Varanasi
Varanasi, or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
Varanasi, or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. The city also has a syncretic tradition of Islamic artisanship that underpins its religious tourism. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres (430 mi) to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi and 320 kilometres (200 mi) to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow. It lies 121 kilometres (75 mi) downstream of Prayagraj, where the confluence with the Yamuna river is another major Hindu pilgrimage site.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Varanasi
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University, formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. It is ranked amongst the most prestigious universities of the country.
6.1 km · University in Uttar Pradesh, India · Wikipedia - 02Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
900 m · Hindu temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India · Wikipedia - 03Gyanvapi Mosque
The Gyanvapi Mosque is a mosque located in Varanasi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The site was originally an ancient Hindu temple of Shiva or "Kashi Vishveshwara", one of the twelve sacred Jyotirlingas.
900 m · Mosque in India · Wikipedia - 04Roman Catholic Diocese of Varanasi
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Varanasi is a Latin Church suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Agra in northern India's state of Uttar Pradesh. Its episcopal see is St.
3.2 km · diocese of the Catholic Church in India · Wikipedia - 05Sarnath Museum
Sarnath Museum, or Archaeological Museum Sarnath, is the oldest site museum of the Archaeological Survey of India. It houses the findings and excavations at the archaeological site of Sarnath, by the Archaeological Survey of India.
6.8 km · archaeological museum in Saranath · Wikipedia - 06Alamgir Mosque
The Alamgir Mosque, also known as the Aurangzeb's Mosque, is a mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The mosque is located at a prominent site above the Panchaganga Ghat.
600 m · mosque in Varanasi, India · Wikipedia - 07New Vishwanath Temple
Shri Vishwanath Mandir also known as Vishwanath Mandir, Vishwanath Temple, New Vishwanath Temple and Birla Temple is another prominent Hindu temple in the holy city of Varanasi. Hindus across India and abroad visit this particular Lord Shiva temple to offer prayer to the Lord Vishwanath for the well-being of their families, and eternal peace.
6.4 km · temple in India · Wikipedia - 08Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya is an Indian university and institution of higher learning located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the largest Sanskrit universities in the world.
2.2 km · state public university in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India · Wikipedia - 09Manikarnika Ghat
Manikarnika Ghat is one of the oldest and sacred ghats on the banks of the River Ganges, in the city of Varanasi in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is included in the 84 ghats of Varanasi.
900 m · Hindu shrine and open crematorium · Wikipedia - 10Durga Mandir, Varanasi
Durga Mandir, also known as Durga Kund Mandir and Durga Temple, is one of the most famous temples in the holy city of Varanasi. This temple has great religious importance in Hinduism and is dedicated to Durga.
3.6 km · temple in India · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
Varanasi is not a city with distinct tourist destinations; the experience is in watching the spectacle of life and death on the river and meandering through the alleys of the old city.
From Wikivoyage: Varanasi, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Bathe in the Ganges - Over 60,000 people come to the ghats every day to take a dip in the sacred waters of the Ganga, most notably at sunrise. This is a fantastic sight to see. However, with sunken corpses and cremation, there is a risk of infection from numerous diseases such as hepatitis and bacteria such as e-coli. Therefore it is recommended you bathe further upstream such as around Rishikesh.
From Wikivoyage: Varanasi, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Banarasi Khana, or local delicacies, are known for their flavours. Many dishes here are flavoured with asafoetida, ginger, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and/or dried fenugreek leaves. Benares Dum Aloo is different from the dum aloo cooked elsewhere in India because the potatoes are stuffed with and cooked in gravy that includes jaggery, fennel, and chilli paste.
From Wikivoyage: Varanasi, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Varanasi
- Airports
- Lal Bahadur Shastri (VNS), 21 km · Gautam Buddha (BWA), 246 km · Chaudhary Charan Singh (LKO), 266 km
- Stations
- Varanasi Junction railway station, 2.8 km · Banaras railway station, 4.6 km · Varanasi City railway station, 1.7 km · Kashi Railway station, 2.1 km
- Lucknow → Varanasi269 km · quickest by road, 4h 30m · ₹1,910–2,390
- Siliguri → Varanasi563 km · quickest by air, 6h 48m · ₹6,990–10,740
- Bhopal → Varanasi613 km · quickest by air, 6h 52m · ₹7,260–11,160
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Varanasi
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Varanasi. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inA taxi to/from the airport takes an hour and costs ₹750, while a tuk-tuk/auto-rickshaw can take twice as long and costs ₹500.
- Get inFrom the Sunauli bus station, take a rickshaw (₹200) to the border crossing, get your passport stamped on the Nepali side then walk through the border.
- Get aroundMany streets are too narrow to be reached by cycle-rickshaw, auto-rickshaw, and car and therefore, you may have to walk a bit to reach your destination.
- Get aroundTherefore, it will often be convenient to travel by cycle rickshaw, E-rickshaw or auto-rickshaw.
- Get aroundFurther journeys, such as to Sarnath (10 km), cost ₹500 there and back (with a one- to two-hour waiting period) or ₹300 one way by auto-rickshaw.
From Wikivoyage: Varanasi, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
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If you know how people move in Varanasi – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Varanasi
- Sarnathvillage in Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, India7 km
- Varanasi districtdistrict of Uttar Pradesh, India2.1 km
- Lohtahuman settlement in Varanasi district, Varanasi division, Uttar Pradesh, India7.8 km
- Kandwahuman settlement in Varanasi district, Varanasi division, Uttar Pradesh, India8.1 km
- Dulhipurhuman settlement7.2 km
- Ramnagarcity in Varanasi district, Varanasi division, Uttar Pradesh, India5.8 km