Travel Holiday Guide for Varanasi City - Ganges - India

Varanasi City Travel, Holiday and Tour Guide - India.

Holiday and Travel Guide about touring Varanasi in India - visiting the Ghats along The Ganges and sightseeing at Sarnath and a trip out to India's old Ramnagar Fort.

Located in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh and with the River Assi to it's south and the Ganga (River Ganges) to it's north and south, the 3000 year old Indian city of Varanasi is a very important pilgrimage destination for Buddhists and Jains - and is also one of seven sacred cities for Hindus. Our topic is about holidays and sightseeing whilst on holiday in India - for masses of information about the city and it's history etc a good source to look at is via wiki.

Varanasi is also a major tourist destination and is well served by several internal Indian airlines with for instance the flight from Delhi taking around 50 minutes - it is also on the Indian Railway network. Varanasi Airport (also known as Babatpur Airport) is located to the northwest and some distance away from the city - it's around an 18km drive in.

Varanasi, India - (Old City) Sidestreet off Dashaswamedh Road Varanasi Dashaswamedh area St Thomas's Church, Varanasi Dashaswamedh - India
Perhaps one of the few times when you need a taxi to get anywhere around Varanasi it's worth allowing plenty of time if heading for the airport to catch a plane out because of Varanasi's traffic congestion. Their are several railway stations at Varanasi - the main railhead is Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station which serves destinations such as Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Howrah and Jammu. For getting to Agra, Jaipur and Jodhpur there is a daily express train which leaves from Mughal Sarai Railway Station.

Where to stay in Varanasi. It is very tempting to consider staying on the Ghats - waking up in the morning with a great view of the River Ganges to enjoy etc. etc. - the Ghats themselves (apart from when a festival is on) are actually really peaceful most of the time. However walk up the steps from the river and you immediately enter total mayhem - Varanasi Old City is so busy and noisy it is amazing to behold. Very busy Dashaswamedh Road, Varanasi Old and once beautiful buildings along the Varanasi ghats Cows grazing along the Ghats by the Ganga, Varanasi This is actually quite enjoyable for a while but it might be desirable having spent time in the chaos to leave it all behind and have accommodation in relative peace and quiet. There are some really nice hotels around 6 or 7 kilometres away from the Ghats in the Cantoment - just a 60 or 70 rupee auto-rickshaw ride away - and are located in a much more peaceful setting. Accommodation / hotels are relatively inexpensive in Varanasi and you can get a really nice room with balcony perhaps overlooking gardens for around 1600 to 1800 rupees per night.

Getting Around. As mentioned Varanasi is traffic chaos - the only way to get around for sightseeing in the city area in reality is by using the auto rickshaws which seem to have the ability to get through gaps half their size. Cycle rickshaws are pretty hazardous to ride on - they are way down the food chain and get carved up by everything except cyclists. We saw quite a few accidents in the several days we stayed on holiday at Varanasi particularly whilst in the Old City area. Any four wheeled transport from buses to taxis/cars really has major problems in getting around especially in the Old City and is probably not worth bothering with - it can take hours to get nowhere in particular.

 

Varanasi - The Ghats and the River Ganga / Ganges.

Photos of the Ghats from Asi Ghat to Malaviya Bridge.

Asi Ghat Ganga Mahal Ghat Chet Singh Ghat Mahanirvani Ghat Karnatak Ghat
Asi Ghat. Ganga Mahal Ghat. Chet Singh Ghat. Mahanirvani Ghat. Karnatak State Ghat.
Ahilyabai Ghat Prayag Ghat Dasashvamedha Ghat Manmandir Ghat Lalita Ghat
Ahilyabai Ghat. Prayag Ghat. Dasashvamedha Ghat. Manmandir Ghat. Lalita Ghat.
Manikarnika Ghat Also known as the Burning Ghat correct name is Manikarnika Ghat Varanasi - Manikarnika Ghat Scindia Ghat and Scindia Temple Sankatha Ghat
Manikarnika Burning Ghat. Burning Ghat (Manikarnika). Manikarnika Ghat. Temple and Scindia Ghat. Sankatha Ghat.
Panchaganga Ghat Ganga Mahal Ghat Bhonsle Ghat Brahma Ghat Varanasi - Lal Ghat
Panchaganga Ghat. Ganga Mahal Ghat. Bhonsle Ghat. Brahma Ghat. Lal Ghat.
Mansarowar Ghat, Varanasi, India Sakka Ghat Rani Ghat One of Varanasis 100 or so Ghats Shady Varanasi Ghat, India
Varanasi's Ghats - Mansarowar Sakka Ghat Rani Ghat Varanasi Ghat - name? Varanasi Ghat - name?

 

Other River Ganges Views.
River Ganges boats wating to be hired - Varanasi Buildings along the ghats at Varanasi Varanasi - buildings along the Ganga  Malaviya road and rail Bridge across the Ganges, Varanasi
Alamgir Mosque at riverside, Varanasi River Ganges bank-side buildings View along the River Ganges and the Ghats, Varanasi Nice and quiet along Varanasi's Ghats - sometimes 

 

Sarnath Sarnath - Monolithic Pillar Sarnath. Sarnath is an archaeological site located around 8 kilometres to the north-east of Varanasi City and even less from the Cantonments. It is open daily with an admission price of 100 rupees for non-Indians. Sarnath is easily reachable by auto-rickshaw - probably the best thing to do is agree a price with the driver where he will take you there and wait around for you - then perhaps go to a few temples outside of the complex before bringing you back - around 250 rupees seemed to be the going rate for this. Sarnath is very important to Buddhists - the Buddha went to Sarnath to preach the Dharmachakra (means the wheel of law) at what is now a Stupa. Apart from the Stupa (and the remains of another) the main feature of the site are the ruins of several monasteries.
India - Sarnath Sarnath Dhamekh Stupa - Sarnath, India Drawings/etchings on the Stupa at Sarnath, India Sarnath Site of Dharmarajika Stupa, Sarnath, India

Outside Sarnath Complex.
Sri Digambar Jain Temple, Sarnath, Varanasi A large Buddha at Sarnath Malagandhi Kuty Bihara Varanasi Malagandhi Kuty Bihara, Sarnath, Varanasi Sarnath - Bodhi Tree Chinese Temple, Sarnath, Varanasi View inside of the Chinese Temple Varanasi The Japanese Temple, Sarnath Inside the Japanese Temple Sarnath Burmese Temple, Sarnath, Varanasi View of the inside of the Burmese Temple at Sarnath Inside the Burmese Temple, Sarnath, Varanasi

 

Ramnagar Fort. Well worth a visit whilst on holiday in Varanasi - Ramnagar Fort is located around 14 Kilometres from Varanasi City if you want to go there by motor transport. However you can also go by crossing the River Ganges on foot by the pontoon which is a little way from Asi Ghat - this pontoon is however dismantled when the Ganges floods.
Entrance to Ramnagar Fort - Varanasi Ramnagar Fort building Varanasi's Ramnagar Fort Cannon at Ramnagar Fort - Varanasi Ramnagar Fort, Varanasi, India Square and buildings at Ramnagar Fort - Varanasi Ramnagar Fort beautiful buildings around the Square - Varanasi Ramnagar Fort outer walls The outside walls of Ramnagar Fort - Varanasi Ramnagar Fort - Varanasi Pontoon used for crossing the Ganges between Ramnagar Fort and Varanasi Ramnagar Road - Varanasi
The fort is open daily and only costs a few rupees entrance fee - their are some nice buildings to admire with quite a lot of the inside allocated to various small museums including elephant seats (howdahs), various cars and transport,  guns and arms and other old relics (photos are not permitted in the museum).

A few other photos from around Varanasi, India.
Varanasi's St Mary's Church up at the Cantomnment River Varuna - Cantonment, Varanasi Durga Temple at Varanasi, India weaving looms, Moslem area of Varanasi Somewhat unusually quiet part of Dashaswamedh Road at Varanasi

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