One of the most divine and sacred visits in the Hindu annual calendar of pilgrimages is the Braj Chaurasi Kos Yatra or the 84 Kos Yatra. A ‘kos’ is approximately 2.25 miles or 3.62 kilometres.The “84 Kos parikrama” refers to a roughly 300-km circumambulatory trek or visit to sacred places around Vrindavan along the banks of the Yamuna. Annually, lakhs of devotees or pilgrims (yatris) undertake this yatra in the belief that they are cleansed of their earthly sins and can evil deeds and find a place in ‘parlok’ or heaven.The 84 Kos Yatra is also known as the Braj Bhoomi Yatra as it covers the places and sites connected with the life and events of Krishna. Tourists who visit Agra and Mathura sometimes complete the Braj Bhoomi Yatra on the same trip as a dedication to Lord Krishna. Many others come specifically to do the Braj Bhoomi Yatra as a 4 to 7-day planned itinerary trip.Traditionally, the yatra is undertaken during the monsoon or the month of bhadon; the significance of the rains cannot be overlooked here as Krishna was born on a night of torrential rains when the Yamuna was flooding. So, the most devout undertake this pilgrimage, many of them on foot, during the rainy season. To most people, it is in culmination of a wish fulfilled and offer of thanksgiving; to others it is a kind of penance undertaken for grant of a wish or prayer.The Braj Yatra or Braj Parikrama covers 12 vanas (forests), 24 upavanas (smaller forests or groves), the sacred Govardhana hill, the Yamuna river and various holy sites and gardens along its banks that have been witness to the and heritage of Vrindavan. The yatra forms a circumambulatory (circular) route; in the north the yatra extends to Kotban, towards the west and south-west are Nandgaon, Barsana and the Govardhana hill, spreading to the east along the banks of the Yamuna to the Baldeo temple. All along the route there are many places where ancient temples lie in partially destroyed ruins with idols and artefacts, a mute testimony to the effects of invasion by foreign rulers and dynasties. Legend has it that Yashoda ma and Nand baba (Krishna’s foster parents) were keen to go on a pilgrimage (char dham yatra) and expressed this desire to Krishna. The Char Dham literally means Four Abodes or the four mighty sacred pilgrimage centres of Hinduism – namely Badrinath, Puri, Rameswaram and Dwaraka. Broadly, these four places in the North, East, South and West of India have come to denote the seats of Hinduism (Vaishnavite, Shaivite and mixed). To fulfil the desire of his aged parents, Krishna with his divine powers summoned all the divine aspects of these places of worship and brought them to Vrindavan within a 300-km radius and blessed the land, granting sacred status, thus giving it the name ‘Braj Bhoomi’. Since then, the pilgrimage to this Braj Bhoomi is known as Braj Chaurasi Kos Yatra and any one performing this yatra is believed to be free of the cycle of birth and death and attain nirvana. Another folklore mentions that Brahma cast a spell on Gokul and Vrindavan and spirited away Krishna’s cowherd friends and their cows, to test if Krishna was truly a divine incarnation. Krishna immediately understood this and enacted one his ‘leelas’ or antics, taking the form of his numerous friends, human and animal. Brahma immediately felt mortified at his misdeed and asked Krishna for pardon. In jest, Krishna remarked that he could only atone for his ‘sins’ by going around the sacred land. Thus Brahma became the first one to perform the Chaurasi Kos Yatra; this explains the significance and relevance of the yatra and the inspiration that drives thousands of people to perform it.