Varanasi — priests in saffron raise flaming brass lamps at the evening Ganga aarti, crowds watching from the ghat

Seven ways we’ll look after you, starting with the stay.

Stay

Homes close to the ghats

Darshan

Timings and queues

Coming soon

Priests

A pandit for your rite

Coming soon

Guides

In your language

Coming soon

Transport

Station to temple door

Puja samagri

Ready before you arrive

Coming soon

Sattvic kitchen

Meals that keep your fast

Coming soon

Start with the stay. We’ll add the rest as it’s ready.

Explore stays

  • Stay

    Homes close to the ghats

  • Darshan

    Timings and queues

    Coming soon

  • Priests

    A pandit for your rite

    Coming soon

  • Guides

    In your language

    Coming soon

  • Transport

    Station to temple door

  • Puja samagri

    Ready before you arrive

    Coming soon

  • Sattvic kitchen

    Meals that keep your fast

    Coming soon

Start with the stay. We’ll add the rest as it’s ready.

Explore stays

Services

Explore our service

Stays and apartments for families or individualsStaysBook your cab services to explore the cityCab servicesBoat ride — wooden boat, river, sunsetBoat ridesTravel package — itinerary, map, luggageTravel packages
Varanasi — ghat steps at dawn, wet stone, boats beyondCity 01 of 01 open

काशी/Varanasi

Explore Varanasi
Ayodhya — Sarayu bank at dusk, lamps on the waterOpening soon

अयोध्या/Ayodhya

Explore Ayodhya
Mathura — Yamuna ghat, temple steps in evening lightOpening soon

मथुरा/Mathura

Explore Mathura
Cities
01 / 03

Things to do

Things to do where we hold houses

Subah-e-Banaras at Assi Ghat — musicians and listeners on the steps at sunrise, mist on the riverSubah-e-Banaras at AssiChanting, yoga and classical music, at sunrise.Ganga aarti — priests on raised platforms swinging tiered brass lamps, the crowd behind themGanga aarti at DashashwamedhThe evening offering to the river, done in full.A wooden boat on the Ganga at first light, the ghats and their buildings catching the sunA boat at dawnThe only way to see the ghats as one thing.Sarnath — the giant seated Buddha statue among trees, one of the modern temples around the siteSarnathWhere the Buddha gave his first sermon.A handloom in a Varanasi weaving workshop, gold zari thread on the warp, the weaver's hands at the shuttleBanarasi silk, at the loomSee the brocade woven before you are sold any.Ramnagar Fort from the river — sandstone walls and balconies above the far bank of the GangaRamnagar FortThe Maharaja's fort, and its magnificently odd museum.The Ram Janmabhoomi temple — carved sandstone pillars and spires above the pilgrim approachRam Janmabhoomi templeThe temple at the centre of the town.Hanuman Garhi — the flight of stone steps up to the temple gate, worn smooth, pilgrims climbingHanuman GarhiClimbed first, by custom, before anything else.Kanak Bhawan — a painted temple courtyard with arched galleries on three sidesKanak BhawanThe house tradition says Kaikeyi gave to Sita.Saryu aarti at Ram ki Paidi — lamps raised above the water at dusk, the broad terraced steps behindSaryu aarti at Ram ki PaidiThe evening offering to the Saryu.Guptar Ghat — quiet stone steps down to the Saryu under old trees, few peopleGuptar GhatWhere Rama is said to have left the world.

Places to eat

Where to eat, all of it vegetarian

Tamatar chaat in two clay bowls topped with coriander and sev, the dish Kashi Chat Bhandar is known forKashi Chat BhandarTamatar chaat, the dish Banaras is known for.A wide iron pan of tamatar chaat ringed with whole tomatoes, as Banarasi chaat sellers cook itDeena Chaat BhandarThe other great tamatar chaat, a few doors along.Kachori with potato sabzi on a steel plate, the Banarasi breakfast Ram Bhandar servesRam BhandarKachori, sabzi and jalebi: the Banarasi breakfast.A clay cup of lassi topped with saffron and pistachio at Blue Lassi in Varanasi's old cityBlue Lassi ShopThick fruit lassi in clay cups, near Manikarnika.The Pahalwan Lassi counter at Lanka, Varanasi, customers crowding under its Hindi signboardPahalwan LassiLassi topped with rabri, near the BHU gate.A vegetarian thali on a banana leaf with a dozen small bowls of dal, sabzi, raita and sweetsShree Shivay ThaliA twenty-dish sattvic thali, without onion or garlic.A tray of baked wheat baati, the bread served with chokhaBaati Chokha RestaurantBaati, chokha and litti in a village-style setting.A North Indian vegetarian meal in a compartment plate: dal, sabzi, salad and rotiKeshari RestaurantA reliable vegetarian sit-down meal at Godowlia.Peda and milk sweets on trays behind a sweet-shop counterKsheer SagarMilk sweets and rabri at Sonarpura.A Varanasi street vendor's pan of saffron-flecked malaiyo, served in small clay cupsMalaiyo in the old citySaffron milk foam, sold only on winter mornings.A vegetarian meal of paratha, dal, raita and kofta curryShri Kanak Sarkar RasoiUnlimited vegetarian thali near Kanak Bhawan.A steel thali of rice, dal, saag and dry sabziMakhan MalaiPure vegetarian dining at Hotel Ramprastha.A round vegetarian thali of rotis with small bowls of dal, curries and curdDalmia's Saffron VatikaFine-dining vegetarian on Ram Path.Puri with potato sabzi, papad and a bowl of curd on a steel plateThe VaidicVegetarian dining with a temple-town calm.A homestyle steel thali of dal, rice, roti, sabzi and saladGhar JaisaFood that tastes like home, by name and by intent.Homestyle roti with yellow dal and stuffed bhindiAmma Ji Ki RasoiHomestyle thali with unlimited refills.Stuffed parathas with a bowl of chutney on a blue plateJanki Mahal BhojanalayaSattvic meals without onion or garlic.Puffed puris in a steel dish with a bowl of dal alongsideAmrut RasoiBudget vegetarian food near Naya Ghat.A bowl of golden besan laddoos, the prasad sold below Hanuman GarhiBesan laddoo at Hanuman GarhiThe besan laddoo offered as prasad.Aloo tikki with green chutney, tamarind chutney and curdStreet food at Naya Ghat and Ram ki PaidiAloo tikki, chaat and kachori by the Saryu.

Festivals

Festivals of the Sapta Puri

Maha Shivratri in Varanasi — the queue outside Kashi Vishwanath before dawn, marigolds and water vesselsMaha ShivratriThe night Varanasi belongs most completely to Shiva.Dev Deepawali — earthen lamps in rows down the ghat steps at dusk, the river dark beyondDev DeepawaliEvery step of every ghat carries a lamp.Ganga Mahotsav — a classical music performance on a lit stage above the ghat steps at nightGanga MahotsavFour evenings of classical music on the river steps.Masan Holi — ash thrown in the air above the cremation ghat, figures silhouetted against smokeMasan HoliHoli played with ash, at the burning ghats.Ramnagar Ramlila — an open-air performance lit by lanterns, the audience seated on the ground around itRamnagar RamlilaA month-long Ramayana staged across a whole town.Nag Nathaiya at Tulsi Ghat — a kadamba branch over the river, boats crowded belowNag NathaiyaKrishna subdues the serpent, from a branch over the river.Ram Navami in Ayodhya — pilgrims crossing the Saryu steps at midday, flags above the crowdRam NavamiRama's birth, observed in the city of his birth.Deepotsav at Ram ki Paidi — tiers of lit lamps covering the steps down to the SaryuDeepotsavLamps in the hundreds of thousands, along the Saryu.Vivah Panchami — a temple courtyard dressed for a wedding, garlands strung between pillarsVivah PanchamiThe marriage of Rama and Sita, kept as a wedding.Sawan Jhula Mela — a decorated swing hung in a temple hall, flowers along its ropesSawan Jhula MelaThe monsoon month, and deities placed on swings.Parikrama — pilgrims walking a marked circuit road at first light, barefoot, in a continuous linePanchkosi ParikramaWalking the circuit that holds the town.

Packages

Journeys we are still putting together

See what is coming
Kashi at dawn from a boatFive days

Kashi, unhurried

Five slow days by the river, planned around parents in their seventies.

Train window, Gangetic plainSeven days

Kashi to Ayodhya

Varanasi and Ayodhya in one trip, joined by an afternoon train.

Brass lamp and river water, closeThree days

For a rite

For pind daan or shraddh, with the priest and samagri sorted before you come.

About us

You can find anything online. Knowing what to trust is the hard part.

Planning a pilgrimage today starts the same way for almost everyone: a search, then twenty open tabs. A hotel page here, a travel blog from 2019 there, a YouTube vlog, a forwarded message, reviews that disagree with each other. Somewhere in the middle you still have to work out where to stay,how to get around the cities, what is there to explore, be it food or attractions.

Meet the founders