Holi in Braj: Barsana, Nandgaon, Vrindavan and Mathura

Exact dates follow the lunar calendar and are announced each year, so treat this as the usual pattern and check current status before you travel. The days below are counted back from the main day of Holi, called Dhulandi.

Barsana is a small town on a hill about 45 km north-west of Mathura, crowned by the Radha Rani temple. On the day of Lathmar Holi, men from Nandgaon, Krishna's village about 8 km away, come to Barsana as Krishna once did to tease the women. The women meet them with lathis, long bamboo sticks, and strike at them while the men shelter under round leather shields, singing and laughing.

The day begins with songs and colour at the temple and spills into the lanes in the afternoon. Clouds of pink, green and yellow powder fill the air, and coloured water rains from rooftops. The next day, the men of Barsana go to Nandgaon, and the play is repeated there with roles reversed.

Crowds at Barsana are enormous, and the lanes are steep and narrow. The best way to watch is from a rooftop or balcony, arranged in advance through a local contact, with a guide who stays beside you. We leave before the afternoon peak when the lanes become impassable.

In Vrindavan, the temples celebrate Holi in the days before the main festival. At Banke Bihari, the most loved shrine in the town, priests throw flowers and colour over the crowd while devotees sing, a celebration often called phoolon wali Holi. It is emotional and very crowded, and best visited at a calmer hour with a guide.

Other temples, including the ISKCON Krishna Balaram Mandir, hold their own celebrations, often more orderly. Mathura's Dwarkadhish Temple and the Krishna Janmasthan also mark the festival. On the main day, the streets of both towns become one large celebration, with music, thandai, a spiced milk drink sometimes mixed with bhang, and colour thrown at everyone.

The day after Holi, the Dauji temple at Baldeo, near Mathura, holds the huranga, in which women tear the shirts off men and beat them with the cloth amid buckets of coloured water. It is another raucous local tradition, best seen from a protected vantage point.

Holi in Braj is mostly good-natured, but crowds are dense and a minority of men behave badly, especially towards women. Thoughtful planning makes a great difference to how much you enjoy it.

• Always stay with your guide and agree a meeting point in case you are separated.
• Watch the busiest events from a rooftop or balcony rather than the street.
• Women should travel in a group and avoid the densest crowds; temple Holi is calmer.
• Leave before the afternoon peak at Barsana and Nandgaon.
• Be cautious with thandai and sweets, which may contain bhang.
• Children and frail travellers are better watching temple celebrations in Vrindavan.
• Keep phones and money in a zip bag in an inside pocket.

Wear old cotton clothes you can throw away; white shows the colours well. Cover your hair with a scarf or cap and protect your eyes with sunglasses. Rub coconut or mustard oil into skin and hair before going out, which makes the colour easier to wash off. Some colours stain skin for a day or two regardless.

For cameras, use a rain cover or a plastic bag with a hole for the lens, and a UV filter you do not mind scratching. Carry lens cloths and keep spare batteries in a sealed bag. Phones fare best in a waterproof pouch. Take only what you need for the day and leave jewellery and passports at the hotel.

Holi in Braj is one of the most photographed festivals in the world, and for good reason: colour hangs in the air, light pours through the powder in the temple courtyards, and every face tells a story. It is also hard on equipment and easy to get wrong with people.

Protect your gear first. A simple rain cover or a plastic bag with a hole for the lens, a clear UV filter and plenty of lens cloths will see you through. Fine powder works its way into zoom lenses, so a prime lens is often safer, and changing lenses in the open is best avoided. Keep a spare camera body or phone sealed in a waterproof pouch.

Position matters more than equipment. A rooftop or balcony over the main lane at Barsana gives clean views of the crowd and the women with their lathis, and keeps you out of the crush. In the temples, early arrival gives a place near the front. Ask before taking close portraits, especially of women, and accept a refusal. A local guide helps you approach people and explains which moments are private.

Braj has no luxury hotels. For the festival days, the most practical choice is a simple, clean hotel in Vrindavan, close to the temples and about 1.5 hours from Barsana. Rooms fill months ahead, prices rise and food is vegetarian, usually without alcohol. The alternative is to stay at ITC Mughal or The Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra and drive in each day, about 2.5 hours to Barsana, which is long but comfortable.

Our usual plan is three nights in Vrindavan for Lathmar Holi, temple Holi and the main day, then two nights in Agra to recover and see the Taj Mahal. Delhi is about 3 hours from Vrindavan by the Yamuna Expressway. Book as soon as the year's dates are known, which is usually several months ahead.