Vrindavan Festival Calendar

The day Vrindavan turns yellow and the 40-day countdown to Holi begins.

Where the women of Barsana chase the men of Nandgaon with sticks.

The day Banke Bihari showers devotees with flowers instead of colour.

The whole town drowns in colour — Holi at its loudest and most ecstatic.

Bonfires across Braj on the eve of Holi — the victory of good over evil.

The river's birthday — a great dawn aarti at Keshi Ghat.

The one day a year you can see Banke Bihari's feet — cooled in sandalwood.

Temple interiors rebuilt every day entirely out of fresh flowers.

Giant wooden chariots pulled by hand through Vrindavan's streets.

Millions arrive to walk the barefoot Braj Parikrama.

Krishna's midnight birth — temples blaze with light till dawn.

The monsoon swing festival — deities gently swung on gold and silver jhulas.

The town dresses in green — and Banke Bihari's golden swing appears once a year.

Krishna's birth party — curd, turmeric and buttermilk flung in joy.

Radha Rani's birthday — Braj's most tender celebration.

The full-moon night of Krishna's cosmic Maha Raas dance.

Lamp-lit temples, then mountains of food built in Krishna's honour.

The day to walk both Mathura and Vrindavan in a single sacred loop.

The night Shiva is dressed as a gopi to watch Krishna's Raas Leela.

The birthday of Banke Bihari himself — born of song in Nidhivan.