Things to do in Varanasi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Varanasi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter is best: cool mornings, boats at their best, malaiyo in the lanes and the stacked festival calendar.
Spring shoulder sweet spot into early April, with Holi in March, before summer heat closes the window.
Worst months. Heat above 40C ends the day by 10am and ghat stone is too hot by late morning.
Monsoon: heavy rain, high river water can submerge the ghat walk and suspend boats. August is peak flood risk for a first trip.
What's on
- Dev Deepawali Kartik Purnima, 15 days after Diwali, usually Nov
The supreme night: the whole ghat crescent lit with earthen lamps, a special aarti, fireworks and a river full of boats.
- Ganga Mahotsav typically Nov, around Dev Deepawali
Multi day classical music, dance and craft bazaar at Rajghat, the connoisseur pairing with Dev Deepawali.
- Diwali Oct/Nov
The city is lit in the days before its own greater river festival, Dev Deepawali.
- Mahashivratri Feb/Mar
Shiva's great night in Shiva's city: Shiv Baraat procession, all night worship and the hardest temple crowds of the year.
- Makar Sankranti mid-Jan
Rooftop kite flying and a bathing day in the coldest, foggiest weeks.
- Holi Mar
Exuberant and intense in the old city lanes, including Masan Holi played with cremation ash the day after the main festival.
- Buddha Purnima Apr/May full moon
The Buddhist world gathers at Sarnath, where the first sermon was given. Go at dawn or evening and retreat midday.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Varanasi
Sunrise boat ride on the Ganges
Drift from Assi to Manikarnika at dawn and watch pilgrims, priests and washermen as the sun lifts over the far bank.
Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat
Seven priests perform fire, conches and chanting facing the river, best seen whole from a boat moored off the ghat.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
One of Hinduism's holiest Shiva shrines, reached through the broad Vishwanath Corridor from the river.
Subah-e-Banaras
A reflective dawn aarti at Assi with Vedic chanting, live classical music and a public yoga session on the steps.
Old City lanes (galis)
Shoulder width lanes hold small shrines, silk shops, brass workers, sweet makers and old havelis behind the ghat facade.
Manikarnika Ghat
The principal cremation ghat and theological centre of Kashi, best understood quietly at a distance with a guide.
Sarnath
The deer park where the Buddha gave his first sermon, with the Dhamek Stupa, ruins and a superb archaeological museum.
Bharat Kala Bhavan
BHU's art museum holds miniature paintings, Banarasi textiles and sculpture and is reached by very few short stay visitors.
Where to stay in Varanasi
Assi Ghat / Assi-Lanka
first trip, all-round base
Subah-e-Banaras and boats on your doorstep, cafes at Assi crossing, cars can reach you and the mix is the calmest base.
Dashashwamedh / Godowlia and the central ghats
one-night, temple-first stay
Vishwanath and the aarti are minutes away, but there is no vehicle access, early noise and festival crowds at your door.
Cantonment (Cantt) / Nadesar
comfort, space, early train or flight
Leafy and planned with lawns, pools and parking near the station, but the ghats are 30 to 45 minutes through traffic.
Lanka / BHU
budget and long-stay value
The student quarter south of Assi has the cheapest hostels, bookshops and street food, 10 minutes by e-rickshaw to Assi.
Sarnath
deliberate retreat night
Green and quiet with monastery guesthouses, lovely for a meditation course but a commute tax on every ghat plan.
Think twice about
- Lanes around Manikarnika and the cremation ghats
Smoke, funeral processions at all hours and the highest pressure tout and donation scam zone. Visit with a guide, do not sleep here.
- Godowlia crossing and Dashashwamedh Road budget strip
The traffic choked funnel of the old city with honking, crowds and tout density, and vehicle bans that strand you with bags.
- Varanasi Junction forecourt streets
A noisy, tout heavy transit strip of come and go hotels, very different from leafy Nadesar and Mall Road a few minutes away.
- Ramnagar as a Varanasi ghat base
The across river view is real but every aarti, boat ride and dinner needs a bridge or boat crossing first.
Best restaurants in Varanasi
Darbhanga Restaurant
The one luxury table that is also genuinely Banarasi, a grand thali in a palace dining room on the river.
Baati Chokha Restaurant
Ghee dunked baati with smoky chokha, dal and sattu drinks serve eastern Uttar Pradesh countryside food at village prices.
Ram Bhandar
Banaras starts here with badi kachori, spicy aloo sabzi and hot jalebis in a no frills breakfast shop.
Kashi Chaat Bhandar
The cramped evening shop credited with inventing tamatar chaat, plus palak patta chaat and aloo tikki.
Deena Chaat Bhandar
The locals' rival for tamatar and palak patta chaat, plus winter chura matar, slightly off the Godowlia crush.
Blue Lassi
A tiny blue walled shop serves dozens of thick fruit lassis topped with fruit and malai, thick enough to spoon.
Rajaram Lassi
The purists' old style plain malai lassi, churned curd served under a sheet of malai in Thatheri Bazar.
Shreeji Sweets & Milk
The named address for winter malaiyo, dew set milk froth with saffron served in a clay kulhad on morning only.
Outdoor things to do in Varanasi
Guided rowing and seasonal kayaking at dawn
Early rowing and seasonal kayaks from the Assi end offer the river actively, always dependent on water levels.
Ramnagar bank at sunset
Cross to the quiet sandy eastern shore for the classic view in reverse, the whole ghat facade lit by the setting sun.
Public yoga on Assi Ghat
Join the free public yoga on the Assi steps at dawn as part of Subah-e-Banaras, with the river in front of you.
Full ghat walk, Assi to Manikarnika
Three kilometres of continuous steps and lane diversions link the southern ghats to the cremation ghat in one walk.
Cycling to Sarnath
A flat guided dawn cycle ride of about 10 to 12 km reaches the Dhamek Stupa before traffic and heat build up.
Sarnath day trip
A half day covers the stupa grounds, Chaukhandi Stupa, the museum for a full hour and the international temples.
Ramnagar Fort
The Maharaja of Banaras's 18th century sandstone fort palace holds vintage cars, palanquins and an armoury museum.
Chunar Fort
A layered fort on a rocky spur above a great bend of the Ganges, held in turn by Sher Shah, Mughals, Nawabs and British.
Best hotels in Varanasi
BrijRama Palace
A renovated 1812 riverfront palace near Dashashwamedh with boat transfers, live music and the Darbhanga restaurant.
Amritara Suryauday Haveli
A smaller, quieter riverfront haveli between Assi and the centre with sunrise terraces and a calmer riverfront.
Hotel Ganges View
A restored house overlooking Assi full of books and antiques, known above all for its famous river veranda.
Palace on Ganges
A century old Assi building with rooms themed on Indian regions and the same doorstep advantages as its neighbours.
juSTa Luxe Kashi Parampara
A newer polished hotel near Assi that travellers reach for when cleanliness and room quality outrank heritage.
Ganpati Guest House
An honest cheap way to sleep on the central ghats, a long running guesthouse with a river view terrace.
Hotel Alka
River facing rooms and a terrace restaurant literally on the ghat at guesthouse plus prices.
Zostel Varanasi
A reliable backpacker hostel in Lanka with dorms, privates, a rooftop terrace and walkable local knowledge.
Is Varanasi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹2,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹5,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₹16,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Sunrise boat ride on the Ganges: a few days ahead
- Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat: a few days ahead
- Kashi Vishwanath Temple: a few days ahead
- Old City lanes (galis): a few days ahead
- Banarasi silk weaving walk: a few days ahead
- Guided rowing and seasonal kayaking at dawn: a few days ahead
- Cycling to Sarnath: a few days ahead
- Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary: a few days ahead
- Dev Deepawali and Mahashivratri ghat rooms, private boats and balconies sell out weeks ahead. Book 6 to 10 weeks out for Dev Deepawali.
- Book Sugam Darshan on the temple trust site as soon as dates are fixed, especially for Mondays, Sawan and festivals.
- Book a private sunrise boat through your hotel the evening before in season and get price and route in writing.
- Check the Sarnath museum closure day, listed as Friday, before building your only Sarnath morning on it.
- Trains to Delhi, Agra and Kolkata sell out in season. Book early and allow for Dec to Jan fog delays.
Is Varanasi safe?
- Everyday risks are crowds, uneven wet lanes and steep slick ghat steps. Wear grippy closed shoes and keep phone and wallet front and secure.
- Watch the Dashashwamedh aarti from a boat or balcony at festival peaks and use pre-booked cars late, especially for women travellers.
- Do not swim as sport in the Ganges. Currents are strong and urban ghat water quality is poor. Use licensed, hotel arranged boats only.
- No photography of cremations, mourners or bodies ever. Ask before photographing sadhus, bathers or people praying.
- Emergency number is 112 and the women's helpline is 1091.
Varanasi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Cremation ghat donation scripts near Manikarnika asking for wood or hospice money. Disengage completely and donate only through your hotel to a named institution.
- Fake VIP darshan brokers in the lanes. Official paid darshan is only on the trust site or counters at the published price.
- Boat prices that change mid river. Agree route, duration, shared or private and total before leaving the steps.
- Commission silk shops and government emporium detours. Go loom first and buy only from an established house with a bill.
- The hotel is closed arrival script. Insist on your destination and call the hotel from the car if pressed.
- Skip bhang and special lassis of unpredictable potency, and never accept a spiked drink you did not watch being made.
Getting around Varanasi: public transport and more
- Walk and use boats in the old city, e-rickshaws for hops with the fare agreed first, and a pre-booked car for Sarnath, Ramnagar and the airport.
- Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport is about 25 km and 60 to 90 minutes from the ghats. Book the hotel transfer for a first or night arrival.
- Confirm whether your train uses Varanasi Junction in Cantonment or Banaras station, which is closer to Assi.
- A 5am boat means a 4:30am start. In winter lay out warm layers the night before for dark, damp river cold.
Who Varanasi suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Varanasi your trip
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