Places to visit in Mathura

Mathura is not a sightseeing town in the usual sense. It is a working pilgrimage city of about 350,000 people, where temple bells carry through lanes too narrow for cars. The air smells of marigolds, incense and peda, the city's milk sweet of khoya cooked down with cardamom, sold by the box at the sweet shops around Holi Gate. Most visitors combine it with Vrindavan and Govardhan into one Braj trip, and that is the right way to see it.

Hindi and Braj Bhasha are spoken here, and English is scarce, so a translation app helps. The city is at its most intense on Janmashtami, Krishna's birthday, and during Holi, when Braj celebrates for weeks.

• [Krishna Janmasthan Temple](/en/mathura/krishna-janmasthan-temple/): the complex built over the prison chamber where, by tradition, Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva. Security is tight: phones and bags are left outside.
• [Dwarkadhish Temple](/en/mathura/dwarkadhish-temple/): built in 1814 deep inside the bazaar, bright and musical, with darshan (the viewing of the deity) in short slots through the day.
• [Vishram Ghat](/en/mathura/vishram-ghat/): the main ghat, where Krishna is said to have rested after killing Kansa. The Yamuna aarti at sunset is smaller and calmer than in Varanasi: brass lamps, chanting and leaf boats with flames on the water.
• [Sati Burj](/en/mathura/sati-burj/): a red sandstone tower of 1570 in the lanes behind the ghat, among the oldest dated buildings in the city.
• [Potara Kund](/en/mathura/potara-kund/): a stepped tank two minutes from Janmasthan, where the infant Krishna's clothes are said to have been washed. Almost everyone walks past it.
• Government Museum: the best place in India to see Mathura-school sculpture from the 1st to 5th centuries, including Kushan-era Bodhisattvas. Closed on Mondays and the second Saturday.
• Holi Gate and the bazaar: the carved arch where the old town begins, and the lanes below it selling brass Krishnas, deity clothes and prayer beads.

• [Raman Reti, Gokul](/en/mathura/raman-reti-gokul/): warm sand where Krishna and Balarama are said to have played as children, with an ashram, a tank and blackbuck. The most child-friendly stop in the area.
• [Dauji Temple, Baldeo](/en/mathura/dauji-temple-baldeo/): the temple of Balarama, Krishna's elder brother, and the courtyard where Braj's forty-day Holi season ends.
• Mahavan: the 84-pillar hall where Krishna is said to have been raised, and Brahmand Ghat, where Yashoda saw the universe in his mouth.
• Nandgaon and Barsana: Krishna's home village and Radha's, about 45–50 km out, best combined in one trip.
• [Vrindavan](/en/vrindavan/) (12 km) and [Govardhan](/en/govardhan/): the other two pillars of a Braj trip, with their own temples and the 21 km parikrama around Govardhan Hill.

Mathura alone: one day. Krishna Janmasthan in the morning, Potara Kund next door, then through the bazaar to Dwarkadhish (check the darshan slots), the Government Museum if it is open, and Vishram Ghat for the aarti at sunset.

Mathura and Vrindavan: two days is the comfortable minimum. One day can be done from Delhi, but it means rushing temples that open in short windows. A second day lets you see Vrindavan's evening aarti and morning darshan.

All of Braj: three to four days add Govardhan and its parikrama, Gokul and Baldeo, and Barsana with Nandgaon.

October to March is the comfortable season, at its best in October, November, February and March. December and January are cool, with nights down to 8–9°C. May and June are best avoided: days reach 40–42°C. In the monsoon (July to September) the Yamuna can flood the ghats, as it did in July 2023. Holi and Janmashtami are the most spectacular times and also the most crowded: on Janmashtami vehicles are stopped about 3 km from the birthplace, and everyone walks the rest. Month-by-month figures are on the [weather page](/en/mathura/weather/).

By train: Mathura Junction (MTJ) is on the Delhi–Mumbai main line, with dozens of trains a day. From Delhi the Gatimaan Express (from Hazrat Nizamuddin) or Taj Express (from New Delhi) takes about 1 h 20 min to 1 h 40 min, from about ₹90; from Agra, 40–60 minutes. The station is 3–4 km from the temples, so take an e-rickshaw (about ₹100–150 for the whole vehicle).

By car: 2.5–3 hours from Delhi on the Yamuna Expressway; a sedan with driver costs about ₹2,900–3,500, and the car stays with you for Vrindavan and Govardhan.

By bus: UPSRTC and private coaches from Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan and Kashmiri Gate, 3–4 hours, from about ₹210.

By air: Noida International (DXN) at Jewar, opened in March 2026, is now the nearest airport, about 80 km away, with domestic flights. Delhi remains the international hub.

Around town: shared e-rickshaws run fixed lines for about ₹10–30 a seat; autos have no meters, so agree the price first. The temple core is best on foot. Shared rickshaws to Vrindavan cost ₹20–30 a seat. More on the pages about [getting here](/en/mathura/how-to-get-there/) and [getting around](/en/mathura/getting-around/).