Issue 83 · March 2026
This month we go to Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana, where Holi is not a day but a season of colour.
Cover story
Holi in Braj
A guide to Braj’s festival, with consent and where to stand.
Colour, consent and where to stand
Holi in Braj is one of the most joyful experiences in Indian travel, and also…
What Lathmar Holi actually asks of a visitor
Few images from Indian festivals travel as far as Lathmar Holi. Women in bright saris…
Vrindavan lanes the morning after Holi
There is a particular silence that settles over Vrindavan on the morning after Rangwali Holi….
Barsana before Mathura: start Braj Holi on the hill
Most first-time Holi travellers to Braj plan the trip the wrong way round. They book…
83/Mar2026
Issue 83 · March 2026 This month we go to Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana, where…
Holi in Braj 2026: A Guide to Mathura, Vrindavan & Barsana
Every year, somewhere between Basant Panchami and the full moon of Phalgun, the stretch of…
The photograph of the street, not the face
Every Holi, the same photographs flood our feeds from Braj: a close-up of a face…
A quieter Holi in a Braj village
Not everyone wants to experience Holi from inside a crowd of thousands. Some travellers are…
Mathura or Vrindavan? Choosing a base for Braj Holi
Choosing where to sleep during Holi in Braj is the decision that quietly shapes everything…
Holi special trains to Mathura: what to know
For most travellers heading to Braj for Holi, the journey begins on a train. Mathura…
Two days of Braj Holi, not a week of chaos
Many people assume that doing Holi in Braj properly means taking a week off, chasing…
Somnath Jyotirlinga : The first place where Lord Shiva manifested himself
Edathua Perunnal Festival, Kerala
Editor’s Letter: Travel in Mountains
The Town You Sleep In
Why the base town shapes a monsoon waterfall trip more than any single fall, what to look for, and towns in Karnataka, Kerala and Goa worth considering.
One village ghat upriver
Train versus road that week
Markets before the 20th, not on it
Journeys Worth Discovering
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