Varanasi Travel Guide

Varanasi, known to Hindus as Kashi and historically as Banaras, is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities and a cornerstone of India's spiritual tourism, on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh. For Hindus it is the holiest city of all, the city of Shiva, where pilgrims come to bathe in the sacred river and where many hope to be cremated so the soul is released from the cycle of rebirth.

For travellers it is India at its most intense and most profound: a labyrinth of lanes, temples and riverside ghats where the rituals of life and death happen in the open. This guide covers how to experience it well, and respectfully.

Varanasi is famous for the Ganges and its ghats, the long flights of stone steps where the whole life of the city meets the river: pilgrims bathing at dawn, the nightly fire ceremony of the Ganga Aarti, and the open-air cremations that make this the place Hindus most wish to die. It is the city of the golden Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of the holiest Shiva shrines in India, and one of the world's oldest living cities. It is also known as a centre of ancient learning — Sanskrit, the Vedas, music and yoga — and for Banarasi silk sarees and classical music.

Almost everything in Varanasi orbits the river, and two experiences define a visit. The first is the sunrise boat ride: setting out on the Ganges in the dark and watching the city wake as the sun comes up behind the ghats, pilgrims bathing and praying along the water. The second is the Ganga Aarti, the ceremony of fire and light performed each evening at Dashashwamedh Ghat, when priests move great lamps in unison to bells and chanting before a crowd of thousands. Do the Aarti on your first evening and the boat ride the next dawn, and you have the heart of Varanasi.

At Manikarnika, the main burning ghat, cremations take place around the clock. Visitors may watch quietly from a distance, but photography of the pyres and families is not permitted and is deeply disrespectful. Be aware, too, of well-known scams around these ghats: people asking for money for funeral wood or for a hospice for the dying.

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor opened a broad walkway between the golden temple and the river, easing what was once a cramped approach through the lanes.

About 10 kilometres from the ghats, Sarnath is where the Buddha gave his first sermon after enlightenment, one of the four great pilgrimage sites of Buddhism. Its quiet stupas and museum are a calm counterpoint to the intensity of the river, and make an easy half-day trip.

Varanasi is a vegetarian holy city, so no meat or alcohol, but the street food is legendary: kachori sabzi for breakfast, tamatar chaat, and a thick lassi in a clay cup at one of the old lassi houses. The city is equally famous for Banarasi silk, the gold-woven saree that is a craft in its own right and the classic thing to carry home.

October to March is the season, with cool, clear mornings ideal for the sunrise boat ride. Two occasions are extraordinary if you can time them: Dev Deepawali, when the ghats are lit with thousands of oil lamps, and Maha Shivratri, the great night of Shiva. April to June is punishing, and during the monsoon the Ganges can rise high enough to submerge the lower ghats and suspend the boat rides.

For where to stay, the choice is between the ghats and the city. A ghat-side heritage hotel or guesthouse puts you steps from the river, so you can walk to the evening Aarti and step straight into your dawn boat. The cantonment area, nearer the station and airport, is quieter and greener but a drive from the river. For a first visit, stay by the ghats.

Varanasi is safe for visitors, but it is the most intense city in India and it helps to arrive prepared. The old lanes are a close, dark labyrinth shared with cows, bulls, dogs and motorbikes, and first-timers often find the first evening overwhelming. Dress modestly, as befits a holy city. The single best thing you can do is walk with a knowledgeable local guide, who turns the chaos into meaning and keeps the touts at bay.

More than anywhere in India, Varanasi is made or broken by your guide. The difference between a bewildering, tout-heavy first evening and a profound one is a person beside you who knows the lanes, reads the rituals, times the boat to the light and the Aarti to the crowd, and handles the etiquette of the cremation ghats with respect. Our founder began his career as a guide in the temple town of Vrindavan, in Uttar Pradesh's spiritual heartland, which is where our guide-first way of working began.

Experience My India was founded in 2018 and has hosted more than 50,000 guests from over 35 countries, with in-house specialists, a private transport fleet and a network of local guides across India.