This museum, renovated in 2016, houses a superb collection of religious sculptures by the Mathura school, which flourished from the 3rd century BC to the 6th century AD. Good lighting and English text spotlight some 2300-year-old Buddhas, as well as towering Kushan-era royal statues and later Sunga- and Gupta-era Hindu icons. It was Mathuran artists who created some of the earliest images of Buddha.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
22.79 MILES
This tremendous bird sanctuary and national park has long been recognised as one of the world’s most important bird breeding and feeding grounds. In a…
25.21 MILES
This outstanding sandstone and marble tomb commemorates the greatest of the Mughal emperors. The huge courtyard is entered through a stunning gateway…
Krishna Balaram Temple Complex
5.29 MILES
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (www.iskcon.org), also known as the Hare Krishnas, is based at the Krishna Balaram temple complex…
22.02 MILES
One of the Lohagarh palaces, centred on a tranquil courtyard, houses this museum, which has royal artefacts, including weaponry, miniature paintings,…
21.87 MILES
At the centre of Deeg – a small, rarely visited, dusty tumult of a town about 35km north of Bharatpur – stands the incongruously glorious Suraj Mahl’s…
27.64 MILES
This beautiful, immense mosque was completed in 1571 and contains elements of Persian and Indian design. The main entrance, at the top of a flight of…
27.43 MILES
The main sight at Fatehpur Sikri is the stunning imperial complex of pavilions and palaces spread amid a large, abandoned 'city' peppered with Mughal…
22.01 MILES
The still-inhabited, 18th-century Lohagarh, or Iron Fort, was so named because of its sturdy defences. Despite being somewhat forlorn and derelict, it is…
Nearby attractions
0.76 MILES
This four-storey (17m) tower was built by the son of Behari Mal of Jaipur in 1570 to commemorate his mother’s sati (self-immolation on her husband’s…
0.81 MILES
A string of ghats and temples lines the Yamuna River north of the main road bridge. The most central and most popular is Vishram Ghat, where Krishna is…
0.87 MILES
This fine sandstone mosque was built by the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in 1661. To clear the site, he ordered the destruction of the then-standing incarnation…
0.88 MILES
In the most important temple complex in Mathura, the small, fortresslike room known as Shri Krishna Janambhoomi marks the spot where Krishna is said to…
4.39 MILES
This 10-storey white marble temple, a fairy-tale-castle lookalike, has an endearingly amateurish collection of animated puppets and dioramas on the ground…
6. Krishna Balaram Temple Complex
5.29 MILES
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (www.iskcon.org), also known as the Hare Krishnas, is based at the Krishna Balaram temple complex…
7. Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir
5.48 MILES
When complete, this Hindu temple should be the tallest religious monument in the world, at around 700ft tall. Construction is underway but will take years.
5.86 MILES
Set atop a hill and marked by three sandstone towers of varying size and shape, this is the oldest temple in Vrindavan, built in 1580. The main entrance…