Mathura-Vrindhavan-Gokul trip - Part 2 - Vrindavan

Mathura to Vrindavan 

After the Dwarkadhish temple, I wanted to go to Gokul but the driver insisted on going to Vrindavan. Bad idea since the temples in Vrindavan close in the afternoon but the ones in Gokul are open throughout the day. I will suggest travelers to cover Mathura in the morning, Gokul (and Govardan and Barsana) during early-afternoon, and Vrindavan in the evening. If travelers have less time, then start early and cover Mathura and Vrindavan before noon and then go to Gokul, Govardan and Barsana. 

Cars are stopped at the entrance of the Vrindavan city from where one is forced to take local transport. I later heard from a friend that there are alternate roads to Vrindavan that avoid the check-post where cops force people to park their car. Car parking costs Rs.100 at the multilevel parking, regardless of the time. Took a share auto through bad roads, which is a forgettable experience. The cost of the share auto is variable. The auto driver inside the multilevel parking asked Rs.100 per person and was willing to go for Rs.50 per person. I stepped outside the parking lot, got a share auto for Rs.20 per person, and thought that I had a bargain. The next set of people who boarded the share auto got in at Rs.10 per person! 

Banke Bihari Temple 

The Banke Bihari temple was very close from where the auto dropped. There were places to leave footwear but my driver insisted that he knew a better place closer to the temple. The crowd is like a mob and we were drifting with the crowd. Peda sellers and other hawkers made the already narrow street even narrower. Once we reached the entrance of the temple, the driver took me to another street where we left our footwear for Rs.10 per pair. When we came back to the entrance, I was nervous about getting in with the crowd again. But once again, I did not have to do much as the crowds pushed me into the temple. I understood why some of my colleagues had warned about stampede. I got a view of the Krishna, made of black marble, from afar. As I waded through the crowd and climbed the stairs to get closer to the lord, I realized that I was on one side and there was no view of Krishna. Went back down the steps to get another glimpse of Krishna before leaving through the exit. 

The entrance and exit gates are different, and one cannot get to the entrance from the exit. Why was that an issue? Remember the footwear that were closer to the entrance? Had to go around many streets to get back to the place where we left our footwear. Not a big deal but the time spent ensured that there was no chance of covering another temple in Vrindavan since it was noon already. Call back: Bad idea to visit Vrindavan close to noon; should have gone to Gokul first. 

Photos from the internet

Entrance of Banke Bihari Temple

Inside the temple

Banke Bihari

If planned better, or if the driver had listened to my plans, I would have likely covered the Ranganathaswamy temple, Radha Raman temple, Iskcon temple and maybe Nidhivan. https://goo.gl/maps/yAXVnSfHj3FtqUsZ8

The Vrindavan plan that was... did not happen

The return auto to the car parking again cost Rs.20/person, which was again bargained down from a higher ask.