Things to Do in Vrindavan: Experiences, Aartis, the Parikrama and More

Key takeaways

• Take darshan at Banke Bihari, the beloved heart of Vrindavan.

• See Prem Mandir lit up after dark, with its fountain show.

• Walk the town parikrama through the old lanes.

• Visit the groves of Nidhivan before they lock at dusk.

• Catch the evening aarti on the Yamuna at Kesi Ghat.

• Darshan everywhere is free; no VIP pass exists.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018: more than 50,000 of them. When people ask what to do in Vrindavan, they are asking for the experiences, not just a list of temples and Vrindavan is full of them: the drawn curtain at Banke Bihari, the lights of Prem Mandir after dark, the hush of Nidhivan, the parikrama through the lanes, the aarti on the river. Vrindavan is a town you feel more than you tour. Here is what I would have you do, in the spirit of someone who grew up beside it. Plan it all with our Mathura Vrindavan Tour Package, message us on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

The best things to do in Vrindavan at a glance

The best things to do in Vrindavan. Darshan everywhere is free.

Take darshan at Banke Bihari

The one thing everyone comes to Vrindavan to do is take darshan of Banke Bihari, the town’s most beloved deity. The temple is unlike any other: there is no bell and the curtain before the deity is drawn and closed again every few moments, so that no devotee gazes too long and the darshan comes in glimpses, each one a gift. Go at the morning opening, when the crowd is a fraction of what it becomes, for at peak times the crush here is intense. No cars reach the temple; you walk the last lanes, which is part of the experience.

See Prem Mandir lit up after dark

If Banke Bihari is in the morning, Prem Mandir is in the evening. This vast modern temple of white marble, carved all over with scenes from the life of Krishna, is beautiful by day but magical after dark, when it is lit in changing colours and a musical fountain show plays in the grounds. Families love it and it is the perfect gentle end to a Vrindavan day. Come at dusk and stay as the lights come up.

Walk the Vrindavan parikrama

To walk the Vrindavan parikrama, the sacred circuit of the town, is to do Vrindavan as pilgrims have for centuries. The town circuit runs some ten to eleven kilometres through the lanes and along the Yamuna, past temple after temple and many walk it barefoot in the early morning. You need not do the whole of it; even a stretch through the old quarter, past the Goswami temples and the ghats, gives you the feel of it. It is the most authentic thing you can do here and it costs nothing but your feet.

Visit the groves of Nidhivan

One of the most atmospheric things to do in Vrindavan is to visit Nidhivan, the sacred grove of low, curiously twisted tulsi trees near the heart of the old town. It is a place dense with a living belief: that Krishna and the gopis dance the raas here each night and that no living soul may witness it, so the grove is locked and emptied at dusk. I present that as the cherished belief it is rather than a documented fact, but the hush of the grove is real and it is deeply moving. Visit in daylight and feel it.

Catch the Yamuna aarti at Kesi Ghat

In the evening, go down to Kesi Ghat, the great ghat on the Yamuna where Krishna is said to have bathed after slaying the horse demon Kesi, for the river Aarti. As the light fades, the lamps are lit and offered to the Yamuna and the old riverfront glows. It is quieter than the famous temples and one of the loveliest half hours in the town. Take a boat on the river here too if you wish, agreeing the fare first, but do not bathe carelessly, for the Yamuna is revered and honestly polluted.

See the Goswami temples and the great modern ones

Vrindavan holds both the oldest and the newest of temples and seeing both is a fine thing to do. The old Goswami temples, Radha Raman, Radha Damodar and Madan Mohan among them, are quiet, ancient and dense with history, the Vrindavan of the saints. The great modern temples, ISKCON with its kirtan and the towering Chandrodaya Mandir, are on the Chhatikara side and show the living, growing devotion of the town. Doing both gives you the whole span of Vrindavan, five centuries in a morning.

Shop the bazaar lanes

Wandering and shopping the lanes of Loi Bazaar, near Banke Bihari, is an experience in itself: the little deity dresses for home Krishna idols, the prayer beads, the brass deities, the sweets. It needs no separate time, for the lanes are on your very way between the temples and carrying home a deity dress or a set of tulsi beads is part of the pilgrimage. Our Vrindavan market shopping guide covers the bazaars in full.

Time your visit to a festival

There is no more vivid thing to do in Vrindavan than to be there for a festival. Janmashtami, Krishna’s birth, fills the town in August; the Braj Holi of spring is famous the world over; and the autumn month of Kartik is the most devotional season of all, when the whole town glows with lamps. They are crowded beyond belief, but they are Vrindavan at its most alive. Our festivals of Braj page has the calendar and our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide the seasons.

How many days do you need?

One day covers the essential experiences: Banke Bihari, the old lanes and the Goswami temples, Nidhivan and Prem Mandir after dark. Two days lets you add the Chhatikara temples, the parikrama and the river and keep the mornings and evenings unhurried. For how to shape the days, see our one day Mathura Vrindavan itinerary and for the sights in list form, our places to visit in Vrindavan guide.

The honest bit

Honest words on doing Vrindavan well. Every temple darshan is free and there is no official VIP darshan pass at Banke Bihari or anywhere in Braj, whatever a tout may claim; first timers and visitors from afar are targeted most. Banke Bihari has no daily Mangala Aarti, only rare festival days, while ISKCON holds a genuine one. Nidhivan's nightly raas is a cherished living belief, not a documented fact and I present it as such. The Yamuna is revered and honestly polluted, so take the aarti and a boat but not a careless dip. Cars cannot reach Banke Bihari, so expect to walk the lanes and mind the monkeys, which are practised thieves of phones and glasses.

Our VIP darshan in Vrindavan guide explains the fake pass trade in full.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar and the experiences on this page are the ones I live among rather than a list I compiled. 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 adds is the doing rather than the seeing: getting you to Banke Bihari before the crush, to Nidhivan before it locks, to Kesi Ghat in time for the aarti and to Prem Mandir as the lights come up, all in an order that flows. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: do the loud things early and the quiet things late. Take Banke Bihari at the opening while you have the energy for the crowd, walk the old lanes and the Goswami temples through the day and end in the peace of Nidhivan and the Kesi Ghat aarti as the light softens, with Prem Mandir’s lights to finish. Vrindavan is a different town from Vrindavan rush.

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Plan your Vrindavan experience

Tell me your dates and your group and I will build these experiences into your trip in the right order and at the right hours, 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.