Things to do in  Varanasi

Along the west bank of the Ganges river in the city of Varanasi are a string of ghats, or steps, on which people worship, bathe, and go about other daily activities. Dasaswamedh Ghat is the most important of these, as it’s surrounded by temples and hosts the nightly aarti, or worship ceremony.

India’s holiest river, the Ganges (Ganga) runs east for 1,560 miles (2,510 kilometers) from the western Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. A lifeline for north India’s plains and towns, the river is also a place of Hindu pilgrimage at cities such as Rishikesh and Varanasi—drawing visitors with humbling scenes of religious devotion.

Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple is also called the Golden Temple, thanks to its pure gold spire and dome. The current building dates from 1780, but temples stood in the same place for centuries. Dedicated to the Hindu Lord Shiva—one of the most significant deities in the Hindu pantheon—Kashi Vishwanath is a major pilgrimage site.

Varanasi to die, as the city is considered very holy. Along the banks of the River Ganga are a string of ghats (steps used for various purposes. Manikarnika Ghat is known as “the burning ghat”, as this is where cremations and funerals are held.

The Varanasi Ghats are sets of stairs that descend from the city down the banks and into the waters of the holy Ganges River. There are just under 100 individual ghats lining the river’s edge in this region, their steep steps making access to the river possible during both the wet and dry seasons.

Just outside Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Sarnath is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists. Many believe that it was in this very town that Gautama Siddhartha first taught after reaching enlightenment, and it's an excellent place to visit if you want to learn about the history of Buddhism.

The Dhammek Stupa is a giant cylindrical Buddhist stupa situated in Sarnath, near Varanasi. This huge structure was built on the site where the Buddha was said to have given his first sermon to his disciples after attaining enlightenment, and is one of India’s most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites.

One of five locally sacred ghats—steps down to a river—Kedar Ghat is among Varanasi's oldest and most visited ghats. With distinct red and white steps and a picturesque location on the banks of the Ganges River, Kedar is also home to the Kedarnath Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of Varanasi.

The Chaukhandi Stupa is an important Buddhist stupa originally built as a terraced temple to mark the place where the Buddha and his first disciples met when traveling from Bodhgaya to Sarnath. The stupa stands amid beautifully maintained gardens and serves as the gateway to the Buddhist city of Sarnath.

Emperor Ashoka, the last major emperor of India's Mauryan dynasty, created the Pillars of Ashoka in the third century BC and scattered them across northern India and Nepal. These tall sandstone pillars celebrate tenets of Buddhism. The lion-topped Sarnath Pillar is the most famous. It is the national emblem of India, and you can see it at Sarnath Museum, near Varanasi.