Varanasi

👥 1.2M population 88 ghats 3,000y continuously lived

One of the oldest continuously lived-in cities on earth, laid along 88 ghats on the Ganga: sunrise boats, the evening aarti at Dashashwamedh, and the cremation fires at Manikarnika that never go out. Ten kilometres away at Sarnath the Buddha gave his first sermon.

Stays

Where to stay in Varanasi

12 hand-picked stays from budget to luxury, the author's picks first.

All stays in the cityBooking.comAgoda

AllMid-rangeBudgetLuxurySpecial stays

Author's pick

Luxury · ₹₹₹ (approx ₹30000-55000+/night)

BrijRama Palace, Varanasi - By the Ganges

Luxury by the Ganges

HeritagePalaceRiverside

Prices on Booking.com

Author's pick

Budget · ₹ (dorms approx ₹500-900, privates from ~₹1800/night)

goSTOPS Varanasi (Stops Hostel)

Backpacker Hub

Hostel

Prices on Booking.comPrices on Agoda

Author's pick

Mid-range · ₹-₹₹ (approx ₹2500-4500/night)

Anand Kanan

Spiritual heritage homestay off Dashashwamedh

HomestayHeritageFamily-run

Prices on Booking.comPrices on Agoda

Author's pick

Special stays · ₹₹ (approx ₹4000-8000/night)

A Palace on River - Rashmi Guest House

Riverside hotel at Man Mandir Ghat

RiversideBoutiqueHeritage

Prices on Booking.comPrices on Agoda

Special stays · ₹₹₹ (approx ₹12000-20000/night)

Amritara Suryauday Haveli

1900s Nepali-royal haveli on Shivala Ghat

HeritageBoutiqueRiverside

Prices on Booking.comPrices on Agoda

Budget · ₹-₹₹ (approx ₹2500-5000/night, river-view deluxe higher)

Ganpati Guest House

Riverside Budget

RiversideHeritage

Prices on Booking.comPrices on Agoda

Show all 12Which area to stay in: tips →

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Highlights

Durga TempleThe red temple

Kashi VishwanathThe main temple of Shiva

Dashashwamedh GhatVaranasi's main stage

Manikarnika GhatThe city's main cremation ghat

What to see 46

Durga TempleThe red templeDetails →

Kashi VishwanathThe main temple of ShivaDetails →

Chunar FortA half-day fortress trip with eight centuries in the walls and the Ganga swinging away belowDetails →

Ramnagar FortThe Maharaja of Banaras still keeps his seat here, and his museum of cars and palanquins is worth the crossingDetails →

Kriti GalleryEvidence that Varanasi is a living arts city, with global artists in a garden compoundDetails →

Namo GhatThe 21st-century face of the riverfront: evening strolls under giant namaste sculpturesDetails →

Chaukhandi StupaSarnath's welcome monument: a Buddhist stupa wearing a Mughal tower on its headDetails →

Bharat Kala BhavanRoerich's Himalayas and Gupta stone in one quiet campus museum, worth an unhurried hourDetails →

SarnathWhere the Buddha first taughtDetails →

Tomb of Lal KhanA tiled Mughal-era tomb by the Ganga that almost no visitor to Varanasi ever reachesDetails →

Kabir Chaura MathKabir's syncretic legacy and the lanes that raised the Banaras gharana's musiciansDetails →

Chet Singh GhatA hidden, solitary ghatDetails →

Panchganga GhatThe connoisseur's ghat: deep mythology, saintly history and none of the main-stage crowdDetails →

Kedar GhatThe ghat where locals come to prayDetails →

Alamgir MosqueThe northern riverfront's boldest outline, and three and a half centuries in one frameDetails →

Sankat MochanThe temple of HanumanDetails →

Bharat Mata MandirA temple to the idea of India: Gandhi opened it, and the marble map still holds youDetails →

Kaal Bhairav TempleThe city's guardian deity: locals call on him before and after VishwanathDetails →

Kardameshwar Mahadev TempleA pre-sultanate survivor most visitors never hear of: the oldest temple of the regionDetails →

Ratneshwar MahadevVaranasi's strangest silhouette: a temple leaning harder than Pisa and half-drownedDetails →

Swarved MahamandirA brand-new marble colossus where thousands sit to meditate under lotus domesDetails →

Tulsi Manas TempleThe temple of the RamayanaDetails →

Sarnath Deer ParkWalk the deer grove that gave Buddhist scripture its 'Deer Park'Details →

Aurwatand WaterfallThe waterfall most Varanasi locals have not seen: canyon, rock art, almost no oneDetails →

Chandraprabha Wildlife SanctuaryThe nearest real forest to Kashi: gorge, waterfalls and deer within a day tripDetails →

Thatheri BazarBuy brass the old way: from the smiths' own lane, by weight, under the sound of hammersDetails →

Vishwanath GaliOne lane holds nearly every Varanasi souvenir: malas, murtis, ittar and silkDetails →

Harmony The Book ShopOne room, deep shelves and the owner's recommendations, a minute from Assi GhatDetails →

Indica BooksThe scholarly bookshop of Varanasi: Hinduism, yoga and Kashi under one roofDetails →

Pilgrims Book HouseKathmandu's most famous bookshop has an outpost here, with its own rare reprintsDetails →

Mehrotra Silk FactoryThe unstressful way to buy real Banarasi silk, with fixed prices and plain explanationsDetails →

Dashashwamedh GhatVaranasi's main stage

Manikarnika GhatThe city's main cremation ghat

Banaras Hindu University & New Vishwanath TempleA calm marble Vishwanath open to people of every faith, in one of Asia's greenest campuses

Man Mahal Observatory & Virtual MuseumAn 18th-century rooftop observatory above Dashashwamedh, with a sweeping view of the ghats

Sarnath Archaeological MuseumThe original Lion Capital of Ashoka stands here, the emblem printed on every Indian banknote

Assi GhatSouthern, free-spirited, atmospheric

Mulagandha Kuti ViharSarnath's living temple: Japanese frescoes and afternoon chanting beside the ruins

Nepali Mandir (Kathwala Temple)A carved-wood corner of Kathmandu above the ghats, with a story of exiled kings

Lakhania Dari WaterfallA waterfall walk with Stone Age rock paintings on the canyon walls, 90 minutes out

Rajdari & Devdari WaterfallsTerraced monsoon cascades in a forest gorge, the classic day out from the ghats

Baba BlacksheepSilk and pashmina without haggling: the address travellers pass to each other

Deendayal Hastkala SankulMuseum and fair-price craft mart in one: calibrate your eye before you bargain

Gulabi Meenakari Workshops of Gai GhatOne of India's rarest enamel crafts, kept alive by a few families in a single neighbourhood

Madanpura Weavers' QuarterWhere Banarasi silk is actually woven: buy a step away from the loom, not from a showroom

Tilfi Banaras Flagship StoreSee what the top of the Banarasi range looks like: handloom as couture

Everything about Varanasi

On the map

46 places · the full map is in the app