Varanasi
Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth. Built along the Ganga, it is Hinduism's holiest city — a place of pilgrimage, ritual cremation, and extraordinary everyday life. It's where boatmen are philosophers and where a morning on the ghats is worth more than any museum.
The ghats are the city. Eighty-eight of them, stepping down from the narrow lanes of the old city to the Ganga. At dawn, before the tour groups arrive, the ghats belong to the Varanasi that has existed for three thousand years — pilgrims performing puja, wrestlers training at Tulsi Ghat, boats pushed off into the mist.
The lanes behind the ghats are a labyrinth. You will get lost. This is the point. The lanes lead to silk weavers, to temples barely wide enough for one person, to tea stalls that have been operating since before independence. Stay in the old city if you can — waking up to the bells and the river is the whole experience.
The Banaras Hindu University campus is worth an afternoon — peaceful and tree-lined, it feels like a different city. The Ramnagar Fort across the river is undervisited. And if you're here in November, the Dev Deepawali festival turns the entire riverfront into ten thousand lamps floating on water.
How to reach Varanasi
Top attractions in Varanasi
Assi Ghat
Open 24 hours; Ganga Aarti at 6am and 7pmKashi Vishwanath Temple
3am–11pm (6 sessions daily)Dashashwamedh Ghat
Always open. Evening aarti at sunset (~6:30pm Oct–Mar, ~7pm Apr–Sep)Banaras Hindu University
Campus open to visitors 8am–6pm. Bharat Kala Bhavan museum: 10:30am–4:30pm (closed Sun)From the blog — Varanasi
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, with the usual urban caveats. The ghats are well-patrolled. The lanes can be disorienting — use Maps and let yourself get lost. Tuk-tuk drivers near Dashashwamedh Ghat will try to overcharge; negotiate firmly or use Ola.
Three days is the minimum to understand it. Day one: arrive at dawn, spend the morning on the ghats, the afternoon in the lanes. Day two: hire a boat at 5am, visit BHU campus, Sarnath in the afternoon. Day three: the Ramnagar Fort and an evening Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh.
A nightly fire ritual at Dashashwamedh Ghat — seven priests with camphor lamps and incense, synchronized movements, drums and bells. Starts around sunset, lasts 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes early to get a position with sightlines. The version done at Assi Ghat at dawn is smaller and more intimate.
Your local insider
Arjun Mehta
Varanasi, India
Born and raised on the ghats of Varanasi, Arjun is a classical sitarist and Sanskrit scholar who has watched his city become a pilgrimage destination for tourists trying to find themselves. His guide focuses on what actually matters — the music, the rituals, and the tea stalls that have been there for a century.
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