Krishna ExperienceHoli 2027 in Braj: day by day
The main festival falls on Holika Dahan, Sunday 21 March, and Rangwali Holi, Monday 22 March 2027. Braj's celebrations start well before. The Barsana and Nandgaon days below are the expected dates; temple committees announce the final days each February, so check before booking.
| Expected date | Celebration | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 March | Phulera Dooj: flowers on the deities, the season begins | Temples across Braj |
| about 15 March | Laddu Holi: laddus thrown from the temple | Radha Rani temple, Barsana |
| about 16 March | Lathmar Holi: women of Barsana take on the men of Nandgaon | Barsana |
| about 17 March | Lathmar Holi, reversed | Nandgaon |
| 18 March | Phoolon wali Holi on Rangbhari Ekadashi | Banke Bihari, Vrindavan |
| around 18–20 March | Widows' Holi | Gopinath temple, Vrindavan |
| 21 March | Holika Dahan bonfires; at Phalen village a priest walks through the fire | Across Braj |
| 22 March | Rangwali Holi, the day of colour | Mathura, Vrindavan, everywhere |
| about 23 March | Dauji ka Huranga | Baldeo |
Lathmar Holi: Barsana and Nandgaon
The story: Krishna and his friends from Nandgaon came to Barsana to tease Radha and the gopis, who chased them off with sticks. Every year the men of Nandgaon arrive in Barsana with leather shields, sing teasing songs, and the women of Barsana rain blows on them with long lathis in front of the Radha Rani temple. The next day the men of Barsana go to Nandgaon for a return match. It is good-humoured, theatrical and extremely crowded.
Phoolon wali Holi at Banke Bihari
On Rangbhari Ekadashi, the priests of Banke Bihari shower the crowd with flower petals instead of colour, for a short, intense window in the afternoon. Queues form hours before. The days around it are full of colour inside the temple.
Widows' Holi
Many widows have long lived in Vrindavan's ashrams, traditionally barred from colour and celebration. Since the early 2010s, a Holi of flowers and gulal for them at the Gopinath temple has become a moving, much-photographed event.
Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan
On Rangwali Holi, the lanes of Vrindavan and Mathura turn every colour. The Dwarkadhish temple in Mathura and the area around Banke Bihari are the centre of it. Many temples play Holi with their deities through the preceding week.
Dauji ka Huranga
At the temple of Balaram in Baldeo, the day after Holi, women of the Gosain families tear the shirts off the men and whip them with the soaked rags while the men drench them with coloured water. It is the most boisterous celebration in Braj.
Staying safe
- Crowds are enormous at Barsana, Nandgaon and Banke Bihari. Arrive early, keep children close, and know your way out.
- Women travellers should go with a group. Groping in dense Holi crowds is a known problem.
- Protect your phone in a sealed pouch, your eyes with sunglasses, and your skin and hair with oil. Ask for natural gulal.
- Wear old white clothes you won't miss.
Questions people ask
When is Lathmar Holi 2027?
Expected around 16 March 2027 in Barsana and 17 March in Nandgaon, with Laddu Holi around 15 March. Final dates are announced locally in February.
When is Holi 2027?
Holika Dahan is on 21 March and Rangwali Holi on 22 March 2027.
Where is the best Holi in Vrindavan?
Banke Bihari temple, especially on Rangbhari Ekadashi (flower Holi, 18 March 2027), and the lanes around it on Rangwali Holi.