Destinations

Varanasi for First-Timers: A Guide to the City on the Ganges

Varanasi, IndiaFebruary 25, 20252 min read

The ancient riverside buildings and ghats of Varanasi rising above the wide Ganges, with rowboats moored along the stepsPhoto: Srivatsan Balaji / Unsplash

Nothing in India — nothing anywhere — prepares you for Varanasi. Here is how to meet the holy city on its own terms: by boat, on foot, and with respect.

Varanasi does not ease you in. India's holiest city — among the oldest continuously inhabited places on Earth — confronts you with life and death conducted in public, side by side, on stone steps descending to the Ganges. It is intense, moving and unforgettable. A little preparation makes all the difference.

Key facts

Best months: October to March; summers are punishing and the monsoon swells the river
Orientation: the old city is a maze of lanes behind roughly 80 riverfront ghats
Dress: modest clothing everywhere; shoes come off at temples
Pace: two to three days is right for a first visit

The ghats are the city

Everything in Varanasi flows to the riverfront. Dashashwamedh Ghat is the beating heart, Assi Ghat in the south is calmer and popular with long-stay travellers, and the stretch between them makes one of the world's great walks — laundry lines, wrestling gyms, chai stands, sadhus, and pilgrims immersing themselves in the river as they have for millennia.

The old town of Varanasi, IndiaPhoto: Srivatsan Balaji / Unsplash

Take the sunrise boat

The essential Varanasi experience: hire a rowboat before dawn and drift past the ghats as the sun lifts over the far bank and the entire waterfront turns copper. Boatmen gather at the main ghats from around 05:00 in season; agree the price before boarding. An hour is enough to understand why this river is worshipped.

Ganga aarti at night

Every evening at Dashashwamedh Ghat, priests perform the aarti — a synchronised fire ritual of lamps, bells, incense and chant that draws huge crowds on the steps and in boats offshore. Arrive early for a spot, or watch from the water.

Art and music in VaranasiPhoto: Amit Gaur / Unsplash

The burning ghats — and how to behave

Manikarnika Ghat is the principal cremation ground, where funeral pyres burn around the clock. Hindus believe that dying in Kashi — Varanasi's ancient name — brings liberation from the cycle of rebirth, and the ghat is sacred ground, not a spectacle. Observe quietly from a respectful distance, never photograph the pyres, and politely ignore anyone offering 'special viewing' for money.

Beyond the river

The gold-spired Kashi Vishwanath Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is among Hinduism's holiest shrines; its recently expanded corridor now links it directly to the river. And about 10 kilometres away lies Sarnath, where the Buddha preached his first sermon — a serene half-day of stupas, ruins and an excellent museum.

Eating in the holy city

Breakfast on kachori-sabzi and hot jalebis in the old-city lanes
Try malaiyyo, a saffron milk-foam sweet sold on winter mornings
Finish meals with the city's famous banarasi paan
The old town is largely vegetarian and alcohol-free near the ghats

Tip: Get lost on purpose — the lanes behind the ghats are the real Varanasi — but do it in daylight hours first, and drop a pin at your guesthouse. Every alley eventually spits you back out at the river.

Come with patience and an open heart. Varanasi is not a sight to see; it is a current to step into.

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