the village more fully: it is at once the hill of Shiva and the home of Nanda. Both are honoured here.

Pavan Sarovar: the sacred lake

At the foot of the Nandishwar hill lies Pavan Sarovar, the pure lake, one of the most beloved places in Nandgaon and not to be missed. In the old stories, Yashoda bathed the child Krishna here and Krishna would bring the cows to this water after the day’s grazing, so it is counted among his favourite lakes. It is a still and beautiful body of water, with the hill and its temple rising above it and it is a place to sit quietly rather than to hurry past. Many pilgrims come down to the sarovar after the temple darshan for exactly that peace. It is open throughout the day and there is no charge.

Charan Pahari: the footprints in the rock

One of the most wonderful places to visit in Nandgaon is Charan Pahari, the hill of footprints. The story is beloved: that Krishna played his flute here and the sound so melted the rock of the hill that his footprints and the hoof prints of his calves and the feet of his cowherd friends, were pressed into the stone, where they are said to be seen to this day. Whether one comes as a devotee or simply as a traveller, standing before these marks in the rock, held for five thousand years, is a moving thing and it is one of the sites that gives Nandgaon its particular wonder. It lies a little apart, so ask locally or let your guide bring you.

More sites: Asheshwar Mahadev, Ter Kadamb and Vrinda Kund

A few more places reward the visitor who lingers. Near Nand Bhavan stands Asheshwar Mahadev, a Shiva temple revered as the fulfiller of desires, easily pleased by simple prayer and much loved by local devotees. A little outside the village lies Ter Kadamb, a beautiful and peaceful spot where Krishna is said to have grazed his cows and climbed a kadamb tree to play his flute, calling the cattle to gather round him; it is a gentle, green place for a quiet pause. And there is Vrinda Kund, the pond of Vrinda Devi, the friend of Radha and Krishna who arranged their meetings in the groves, with a temple nearby portraying her. These are humble, uncrowded sites and seeking them out is what turns a quick temple stop into a proper visit to Nandgaon.

The kunds of Nandgaon

Beyond the sarovar and the hill, Nandgaon and its surroundings hold many kunds, the sacred ponds tied to events of Krishna’s boyhood in and around the village. Each has its own small story and its own quiet and walking among them, rather than climbing only to the temple and leaving, is what a fuller visit to Nandgaon involves. They are humble places, unmarked by grandeur, but dense with the everyday life of Krishna’s Braj childhood and the pilgrims who seek them find a Nandgaon most day visitors never see.

Nearby: Yavat, Barsana and the villages

Around Nandgaon lie more places worth the visit. A short drive off is Yavat, revered as the marital home of Radha, a quiet and lesser known site of deep meaning in the Radha tradition. And always, inseparably, there is Barsana, the village of Radha herself, about eight to nine kilometres away, from which Nandgaon can never be parted, for the two are the two houses of the love of Radha and Krishna and the two poles of the famous Lathmar Holi. To the south east lie Gokul and Mahavan, the infancy sites and to the north the Shani forest of Kokilavan. A proper Braj trip strings these together.

Timings and entry

The places of Nandgaon are village sites and temples rather than ticketed monuments, so there are no entry fees anywhere and darshan is free. The hilltop Nand Rai temple keeps a morning and an evening darshan with a long midday break, as Braj temples do; the most commonly cited hours are given in the table below. Local sources vary a little on the exact clock times and they shift with the season and on festival days, so treat these as a guide and confirm on the day, since a wasted climb to a closed gate is the commonest mistake here. The sarovar, the hill and the outdoor sites are open through daylight hours with no fixed clock times.

Nandgaon site timings. Local sources vary and hours change by season and festival; verify on the day.

Location and how to reach Nandgaon

Nandgaon is a hilltop town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, in the Braj region, with the pin code 281403. It lies to the north west of Mathura, about fifty kilometres away and close to Barsana, about eight to nine kilometres off, a hop of ten to fifteen minutes, so the two are almost always visited together. It is well beyond the main Mathura and Vrindavan circuit, so it is a deliberate half day or day trip, best made by private car since public transport into the villages is limited and the car can wait while you climb the hill. Once in the village, the sites are reached on foot and by the steps up the hill. The table gives the distances.

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

For the full picture of the town, its history and its festivals, see our Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh guide. Our Mathura Vrindavan taxi service covers the run out to the villages.

When to visit

The cool months of October to March are the most comfortable for the climb and for walking between the sites and the winter light on the hill and the sarovar is lovely. The Lathmar Holi of spring, played with Barsana, is the village’s world famous occasion and Nandotsav after Janmashtami in late summer is its other great day. For a calm visit to the places themselves, a weekday morning outside festival time lets you climb the hill, sit by Pavan Sarovar and seek out Charan Pahari and the kunds in peace. Our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide is the seasons.

The honest bit

Honest words on visiting Nandgaon’s places. Darshan and entry everywhere are 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, though the sarovar and the lower sites are easy. Charan Pahari and some of the kunds lie a little apart and are not signposted for tourists, so a local guide or a careful task saves you from missing them. Nandgaon is a village with basic facilities, so carry what you need and use Mathura or Vrindavan for anything more. And on the history of the hill, I tell you honestly that Nandishwar is anciently a form of Shiva as well as the home of Nanda; both truths are real and both are cherished.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar and the villages of Braj and their hidden places 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. In a village like Nandgaon a local is the whole difference between climbing to the one temple and leaving and seeing the place properly: finding Charan Pahari and the quiet kunds most visitors miss, sitting at Pavan Sarovar with its story, pairing it with Barsana so the two houses of the tale are seen together and telling the honest history of the hill. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: do not stop at the hilltop temple, as most day visitors do. The temple is the beginning of Nandgaon, not the whole of it. Come down to Pavan Sarovar and sit a while, seek out Charan Pahari and stand before the footprints in the rock and let a local show you a kund or two. The village rewards the pilgrim who walks its lower places as much as the one who climbs its hill.

Related guides

• Top places to visit in Mathura

• Places to visit in Vrindavan: the full list

• Kokilavan Shani Dev Mandir near Mathura

• Mathura tourism: a complete travel guide

• Vrindavan trip planner: build your itinerary

Plan your visit to Nandgaon

Tell me your dates and your group and I will build Nandgaon and its places, with 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.