Varanasi is Indias silk weaving capital where centuries-old handloom traditions meet vibrant bazaars offering everything from shimmering Banarasi sarees to spiced street food creating an intoxicating blend of artisanship commerce and timeless cultural heritage along the sacred Ganges.
India: Varanasi – Banaras Hindu University
🕌 About Varanasi
Varanasi goes by several names — Benaras, Kashi, and probably a few others we never quite got straight. Indians have always had a fondness for giving their important cities multiple names, and to be fair, some of that renaming happened when they quite reasonably decided to ditch the colonial versions the British had saddled them with. Fair enough, frankly.
The city is old. Really, properly, mind-bogglingly old. It is widely considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, with its roots as a centre of learning and civilisation stretching back well over 3,000 years — which puts it rather humblingly ahead of most of Europe, including London. The American author Mark Twain visited in the 1890s and seemed genuinely stunned. He wrote that Benaras was older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend — and looked twice as old as all of them put together. He had a point.
At the heart of Varanasi flows the Ganges, the most sacred river in all of Hinduism. According to Hindu legend, Lord Shiva released the Ganges from the knot of his matted hair. For centuries, its annual floods enriched the soil of the central Gangetic plains and helped nurture some of the most prominent ancient civilisations India ever produced.
The legends surrounding Varanasi stretch back some 10,000 years, rooted in the oldest epics of Hindu literature — the Puranas, the Vedas and the Mahabharata. Varanasi is said to be the city of Lord Shiva, who walked here with his wife Parvati at the very beginning of time. It might also be the battlefield where Krishna set fire to a fraudulent impersonator of himself — impressive confidence, that — or the spot where Lord Rama came to do penance after slaying the demon Ravana. None of this can be proved, of course, and we’re not about to argue the point with anyone. What it does do is draw tens of millions of Hindu devotees to the city every year to bathe in the Ganges, which they believe has the power to wash away the sins of mortals. Some come here simply to die. Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi brings salvation — liberation from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth. It rather puts Eastbourne into perspective.
Varanasi isn’t significant only to Hindus. Just 10 kilometres away lies Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon after achieving enlightenment, around 528 BC, making it one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world. The city is also sacred to Jains, as it is believed to be the birthplace of Parsvanath, the twenty-third Tirthankar.
Given all that theological weight, it perhaps shouldn’t surprise anyone that Varanasi also became a centre of learning, healing and the arts. It is home to Benares Hindu University, one of the largest residential universities in Asia. Ayurvedic medicine is widely believed to have originated in this region. And Varanasi has long been famous for its extraordinary silk weaving — the gold and silver brocades produced here have been prized across India for centuries.
We arrived with very little real knowledge beyond what we’d picked up from television and the odd book. Nothing properly prepares you for the actual experience. On the less glamorous side, it is genuinely one of the noisiest, busiest and dirtiest places we have ever visited — and that does put some people off. But it is also one of the most astonishing places either of us has ever been. Every sense gets a proper working-over. We highly recommend putting Varanasi on your India itinerary. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
🛕 Hindu Temples
Varanasi has temples the way London has coffee shops — everywhere, and far too many to count. Estimates suggest somewhere around 3,000 within the city, with some accounts putting the broader figure closer to 23,000 across the wider area. Either way, you cannot walk ten paces without stumbling across one. One of our main reasons for coming here was to learn more about Hinduism — a religion we knew, if we’re honest, embarrassingly little about — so our second day was set aside for exploring the temples and soaking up as much of the culture as we could manage.
Still fighting jet lag, we were both awake far earlier than was decent. Karen, sensibly, signed up for the hotel’s rooftop yoga class. As it turned out, she was the only guest who’d bothered, so it ended up being just her and the yogi as the sun rose over the Ganges. Even I could see that was rather special — though I observed it from the room, obviously.
Our guide collected us and within literally a few steps of the hotel door we were already standing at the threshold of a temple. This is the thing about Varanasi — wherever you stop, you’re almost certainly on someone’s doorstep, and that doorstep usually belongs to somewhere sacred. We set off through streets so narrow and winding they felt designed specifically to defeat you. Walking around, you begin to appreciate just how densely packed this city of 1.2 million people actually is. The pavements — if they can be called that — require a particular kind of alert pedestrianism. You are simultaneously dodging rubbish, wandering cows, dogs and their collective contributions to the pavement, and scooter drivers who treat the whole business as a competitive sport with no rules. And yet, strangely, for a city of over a million people, you don’t actually see that many pedestrians. Where everyone goes, we genuinely couldn’t tell you.
🕉️ The Basics (Very Basic) of Hinduism
Right then. Before we go any further, we thought it was probably worth giving you a rough idea of what Hinduism is actually about, because wandering around one of the world’s most ancient religious sites without knowing even the basics felt a bit like turning up to a cricket match and not knowing what a wicket is. Embarrassing, frankly.
So here goes. Hinduism is, according to most scholars, the oldest religion on the planet. We’re talking roots and customs that stretch back more than 4,000 years — roughly to around 2,000 BCE, or possibly even earlier. To put that in perspective, it was already ancient history by the time the Romans turned up and started building roads everywhere. Today it’s the world’s third-largest religion, with around 1.15 billion followers — that’s roughly 15 to 16 percent of the entire global population. About 90 percent of those live in India, which makes sense, though there are significant Hindu communities across Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, East Africa, and, of course, in the suburbs of Leicester.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting — and a little mind-bending. Hinduism is said to have 33 million gods. Yes, million. Not a typo. But before you panic, these aren’t 33 million entirely separate beings — they’re largely seen as different expressions or manifestations of one single abstract Supreme Being. Think of it a bit like light passing through a prism: one source, many colours. There are, however, ten deities that come up again and again, and it’s worth knowing who they are.
🌸 Brahma is the first deity of the Hindu trinity and is considered the god of Creation — the one who, essentially, got the whole thing started.
🌀 Vishnu is the second of the trinity and is known as the Preserver. He’s the one keeping everything ticking along nicely, which sounds like a thankless task if you ask us.
⚡ Shiva completes the trinity as the Destroyer — which sounds alarming, but destruction in Hindu philosophy is more about transformation and renewal than just smashing things up, which is somewhat reassuring.
🐘 Ganesha is probably the most instantly recognisable of all Hindu deities, on account of having an elephant’s head. He is widely revered as the remover of obstacles and the god of new beginnings, which is why you’ll see his image absolutely everywhere.
🐒 Hanuman, depicted as a monkey, is another one you can’t miss. He represents devotion, strength, and loyalty, and is enormously popular across India.
💛 Krishna is one of the most powerful and beloved incarnations of Vishnu. He’s viewed not just as a hero and leader, but as a teacher and a friend — a rare combination that explains why he holds such a special place in so many people’s hearts.
🌑 Kali, also known as the Dark Mother, is perhaps the fiercest of all. She’s depicted with her tongue protruding, wearing a garland of skulls and a skirt of bones. Not the sort of deity you’d want to get on the wrong side of at a dinner party.
🏹 Rama is the model of reason and virtue — often described as the ideal man, embodying compassion, courage, devotion, and adherence to dharma. Basically everything the rest of us spend our lives trying and failing to manage.
🎶 Saraswati is the goddess of learning, music, art, and wisdom — arguably the most useful deity to have on your side if you’re a student or a musician.
⚔️ Durga, also known as “the Invincible,” is the Divine Mother who protects mankind from evil and misery by acting as the destructive force against jealousy, prejudice, hatred, and ego. Given the state of the world, she’s clearly been working overtime.
Beyond the deities, there are a few other things worth understanding. Hinduism is extraordinarily broad — sometimes described as a “family of religions” or simply “a way of life” rather than a single organised faith, which explains why it can accommodate such a staggering range of practices and beliefs under one roof. Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic, meaning that while followers worship a single supreme deity — Brahman — they fully recognise the existence of other gods and goddesses. There are, they believe, multiple paths to reaching god, which is a rather civilised approach when you think about it.
Central to Hindu belief are the doctrines of samsara — the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation — and karma, the universal law of cause and effect. The concept of atman, or the soul, holds that every living creature has one, and that all souls are ultimately part of the supreme soul. The goal is moksha — salvation — which ends the cycle of rebirths and allows one to become part of the absolute soul. No pressure.
Hindus strive to achieve dharma — a code of living that emphasises good conduct and morality. The Om and the Swastika are both symbols of Hinduism; the Swastika originally representing good luck, before Germany’s Nazi Party rather ruined that association by adopting it as their symbol in the 1920s. Cows are sacred, beef is largely off the menu, and many Hindus are vegetarian. Hinduism is also closely related to Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism — all of which emerged from the same remarkable cultural and philosophical tradition of the Indian subcontinent.
🏛️ Banaras Hindu University & the New Vishwanath Temple
From the centre of Varanasi’s old town we made our way out to Banaras Hindu University — or BHU, as it’s universally known. The university was established in 1916 by the great Indian nationalist and educationalist Madan Mohan Malaviya, who had spent years campaigning for an institution that would combine modern education with traditional Hindu values. It’s now one of the largest residential universities in Asia, sprawling across an enormous campus that feels almost like a small city in its own right. Quite the contrast to the narrow, chaotic lanes we’d just left behind.
Our real destination was the New Vishwanath Temple, sitting at the heart of the campus. And large is genuinely the right word for it — the structure is spectacular, its white marble soaring skyward and its elaborate stonework visible long before you reach the entrance. After the sensory overload of the old city, stepping into the temple grounds felt like someone had finally turned the volume down. We left our shoes at the shoe parking area — yes, that is exactly what it’s called, and no, we didn’t lose them — and made our way inside.
The interior was lavishly decorated in the way that only Hindu temples manage to be without tipping over into the merely garish. Everywhere we looked there was intricate carving, vivid colour, and the warm flicker of lamps. The halls were filled with what we initially assumed was recorded devotional music — the kind of thing piped in for ambience, like whale sounds in a spa. It turned out to be a live group of musicians, chanting and playing with obvious sincerity, which made us feel mildly foolish for the assumption. Our guide led us through several rooms, pausing at various shrines to explain their significance and offer us a little more insight into the Hindu faith. It was, all things considered, a genuinely illuminating visit — even for two people who had arrived knowing almost nothing.
🐒 …And More Temples
From Banaras Hindu University we crossed town to the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple — dedicated to Hanuman, the monkey deity, whom you’ll remember from our earlier crash course in Hinduism. The name “Sankat Mochan” translates roughly as “the one who frees you from troubles,” and the temple is one of the most beloved in all of Varanasi, drawing a near-constant stream of devotees throughout the day.
The security here was noticeably heavier than anything we’d encountered elsewhere in the city — bag searches, guards, barriers, the lot. There was a good reason for that. In March 2006, the temple was targeted in a bombing attack that killed 10 pilgrims and left another 40 injured, part of a series of coordinated blasts that struck Varanasi that day, including at the main railway station. One of the worst terrorist attacks the city had ever seen. The extra security felt entirely understandable, and nobody was complaining.
From there we headed back in the general direction of our hotel — though “general direction” is doing a lot of work in a city where every lane looks the same. We were dropped off a short distance away and left to walk, which turned out to be a very good decision. At a proper human pace, rather than clinging on in the back of a vehicle, you notice things. The smell of incense. Bells from somewhere you can’t quite locate. A cow standing with magnificent indifference in a lane barely wide enough for two people.
Our first stop on foot was a school for Brahman priests — not the sort of school you’d pick your child up from at half three on a Tuesday. This was a traditional institution dedicated to the study of the Vedas, the ancient Sanskrit scriptures that form the bedrock of Hindu religious knowledge, with roots stretching back to around 1500 BCE. The young men we found were deep into their studies, seated cross-legged and chanting texts in the manner Hindu priests have been doing for roughly three thousand years. They paid us absolutely no attention whatsoever, which was entirely fair. We were tourists gawping. They were doing something genuinely ancient and important.
Our final stop was the Shri Jagannath Ji Mandir Nrusinh Bhagwan Temple, tucked inside a small compound. After the grand scale of the New Vishwanath Temple, this one felt like a deliberate step in the opposite direction — and all the more affecting for it. The shrine at its centre was a simple wooden structure, almost startlingly modest compared to the marble and gilt we’d been seeing. It pays homage to Lord Jagannath — “Lord of the Universe” — considered a form of Vishnu, the Preserver. The symbols associated with Jagannath are genuinely curious, with a stylised, almost abstract quality quite unlike anything else in Hindu iconography. The word itself, incidentally, gave English the word “juggernaut,” derived from the enormous ceremonial chariots used during the Rath Yatra festival, which apparently left early European visitors somewhat overwhelmed. You can see their point.
What struck us most, though, was the people. Within the compound, several families and devotees actually live, their entire existence organised around the service and upkeep of the temple. Simple rooms, few possessions, daily life defined entirely by devotion and duty. These weren’t pilgrims passing through. This was just their life. We stood there quietly for a moment longer than strictly necessary, then made our way back to the hotel.
Watch the Aarti — A Spectacular Daily Religious Ceremony
The Ganga Aarti takes place every evening at Dashashwamedh Ghat — the most important of Varanasi’s eighty-seven ghats — and is one of the most extraordinary things we have ever watched. It begins after dark, which in Varanasi feels entirely appropriate.
Many visitors watch from boats on the Ganges, which is exactly what we did on our first evening. By the time we arrived, the water in front of the ghat was packed with vessels of every conceivable size, jostling for position with the cheerful aggression of a supermarket car park on Christmas Eve.
The ceremony honours Lord Shiva and is performed by seven immaculately turned-out young priests studying the Vedas and Upanishads. Standing on elaborately decorated platforms, they moved through forty-five minutes of perfectly choreographed ritual — mantra chanting, conch blowing, great clouds of incense, and at the centre of it all, the waving of a seven-tiered camphor lamp that resembles an inverted chandelier that someone has enthusiastically set on fire. In the darkness, with flames reflected across the Ganges, it was genuinely spectacular.
Equally compelling was the chaos surrounding us — boats constantly nudging for better positions while young men leapt between them in the dark, selling trinkets with frankly alarming athleticism. When it was all over, our oarsman navigated the resulting mayhem with calm expertise and delivered us safely back. We felt he deserved considerably more than we paid him.
We had already watched the Ganga Aarti from a boat on the river, but on our last night in Varanasi we decided to plant ourselves on the ghats instead. A decision we should probably have made considerably earlier in the trip.
The walk from our hotel to the ghat was a short stroll, and we arrived with enough time to secure a decent spot on the stone steps without too much jostling. Once settled, we did what any self-respecting visitor to Varanasi learns to do very quickly — we watched the people. Pilgrims, sadhus, tourists, persistent small boys selling things you absolutely don’t need. The full cast, assembled with impressive efficiency.
Watching the Aarti from the bank was an entirely different proposition to drifting past it on a boat. From the water it had been spectacular — fire, chanting, smoke drifting across the dark river. From the steps it was something altogether more intimate. We were close enough to take in the real detail of the ceremony — the precise, deliberate movements of the priests, the careful layering of each ritual sequence, the sheer weight of repetition that had turned the whole thing into something remarkably close to perfection.
The four priests moved through each phase in extraordinary synchrony — and one of them, we both noticed almost simultaneously, bore a quite uncanny resemblance to Kit Harington. Jon Snow, apparently moonlighting on the banks of the Ganges in ceremonial robes. We’re not entirely sure what that says about us as cultural tourists.
The forty-five minutes passed in what felt like about ten.
🚣 Take an Early Morning Boat Ride to Observe the Devotees Bathing in the Ganges
I’ll be honest — the idea of floating past people engaged in something as deeply personal as their morning devotional bathing felt a little awkward before we set off. There’s something inherently voyeuristic about it, isn’t there? A boatload of tourists drifting past with their cameras whilst people are trying to commune with the divine. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the whole business. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. Once we were out on the water, any self-conscious discomfort evaporated fairly quickly, replaced by something closer to quiet wonder.
We were up early — earlier than either of us would have chosen, left to our own devices — and when we pulled back the curtains and peered out towards the Ganges, which was barely a hundred feet from our window, we couldn’t see a blessed thing. Varanasi had disappeared overnight beneath a thick, impenetrable blanket of fog. The river, the ghats, the far bank — gone, the lot of it. The plan for the morning had been to take a boat along the riverfront to watch the daily rituals of the Hindu devotees and pilgrims who come down to the ghats at dawn to bathe in the holy waters — a practice that has been going on here, without interruption, for thousands of years. In the pea soup that greeted us that morning, the prospects for this did not look especially promising.
So, after breakfast — and having quietly resigned ourselves to the possibility that the whole thing might be called off — we were pleasantly surprised to find our tour guide waiting for us, apparently entirely untroubled by the weather and ready to proceed. Fair enough. We headed down towards the riverbank in good spirits.
It was at this point that Karen found what turned out to be an extraordinarily slippery patch of ground and went down like a sack of wet cement. We strongly suspect the culprit was a fresh contribution from one of the water buffaloes that wander the ghats with magnificent indifference to everyone around them, which the morning mist had rendered essentially invisible to the human foot. She was, shall we say, not at her most fragrant. In fairness, the general olfactory atmosphere along the Ganges at that hour would have provided reasonable cover for almost anything — but nobody particularly wants to spend an hour on a small rowing boat in that condition, so she headed back to the room to change. Take two.
We made our way back down to the dock, this time rather more attentive to what we were walking through, and clambered aboard our little rowing boat. The oarsman pushed us off from the ghat and we nosed out into the current, keeping close to the shore as the fog showed absolutely no intention of lifting. Through the grey murk, shapes began to emerge — figures standing waist-deep in the river, others kneeling at the water’s edge, some in silent prayer, some moving through rituals passed down through generations. The atmosphere was extraordinary. We hadn’t planned on fog, obviously, but it lent the whole scene a quality that sharp sunlight could never have managed — something hushed and ancient and slightly otherworldly, as if we had accidentally rowed back several centuries and hadn’t quite noticed.
After perhaps half a mile, our guide tapped the oarsman on the shoulder and indicated we should pull in to shore. From here, we would continue the rest of the tour on foot
🙏 Look Out for the Holy Men
Varanasi draws millions of Hindu pilgrims every year — and has been doing so, more or less without a break, for the better part of three thousand years. They come to pray, to contemplate, to bathe in the sacred Ganges, and in some cases, as we mentioned earlier, simply to die in a state of grace. It is, by any measure, one of the most spiritually charged cities on earth, and the weight of that devotion is something you feel almost immediately upon arriving — even if, like us, you turned up slightly bewildered and clutching a guidebook.
Among the vast and constantly shifting tide of pilgrims and worshippers, you will find the holy men — the sadhus and priests who have dedicated their lives entirely to spiritual practice. They are not difficult to spot. Many are dressed in saffron or ochre robes, some are smeared in ash, a few sport extraordinarily elaborate arrangements of dreadlocked hair piled high on their heads in a style that makes your average music festival attendee look rather conservative by comparison. Some sit in deep meditation on the ghats, apparently impervious to the noise and chaos swirling around them, which, given the general racket of Varanasi, is an achievement worthy of considerable respect.
As you wander along the riverfront and through the narrow lanes of the old city — and wandering is really the only sensible approach, since no map or plan survives contact with Varanasi for very long — you will encounter these men going quietly about their business. Some will be in prayer, some performing rituals at the water’s edge, others simply sitting and watching the river as it rolls past, as people here have done since long before anyone thought to write any of it down. There is no theatre to it, no performance for the tourist trade. They are simply getting on with it, which is precisely what makes it so compelling to watch.
It is all part of the extraordinarily rich and layered fabric of daily life in Varanasi — and it is, frankly, one of the things that makes this deeply improbable city so utterly unlike anywhere else we have ever been.
Planning Your Visit to Varanasi
📍 Location
Varanasi lies in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, roughly 820 km from Delhi. The city straddles the Ganges, bounded by two tributaries — the Varuna and the Assi rivers — from which its name derives. It divides naturally into the Old City, a dense, labyrinthine quarter of narrow alleys and ancient temples that stretches back from the riverbank, and a more modern New City further inland.
The famous ghats — broad stone steps descending to the river — line the entire western bank, stretching for several kilometres. There are more than 80 of them in total, each with its own character and religious significance. The city of Sarnath, where the Buddha is said to have delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, lies just 10 km to the north and makes an easy and worthwhile half-day excursion.
✈️ Getting There
By Air The nearest airport is Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (airport code: VNS), located in Babatpur, approximately 26 km northwest of the city centre. It operates domestic flights connecting Varanasi to major Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. A number of international flights also operate through the airport. For international visitors, flying into Delhi or Mumbai and then taking a connecting domestic flight is the most common approach. From the airport, taxis, auto-rickshaws, and app-based cabs such as Ola and Uber are readily available for the journey into the city.
By Train The train is widely considered the most practical and atmospheric way to travel across India, and Varanasi is exceptionally well connected by rail. Varanasi Junction (also called Varanasi Cantonment, station code: BSB) is the main station, situated a few kilometres from the Ganges, with direct services from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, and many other cities. The Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express services from Delhi take roughly 8 to 12 hours. Banaras (Manduadih) station handles additional services and eases congestion. From either station, cycle rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, and taxis are plentiful.
By Road Varanasi is accessible via National Highways NH19 and NH31. State-run UPSRTC buses and private operators including luxury Volvo and air-conditioned sleeper coaches connect the city to Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Kanpur, Agra, and Jaipur, among others. If you are already in Prayagraj (Allahabad), Varanasi is just 120 km away by road. Road travel can be rewarding for those who enjoy the scenery of the Gangetic plain, though traffic on the approach to the city can be heavy.
🛺 Getting Around
Varanasi is best explored on foot, particularly the Old City, where the narrow, winding lanes — known as galis — are impassable for most motor vehicles. Getting pleasantly lost in this maze is very much part of the experience.
Cycle Rickshaws are the most charming and practical way to meander through the old quarters, moving at a pace that allows you to absorb the sights, sounds, and smells. They can access areas where motorised vehicles cannot travel, making them especially useful around the ghats and temple districts.
Auto-Rickshaws are ubiquitous and useful for covering medium distances, such as reaching Sarnath or the railway station. Always agree on a fare before you set off, as meters are rarely used.
Electric Rickshaws (E-Rickshaws) have become increasingly common in the city and offer a quieter, cleaner alternative to petrol auto-rickshaws. They are a good option for short to medium journeys.
App-Based Taxis such as Ola and Uber operate in Varanasi and offer the reassurance of fixed fares, particularly useful for journeys to and from the airport or railway stations.
Boats are the ideal way to see the ghats from the river, and every visitor should take at least one boat trip on the Ganges. Rowing boats can be hired privately from the ghats, or you can join a shared tour. The sunrise trip — setting out before dawn — is considered particularly special, as the city wakes slowly and pilgrims begin their morning rituals at the water’s edge.
🙏 The Ghats
The ghats are the soul of Varanasi. Built over the 18th and 19th centuries, the great stone riverbanks are lined with pavilions, palaces, and temples, rising dramatically from the water. Each ghat has its own history and purpose.
Dashashwamedh Ghat is the most famous and most visited — a spectacular place at any time of day, and the site of the nightly Ganga Aarti ceremony, when priests perform an elaborate ritual of fire, incense, chanting, and ringing bells that draws enormous crowds of pilgrims and visitors alike. Arriving early to secure a good vantage point, either on the steps or from a boat, is strongly recommended.
Manikarnika Ghat and Harishchandra Ghat are the principal cremation ghats, where funeral pyres burn around the clock every day of the year. This is one of the most viscerally powerful sights in all of India — an open, public, and entirely unselfconscious enactment of death and release. Dozens of cremations take place here daily.
Assi Ghat, at the southern end of the main waterfront, is a more relaxed and sociable spot popular with students, pilgrims, and travellers. A Shiva lingam under an ancient peepal tree marks this as a place of particular sanctity.
Best Time to Visit Varanasi
Varanasi — also known as Kashi or Benares — is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and the spiritual heart of India. Perched on the western banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, it draws pilgrims, travellers, and seekers throughout the year. However, the experience varies dramatically depending on the season, so choosing when to visit can make an enormous difference to your trip.
🌸 Spring (March–April)
Spring marks the transition between the cool, comfortable winter and the punishing heat of summer. In March, temperatures are still relatively pleasant — typically between 20°C and 30°C — making early spring a reasonable time to visit if you missed the peak winter season. The city feels fresh, the ghats are uncrowded compared to winter, and accommodation prices begin to fall.
By April, however, the heat starts to build noticeably. Daytime temperatures push towards 35°C and above, with humidity beginning to creep up. Mornings remain the most comfortable time for boat rides and ghat walks. The festival of Holi, usually celebrated in March, brings explosive colour to the streets of Varanasi and is one of the most spectacular ways to experience the city’s festive spirit.
What to pack: Lightweight cotton or linen clothing in loose fits, a wide-brimmed hat or cap, high-SPF sunscreen, UV-protective sunglasses, a reusable insulated water bottle, a light cotton scarf or dupatta (useful at temples), comfortable breathable walking shoes, and a thin cardigan or layer for cooler early mornings in March.
☀️ Summer (May–June)
Summer in Varanasi is intense. Temperatures regularly soar to 42°C–45°C, with hot, dry winds known locally as loo sweeping across the plains. This is the least popular season for tourism, and for good reason — the heat can be genuinely debilitating during the middle of the day. Outdoor activities such as ghat walks and boat rides are best undertaken before 8am or after 6pm.
That said, summer has its own quiet appeal. The crowds thin considerably, hotel prices drop, and those who are comfortable with high temperatures may find a more intimate, unhurried encounter with the city’s temples and alleyways. The spiritual life of Varanasi continues unabated regardless of the season, and the morning and evening Ganga Aarti ceremonies remain as moving as ever.
What to pack: Ultra-lightweight, breathable cotton or linen in light colours, a wide-brimmed hat, UV-protection sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen (SPF 50+), lip balm with SPF, a large insulated water bottle, oral rehydration salts or electrolyte tablets, cooling towels, comfortable sandals and walking shoes, and a small battery-powered handheld fan.
🌧️ Monsoon (July–September)
The monsoon arrives in Varanasi in late June or early July, bringing blessed relief from the summer heat. Temperatures ease to between 25°C and 35°C, but humidity levels rise sharply, making the air thick and steamy. Rainfall ranges from moderate to heavy, and the Ganges swells dramatically — sometimes flooding the lower steps of the ghats entirely.
Despite the rain, Varanasi during the monsoon has a brooding, atmospheric beauty that photographers particularly prize. The skies are dramatic, the light extraordinary, and the city takes on a quieter, more contemplative mood. Rivers of marigolds float downstream during religious observances, and the reflections on the water are stunning. Budget travellers benefit from significantly reduced hotel rates. The main drawbacks are the risk of disrupted travel, waterlogged streets, and the possibility that some ghat areas become inaccessible.
What to pack: Quick-dry clothing in synthetic or moisture-wicking fabrics, a compact waterproof rain jacket or packable poncho, a sturdy compact umbrella, waterproof sandals or quick-dry shoes (avoid leather), a dry bag or waterproof pouch for electronics, insect repellent (DEET-based), anti-malarial medication if advised by your GP, and a small first-aid kit with anti-diarrhoeal tablets.
🍂 Autumn (October–November)
Autumn is the shoulder season that bridges monsoon and winter, and it is one of the most rewarding times to visit. The rains taper off through October, the air becomes clearer, temperatures cool to a very comfortable 18°C–28°C, and the festival calendar reaches a glorious peak. October brings the celebration of Navratri and Dussehra, while November is dominated by Diwali and, most spectacularly, Dev Deepawali.
Dev Deepawali — celebrated on the full moon in November, fifteen days after Diwali — is arguably the single most extraordinary event in Varanasi’s calendar. The entire riverfront is illuminated by over a million earthen lamps (diyas), and the ghats throng with pilgrims, priests, and visitors. Boat rides during this event offer an unforgettable panorama of light reflected across the dark Ganges. Accommodation books up quickly during October and November, so advance planning is essential.
What to pack: Lightweight layers for daytime warmth (20°C–28°C), a medium-weight fleece or jumper for evenings as November progresses, comfortable walking shoes, modest attire for temple visits (shoulders and knees covered), a compact day pack, a camera or smartphone with good low-light capability for festival photography, and earplugs (the city is vibrantly noisy during festivals).
❄️ Winter (December–February)
Winter is unequivocally the most popular season to visit Varanasi, and it earns that reputation. Temperatures drop to between 5°C and 20°C, with cool, crisp days ideal for exploring the ghats, navigating the winding old city lanes, visiting Sarnath (where the Buddha delivered his first sermon), and attending the Ganga Aarti in comfort. January mornings can feel quite cold — often below 10°C — and the river is frequently shrouded in ethereal mist at dawn, which lends sunrise boat rides a particularly magical quality.
Festivals continue to animate the city in winter. Makar Sankranti in January is marked by kite flying and holy dips in the Ganges. Shivratri, usually in February or March, is one of Varanasi’s most sacred observances and draws vast numbers of pilgrims to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The downside of winter is simple: it is the peak season, meaning prices are higher, accommodation must be booked well in advance, and popular spots can be considerably crowded.
What to pack: Warm layers including thermal base layers, a medium to heavyweight fleece or woollen jumper, a down or padded jacket for early mornings, a warm scarf, gloves and a beanie for January, comfortable walking shoes or boots, modest conservative clothing for temple visits, hand warmers for early morning river excursions, and a compact torch or head torch for pre-dawn boat departures.
🗓️ Summary Table
🌟 Overall Best Time to Visit
For most travellers, the window from late October through to early March represents the sweet spot for visiting Varanasi. The weather is at its most accommodating, the city’s festival calendar is at its richest, and the conditions for experiencing the ghats — whether at dawn, dusk, or by lamplight — are at their finest. Within this window, November stands out as the single strongest month, combining the tail of the autumn festival season (Dev Deepawali in particular), comfortable temperatures, and a beautiful post-monsoon freshness in the air. December and January offer the quintessential cool-season Varanasi experience with the added enchantment of river mist at sunrise. Those travelling on a budget, or with a particular interest in monsoon atmosphere and dramatic skies, may find the quieter months of August and September surprisingly rewarding — provided they come prepared for heat, humidity, and rain.
Where to stay?
1. Amritara Suryauday Haveli
Perched on the sacred banks of the Ganges at Shivala Ghat, Amritara Suryauday Haveli is one of Varanasi’s most enchanting heritage stays. The haveli traces its history back to the early 20th century, originally built by the Royal Family of Nepal as a retreat for the aged, and has since been painstakingly restored to offer an authentic ghat experience in Banaras. Housed in a refurbished fort-style mansion, the property is just a 15-minute walk from the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple, yet feels like a world apart from the city’s bustle. Guests are treated to serene river views, live classical music, and complimentary boat rides, while the rooftop terrace makes for a magical perch to watch the sun dip over the Ganges. With only 14 individually decorated rooms, the haveli offers an intimate, almost personal atmosphere — part heritage retreat, part spiritual sanctuary.
2. BrijRama Palace
Perched regally on the banks of the sacred Ganges, BrijRama Palace in Varanasi is a living testament to India’s regal past. Originally built in the 18th century as a Maharaja’s residence, this magnificent heritage property has been lovingly restored into one of India’s most celebrated luxury hotels. With its ornate sandstone façade, soaring arched corridors, and rooms adorned with hand-painted frescoes and antique furnishings, every corner tells a story. Guests wake up to breathtaking sunrise views over the Ghat, the river shimmering gold as priests perform their morning rituals below. More than just a hotel, BrijRama Palace offers an immersive window into Varanasi’s spiritual soul — where ancient tradition and refined elegance coexist in perfect, timeless harmony.
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