Varanasi: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

Now in Varanasi--:--:--

--°

Varanasi, also called Kashi and Banaras, is one of the oldest living cities in the world and the holiest city of Hinduism, the city of Shiva on the sacred Ganges. Along its western bank some eighty stone stairways, the ghats, lead down to the river, where pilgrims bathe and the dead are burned. Hindus believe that to die here is to be freed from the cycle of rebirth. Two to three hours, starting before sunrise; a boat along the river is the best way to begin.

Live camera

All cameras in town (2) ▾

A short history of Varanasi

Varanasi, also called Kashi and Benares, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the holiest city for Hindus. According to tradition, the Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath, about ten kilometres from here, in the 6th or 5th century BC. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple was destroyed several times, the last in 1669 on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb, and the present temple was built in 1780 by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar. Banaras Hindu University was founded in the city in 1916. On the ghats, the stone steps leading down to the Ganges, the dead have been cremated for thousands of years.

The ten best sights in Varanasi

1
Godowlia
The crossing where the cars stop and the lanes begin
2
Dashashwamedh Ghat
The evening Ganga Aarti of fire
3
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
The golden temple of Shiva; phones and bags stay outside
4
Gyanvapi Mosque
The mosque beside the temple
5
Manikarnika Ghat
The burning ghat; no photographs
6
Scindia Ghat
A temple sinking into the river
7
Panchganga Ghat
Where five rivers are said to meet
8
Kedar Ghat
A red-and-white striped temple on the steps
9
Harishchandra Ghat
The second cremation ghat
10
Chet Singh Ghat
A fort on the river

sleepntripWonders of the world12 wonders, and a hotel near each

For every wonder: a nearby city, a route and a hotel up to $80.

To the wonders

What is an audio walk?

Tours in Varanasi →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Varanasi:

Free walking tours in Varanasi

The ghats at dawn

Assi Ghat · The southern end of the ghats, where every morning before sunrise a ceremony of prayer, fire and classical music greets the day, followed by yoga on the steps. Boatmen wait here to row you north along the river as the sun comes up over the far bank.
Chet Singh Ghat · A fortress of the eighteenth century on the river, where Raja Chet Singh of Benares fought the British East India Company in 1781 and escaped down the river, it is said, on a rope of turbans.
Harishchandra Ghat · One of the two burning ghats, named after a legendary king who, to keep a promise, worked here as a keeper of the cremation ground. Wood pyres burn beside an electric crematorium built for the poor.
Kedar Ghat · A ghat of the South Indian community, with a temple to Shiva whose steps are painted in bold red and white stripes, a landmark seen from every boat.
Dashashwamedh Ghat · The main ghat, where legend says the god Brahma sacrificed ten horses. Every evening at dusk young priests perform the Ganga Aarti here, swinging great brass lamps of fire to bells and chanting before thousands on the steps and in boats on the river.
Manikarnika Ghat · The great burning ghat, where bodies wrapped in cloth are carried through the lanes, dipped in the Ganges and burned on pyres day and night. The fire is said not to have gone out for thousands of years. Watch quietly from a distance, and never photograph the cremations.

The lanes and the golden temple

Behind the ghats lies a maze of narrow lanes, the galis, too narrow for cars, where cows, pilgrims and funeral processions squeeze past shops of silk, sweets and flowers. Two hours; it is easy and normal to get lost.

Godowlia · The busy crossing where cars, rickshaws and cows meet and the old city begins. From here the lanes run down to the river, and walking is the only way on.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple · The temple of Shiva as lord of the universe, one of the twelve holiest shrines of Shiva in India. The present temple was built in 1780 by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar, and its spire was covered with gold given by the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh in 1835. A wide corridor to the river was opened in 2021.
Gyanvapi Mosque · A mosque built in 1669 under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the site of an earlier Vishwanath temple, whose old walls can still be seen in its back. It stands right beside the temple and is the subject of a long legal and religious dispute; it is heavily guarded.
Blue Lassi · A tiny shop that has made lassi, thick yoghurt with fruit, in clay cups since 1925, on the lane where funeral processions pass on their way to Manikarnika — Varanasi’s mix of everyday life and death in one alley.
Scindia Ghat · Beside the burning ghat, a temple of Shiva that sank into the river soon after it was built in the nineteenth century, under the weight of the ghat; it still leans, half submerged in the water.
Panchganga Ghat · Where five rivers are believed to meet the Ganges, three of them invisible. Above it stands the Alamgir mosque of Aurangzeb, whose minarets once rose high over the whole river front.

Sarnath and the far bank

Just outside Varanasi is Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first teaching; south of the city stand a great university, temples full of monkeys and the Maharaja’s fort across the river. A full day by car or rickshaw.

Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath · In the deer park of Sarnath, about two and a half thousand years ago, the Buddha gave his first sermon to five companions after his enlightenment, setting the wheel of the teaching in motion. The great brick stupa marks the spot; pilgrims from Tibet, Thailand and Japan walk around it in prayer.
Sarnath Museum · Here stands the lion capital of the emperor Ashoka, carved in the third century BCE: four lions back to back on a wheel. It became the national emblem of India, printed on every banknote, and the wheel is in the middle of the Indian flag.
Banaras Hindu University · Founded in 1916 by Madan Mohan Malaviya, a leader of the independence movement, it is one of the largest residential universities in Asia, a green campus of its own on the south side of the city.
Bharat Kala Bhavan · The university museum of Indian art, with miniature paintings, sculpture and the silk brocades for which Varanasi has been famous for centuries — the Banarasi saris woven with gold and silver thread.
Sankat Mochan Temple · A temple of Hanuman, the monkey god, founded by the poet Tulsidas, who wrote the most loved Hindi version of the Ramayana in Varanasi. Monkeys roam its grounds, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays it is crowded with worshippers.
Ramnagar Fort · Across the river, the eighteenth-century fort of the Maharajas of Benares, who still live in part of it. Every autumn the town stages the Ramlila, a performance of the Ramayana that lasts a whole month, played across the streets of the town.

sleepntripMystery worldPlaces whose story is not over yet

The moai, the Nazca lines, Göbekli Tepe and more.

To the mystery world

Getting to Varanasi and getting around

Varanasi Airport · About an hour from the ghats
Varanasi Junction · Night trains to Delhi, Agra and Kolkata

Cheap eats in Varanasi

Varanasi eats vegetarian street food: kachori sabzi, puffed fried bread with spiced potato, for breakfast; jalebi in syrup; chaat of every kind; thick lassi in clay cups; in winter malaiyyo, a milk foam whipped overnight in the dew; and after a meal, Banarasi paan, betel leaf folded around spices. Almost everything costs under a dollar.

Blue Lassi · Lassi and malaiyyo in the lanes
Godowlia · Kachori and chaat stalls
Assi Ghat · Chai on the steps at dawn

Museums in Varanasi

Varanasi’s museums hold the art of India and the emblem of the nation.

Sarnath Museum · Ashoka’s lions
Bharat Kala Bhavan · Miniatures and silk
Ramnagar Fort · The Maharaja’s museum

Nature and day trips near Varanasi

The Ganges is the nature of Varanasi: the river at dawn, the empty sandbanks of the eastern shore, and the deer park of Sarnath.

Assi Ghat · A boat at sunrise
Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath · The deer park
Banaras Hindu University · A green campus

Things to do in Varanasi with kids

With children: a boat on the river, the fire ceremony, monkeys at the temple and kites over the rooftops.

Dashashwamedh Ghat · The fire ceremony from a boat
Sankat Mochan Temple · Monkeys
Ramnagar Fort · A fort across the river

Holy places in Varanasi

The holiest city of the Hindus, where the Buddha first taught, and where mosques stand among the temples.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple · The golden temple of Shiva
Manikarnika Ghat · The eternal fire
Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath · The first sermon
Durga Temple · The red goddess temple

Nightlife in Varanasi

Varanasi is a holy city with little alcohol; its night is the Ganga Aarti, music on the ghats and the river by lamplight.

Dashashwamedh Ghat · The evening Aarti
Assi Ghat · Cafés and music

sleepntripFree with every roomThree audio walks in every city

A guide in your headphones, stop after stop.

To the walks

Frequently asked questions about Varanasi

What is there to see in Varanasi?

The top sights in Varanasi are Godowlia, Dashashwamedh Ghat and Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Varanasi?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Varanasi without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Varanasi?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Varanasi, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The ghats at dawn.

How do you get to Varanasi and get around?

The main ways are Varanasi Airport and Varanasi Junction. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Varanasi, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Varanasi that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Varanasi for your dates?

Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.

All hotels in Varanasi

Plan a trip across IndiaA journey of colors and flavors→