Walk the Vrindavan Parikrama

0 km, 5:30 am, Raman Reti

Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir कृष्ण बलराम मंदिर

Most pilgrims set out from here, the ISKCON temple in Raman Reti, and return here at the end. Raman Reti means "the sands of play": tradition says Krishna and Balaram ran races in this soft Braj dust. The white marble temple, opened in 1975, is already full of kirtan from the morning aarti.

Before you set out, three things. Leave your chappals at the stand; the marg is walked barefoot. Buy a couple of Frootis from the cart; you will understand why at Madan Mohan. And decide what to do about your spectacles.

In summer the stone path gets painfully hot by 9 am. Start by 6.

1.0 km, 5:50 am

Varaha Ghat and Gautam Rishi Ashram वराह घाट

Four hundred metres out, pilgrims circle a sacred tree and join the marg proper. Soon Gautam Rishi's ashram appears on your left, where the sage is said to have meditated, and Varaha Ghat on your right, named for Vishnu's boar incarnation. The Yamuna used to lap these steps. Now there is sand, scrub, and a peacock on the wall calling for rain.

Further on, a garden on the ISKCON goshala land, and the cows looking at you with no interest whatsoever.

This is the quietest stretch. Chant, or just listen to your own feet.

1.6 km, 6:05 am

Kaliya Ghat कालीदह

Here Krishna leapt from a kadamba tree into the poisoned river and danced on the hoods of the serpent Kaliya until he surrendered. An old kadamba still leans over the steps, and devotees point out where the serpent's pool once was.

The river itself has moved away from here over the centuries. The steps now lead down to a sandy bed. Look up into the kadamba. Those are not birds.

The monkeys start here. Put your glasses in your bag before Madan Mohan.

1.85 km, 6:15 am, Dvadashaditya Tila

Madan Mohan Temple मदन मोहन मंदिर

The red sandstone tower on the hill is the one you have seen in every photograph of Vrindavan. Sanatana Goswami, sent to Braj by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, worshipped Madan Mohan here in the 16th century, and the temple is among the oldest standing in the town. The original deity was carried to Karauli in Rajasthan for safety during Aurangzeb's reign; worship continues in the newer temple beside the tower.

It is a short, steep climb. The monkeys own the railings, the ledges, and the tower itself.

A Frooti is the accepted ransom. Sometimes they demand two.

2.8 km, 6:45 am

Imli Tala इमली तला

Past a small wooden bridge, a long yellow wall, and through its gate a tamarind tree. Tradition says that when Radha vanished from the Raas, Krishna sat under this tree chanting her name. Around 1515, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came here each day from Akrura Ghat and sat beneath it chanting, lost in Radha's longing for Krishna.

A deity of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is installed under the tree today. Outside the gate, a man sells tulsi kanthi malas on a cloth.

Walk through the gate. The tree is worth the minute.

3.0 km, 6:55 am

Shringar Vat शृंगार वट

Three minutes on, a banyan appears on your right. Here, it is said, Krishna dressed Radha's hair with flowers and adorned her. Nityananda Prabhu stayed under this tree when he came to Vrindavan, and the deities in the small temple are traced to his wife, Jahnava Mata.

Women walk circles around the trunk, winding red kalawa thread as they go.

3.4 km, 7:10 am

Keshi Ghat केशी घाट

Finally, the river. Keshi Ghat is where Krishna killed Keshi, the horse demon Kansa sent to trample Braj. Its carved sandstone pavilions and steps were raised by Rani Lakshmi Devi of Bharatpur, and it is one of the few old ghats the Yamuna still reaches.

Boatmen call out prices for a ride to the far bank. Marigolds turn slowly in the current. Pilgrims take their Yamuna bath. Every chhatri has a monkey on it.

Come back at dusk for the Yamuna aarti.

4.3 km, 7:35 am

Dhir Samir and Tatiya Sthan टटिया स्थान

Dhir Samir is the grove of the "gentle breeze," where Radha and Krishna met. Beside it lies Tatiya Sthan, where Swami Lalit Kishori Dev (1758 to 1823), seventh acharya of Swami Haridas's line, sat in meditation. His followers fenced him in with bamboo screens, called tatiya, and the name stayed.

There is still no electricity here. Oil lamps are lit after sunset, and the deity's fan is pulled by hand on a rope. Visitors are asked not to talk.

6.2 km, 8:05 am

Jagannath Ghat जगन्नाथ घाट

The marg turns south along the old riverfront. At Jagannath Ghat the temple holds Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra, as at Puri. Nearby are the Tekari Rani temple and a small shrine to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Some of the smaller shrines along this stretch are still broken, from the Mughal-era destruction.

Saris dry on lines across the steps, and children cheerfully overtake you.

9.4 km, 8:40 am, Mathura–Vrindavan road

Crossing the Mathura road मथुरा मार्ग

The last stretch runs into town traffic: e-rickshaws beeping, a cow in the middle of the lane, kachori and jalebi frying in black iron karahis, lassi in clay kulhads. You cross the Mathura–Vrindavan road and walk the final kilometre back.

Inside the loop you have just walked are Banke Bihari, Radha Raman, Radha Damodar, Nidhivan and Seva Kunj. The marg circles them all; many pilgrims detour into the lanes for darshan.

Phones out on this road attract monkeys on the wires.

10.5 km, about 8:50 am

Back at Raman Reti परिक्रमा पूर्ण

Your feet are grey with Braj raj, the dust of Vrindavan, which many pilgrims carry home on purpose. Your chappals are waiting at the stand.