Varanasi Travel Guide
Not a comfortable trip, and not one you forget
Written by Kishlay Kumar Kashyap · Last reviewed 2026-08-14 · 1,846 words
Varanasi is the destination most likely to divide a group. It is crowded, loud, physically demanding and absolutely uninterested in accommodating you. It is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, the place where a great many Hindus hope to die, and somewhere that operates on a logic entirely its own. People either find it the most affecting place they've been in India or they leave after a day.
The city is organised around 88 ghats along a west-bank crescent of the Ganga, where the river turns north. Two of them — Manikarnika and Harishchandra — are cremation ghats that burn continuously and have done for centuries. The rest are for bathing, laundry, worship, cricket, sleeping and everything else. Almost everything worth doing in Varanasi happens on the two kilometres of stone steps between Assi and Raj ghats.
Practically, plan for less than you think. Two full days is enough for most visitors, and Sarnath — where the Buddha gave his first sermon after enlightenment, ten kilometres north — is the natural third. Trying to do more usually means seeing the same ghats while more tired.
Best time to visit
October – March
Best overallDry, 8–28°C, and comfortable for the long walking this city demands. Dev Deepawali in November, when the ghats are lit with lakhs of oil lamps, is the single best night of the year here. December and January mornings bring dense river fog.
April – June
Very hot42–45°C with high humidity, and the ghats are stone that holds heat. Difficult and worth avoiding unless you're restricted to these months.
July – September
MonsoonThe Ganga rises substantially and frequently submerges the lower ghats, which closes the riverside walk and moves cremations and the evening aarti to higher platforms. Boat rides are often suspended. Green and cheap, but you lose the main attraction.
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How to get there
By air
Lal Bahadur Shastri International (VNS) at Babatpur is 25km northwest, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. Direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, plus seasonal international service.
By train
Varanasi Junction (BSB, also called Varanasi Cantt) is the main station; Banaras (BSBS) and Mughalsarai / Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) also serve the city. The Vande Bharat from Delhi takes about 8 hours. Rail is the classic way to arrive here.
By road
About 800km and 12 to 14 hours from Delhi, 320km and 6 hours from Lucknow, 220km and 4 hours from Allahabad/Prayagraj. Buses run but the train is far better on these routes.
Getting around
The old city lanes are too narrow for cars and mostly too narrow for autos — you walk, and you will get lost, which is fine. App cabs and autos work on the outer roads. Cycle rickshaws are useful for the stretch between Godowlia and Assi. A boat is the best way to cover the ghats.
Things worth doing
Sunrise boat ride
The essential Varanasi experience. Push off from Assi or Dashashwamedh around 5:30am and drift north past the bathing ghats as the light comes up behind you. Shared boats are cheap; a private rowboat is worth the small extra. Insist on a rower, not a motor.
Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh
The nightly fire ceremony at around 6:30 to 7pm, performed by seven priests with tiered brass lamps. Enormously crowded. The best vantage is from a boat on the water rather than the steps, and you should be in position 45 minutes early either way.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
One of the twelve Jyotirlingas and the spiritual centre of the city, now approached through the wide new Vishwanath Corridor. Security is airport-grade — no phones, no bags, no leather. Queues of two hours are normal, longer on Mondays and festival days.
Walking the ghats, Assi to Manikarnika
Do this on foot in the late afternoon, slowly, with no plan. Wrestlers at Tulsi, laundry at Dhobi, cricket wherever there's flat stone, and then the intensity of Manikarnika. The most rewarding thing in Varanasi and it costs nothing.
Sarnath
Ten kilometres north, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. The Dhamek Stupa, the Ashokan pillar remains, and an excellent archaeological museum holding the original Lion Capital that became India's national emblem. Calm, green and a complete tonal break from the city.
Banaras Hindu University & Bharat Kala Bhavan
One of Asia's largest residential campuses, with a genuinely good art museum holding Mughal miniatures and early sculpture, plus the marble New Vishwanath Temple. Quiet, shaded, and a good midday refuge.
Silk weaving in Madanpura or Lallapura
Banarasi silk is a genuine craft with a GI tag, and the weaving is still done on pit looms in Muslim-quarter workshops. Visit a working loom rather than a showroom. Be aware that most 'Banarasi silk' sold to tourists is powerloom polyester.
Ramnagar Fort
Across the river on the east bank, an 18th-century Maratha fort still occupied by the former royal family, with a wonderfully neglected museum of vintage cars, palanquins and an astronomical clock. Crumbling, dusty and much better than the guidebooks suggest.
Where to stay
Assi Ghat
The southern end — more open, cleaner, easier to breathe, and where most foreign visitors stay. Morning yoga and music on the ghat, decent cafes, and a 25-minute walk or short rickshaw to the main ghats. The best base for a first visit.
Dashashwamedh & Godowlia
Absolute centre, next to the main aarti and the Vishwanath temple. Loud at all hours, hardest to navigate, and unbeatable for immersion. Choose this only if noise doesn't bother you.
Bengali Tola & Munshi Ghat
The lanes between Assi and Dashashwamedh, with restored haveli guesthouses looking straight onto the river. The sweet spot — atmospheric and walkable to everything without being in the middle of the crush.
Cantonment
North of the old city, wide roads, chain hotels, close to the station. Comfortable and completely disconnected from the reason you came. Fine for a transit night.
Sarnath
Ten kilometres out, quiet, green, with monastery guesthouses and Buddhist pilgrim infrastructure. A genuine option if the intensity of the old city is too much.
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What to eat
Kachori sabzi and jalebi
The Banarasi breakfast, from a street stall between 7 and 10am — fried kachori with a thin spiced potato curry, followed by hot jalebi. ₹50–80 and the best cheap meal in the city.
Banarasi tamatar chaat
Unlike chaat anywhere else — cooked tomato, mashed potato, spices and namkeen, served hot in a leaf bowl. Look for it around Kachori Gali in the evening. Distinctly local and not something you'll find elsewhere.
Malaiyo
A winter-only foam of milk left out overnight to collect dew, whipped and dusted with saffron and pistachio. Available roughly November to February, in the morning, and gone by midday. Genuinely unusual and worth planning for.
Banarasi paan
An institution, and the after-meal ritual here. Ask for a meetha paan without tobacco or supari if you're trying it for the first time. Deshi Paan Bhandar near Godowlia is one of the well-known shops.
Baati chokha
The Purvanchal staple — baked wheat balls with mashed roasted aubergine, tomato and potato, and plenty of mustard oil. Simple, filling, and a proper regional dish rather than a tourist one.
Lassi at Blue Lassi
A tiny shop in the lanes near Manikarnika, running since 1925, serving clay cups of thick lassi with fruit and nuts. Touristy and still good. ₹80–150.
What it costs
Ranges rather than single figures, because season swings prices here far more than anything you can control. Per person, assuming two people sharing a room.
| Item | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (per night) | ₹500 – 1,200 | ₹2,000 – 4,000 | ₹9,000+ |
| Food (per day) | ₹250 – 450 | ₹700 – 1,300 | ₹2,500+ |
| Local transport (per day) | ₹150 | ₹500 | ₹2,000 (car + driver) |
| Boats & entry (per day) | ₹200 | ₹800 | ₹2,000 |
| Realistic daily total | ₹1,100 – 2,000 | ₹4,000 – 6,600 | ₹15,500+ |
Day-by-day itinerary
Arrive, walk the ghats, evening aarti
Check in near Assi or Bengali Tola. Walk north along the ghats through the afternoon, going slowly and without a route. Be at Dashashwamedh by 6pm for the aarti, or watch it from a boat. Eat street food for dinner.
Sunrise boat, temple, silk
On the water by 5:30am — the defining hour of any Varanasi trip. Breakfast of kachori sabzi. Kashi Vishwanath mid-morning, accepting that the queue will be long. Afternoon at a silk weaving workshop or Ramnagar Fort across the river.
Sarnath
Out to Sarnath for the morning — the stupa, the ruins and the archaeological museum with the Lion Capital. Back for a final ghat walk at dusk. Sarnath is the right counterweight to two intense days in the old city.
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Practical tips
Do not photograph the cremations at Manikarnika or Harishchandra. These are functioning funerals with grieving families present. Watch respectfully from a distance and put the camera away — and note that anyone who offers to take you to a good photo spot 'for the wood fund' is running a well-established scam.
The old city lanes are unmapped in practice and you will get lost. Save your guesthouse's location offline, note the nearest ghat by name, and treat getting lost as part of it rather than an emergency.
Kashi Vishwanath has airport-level security. No phones, no bags, no leather belts or wallets — there are paid lockers outside. Allow two hours minimum, more on Mondays and during Shivratri.
Do not swim in or drink the river water here. Water quality at the ghats is poor by any measure. A dip is a personal decision; drinking it is not a reasonable risk.
Fix the boat price and the duration before you get in, and confirm whether it's per person or per boat. This is the most common overcharge in the city.
Unsolicited 'guides' attach themselves to visitors near the main ghats and become insistent. A firm, repeated no works. If you want a guide, book one through your hotel or a licensed agency.
In the monsoon, the river rises enough to submerge the lower ghats — the riverside walk closes, boats are often suspended, and the aarti moves. If the ghats are the point, come between October and March.
Common questions
How many days do I need in Varanasi?+
Two full days covers the ghats, a sunrise boat ride, the evening aarti and Kashi Vishwanath. A third day for Sarnath makes it a complete trip and gives you a break from the intensity. More than three and most people are just retreading the same ground.
Is Varanasi overwhelming?+
Yes, and you should expect that rather than hope otherwise. It's dense, loud, physically tiring and confronting — open cremation is part of daily street life here. Plan shorter days than you would elsewhere, stay near Assi Ghat where it's calmer, and build in downtime. Most people who dislike Varanasi tried to do too much on day one.
What's the best time for the boat ride, sunrise or sunset?+
Sunrise, decisively. The light comes from behind you onto the ghats, the bathing rituals are at their peak, the river is calm and it's cool. Sunset boats are mainly for viewing the aarti from the water, which is a different and also worthwhile thing. If you can, do both.
Can I photograph the cremation ghats?+
No. These are active funerals, families are present and grieving, and photography is both prohibited and offensive. You can observe quietly from a respectful distance. Be wary of anyone who offers to escort you to a viewing spot — this almost always ends in an aggressive demand for money 'for the cremation wood'.
Is Sarnath worth the trip?+
Yes. It's 10km out, it's where the Buddha gave his first sermon, and the museum holds the original Lion Capital of Ashoka that became India's national emblem. Beyond the significance, it's quiet and green in a way the old city never is, which makes it valuable as a half day even on a short trip.
Is Varanasi safe for tourists?+
Generally yes, with the usual caveats for a crowded Indian city. The recurring problems are commercial rather than violent: aggressive unofficial guides, boat overcharging, and silk shops selling powerloom polyester as handloom Banarasi. Keep valuables secure in the crush at the aarti, and be firm about declining unsolicited help.
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About this guide
Written and last reviewed on 2026-08-14 by Kishlay Kumar Kashyap. Prices, opening days and access rules change — if you find something out of date, let us know and we'll correct it. See our disclaimer for how to treat the cost and safety information above.