गोवर्धन पर्वत
Govardhan Hill
The hill Krishna lifted on one finger, and the 21 km parikrama around it that is the single most important walk in Braj.
Govardhan is not visited so much as walked around. The hill itself is low and long, and devotees do not climb it — Giriraj Ji is the deity, and you walk the parikrama marg that circles him. The full circuit is about 21 km and takes most people five to seven hours at a steady pace, longer with stops. Many walk it barefoot. Some walk it in dandavat parikrama, measuring the whole distance with their body, which takes weeks.
Along the way: Danghati Temple, where most parikramas start, Mukharbind where the hill's face is worshipped, Manasi Ganga, and then Radha Kund and Shyam Kund. The annakut offered here at Govardhan Puja is the same offering Krishna asked the villagers to make instead of worshipping Indra — which is the story the hill is about.
What we would tell you beforehand
- Start before sunrise. By ten in the morning in summer the road is too hot for bare feet.
- There is no shame in doing it by car. Plenty of devotees do, and we will have the vehicle shadow you either way so you can stop whenever you need to.
- Carry water and a little cash for the small shrines. There are places to rest the whole way round.
- Ekadashi, Guru Purnima and Govardhan Puja bring enormous crowds. Beautiful, but not a first parikrama with elders.