Mar 13 – 17
Holi in Vrindavan
Two nights in a riverside haveli, the Phoolon-ki-Holi at Banke Bihari, a private flower-and-colour breakfast on the terrace.
Vrindavan does not keep Holi to a single day. Braj celebrates for the better part of a week, and the Phoolon-wali-Holi at Banke Bihari — flowers thrown from the sanctum instead of colour, for a few minutes only — happens before most of the country has begun.
It is loud, crowded and genuinely devotional rather than a party with a religious pretext. Wear clothes you intend to throw away, keep your phone in a sealed bag, and go with someone who knows which lane to be in and at what hour.
The shape of it
Day 1
Into the haveli
Arrive at the riverside haveli and get your bearings in the lanes before the week builds.
Day 2
Phoolon-wali-Holi
Flowers thrown from the sanctum at Banke Bihari, for a few minutes only. Everything that day is arranged around being in position for it.
Day 3
Breakfast on the terrace
The private flower-and-colour breakfast on the terrace, above the crowd rather than in it, and then the road out.
Reserve dates
Every stay is confirmed by a person, not an algorithm. Tell us your dates and we will come back to you on this offer and what is available around it.
