Best Places to visit in Varanasi or Banaras in varanasi travel guide

Best Places to visit in Varanasi or Banaras -Varanasi Travel Guide

This travel guide will describe about the best places to visit in varanasi or list of places to visit in varanasi. Varanasi is located in the south-east corner of the Indian state, Uttar Pradesh. The city has renowned as the oldest living city on this planet. The quote seems to be right as this city has a prominent place in Mahabharat and Ramayan. I was so excited to visit a place that is so old, a place that is older than history. in this varanasi travel guide I will explain to you all the important things to do in Varanasi or Banaras.

Varanasi travel guide

Banaras is well-connected with trains and flights with Delhi and other cities. The railway station is on the Delhi-Kolkata route. So, all the trains moving on the route bounds to stop either at Banaras or Mughalsarai or both. Mughalsarai railway station has recently renamed as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction and is barely 18km away from Banaras railway station. Banaras also has International Airport and it attracts loads of Indian and international tourists every year. Consequently, the city has numerous 4 and 5-star hotels from almost all the established brands to cater to the high inbound tourist traffic.

My choice was a train journey to Banaras and I loved it. The overnight journey started from Delhi, I booked a ticket in Shiv-Ganga express. The train starts and terminates at Maduadih, a small station in Banaras. So, no need to rush to board or deboard the train.

Worlds second tallest temple was my first destination in Varanasi travel guide

My first point of interest was the New Vishwanath Temple also known as Birla Temple which is oe of the places to visit in varanasi. It is the second most famous temple and important tourist attraction in the holy city of Banaras. The temple is located inside the lush green campus of Banaras Hindu University and on the southmost corner of the city. Temple is barely 2 km from the main gate of the university.

Three-wheelers are available at the main gate, but a paddle rickshaw will give you a more soothing experience passing through many green tunnels. In this two km stretch, you can count a thousand trees on both sides of the road. BHU campus is densely green and the temple is situated in the middle of the campus. At the first sight of the temple, I was mesmerized for a few moments. The temple is all covered with white marble and is so tall that seems it is almost touching the clouds. It is gigantic and at the same time very beautiful.

The temple area is clean and well maintained. The air inside the premises was tranquil with the occasional sound of bells and the crowd was thin. After spending some time in the temple, I rested myself under a tree. Simply sitting on the lawn gave a feeling of emptiness. The entire atmosphere around the temple was forcing me towards spiritualism. The experience was great and I will cherish it for a long time.

Just to add that ‘Qutub Minar’ in Delhi is 240 feet tall and this temple stands a few feet taller than the Qutub Minar, at 252 feet. To click a photograph of the entire temple in one frame, unless not using some fisheye lens, one needs to struggle for a suitable spot far from the temple and there are only 2-3 such spots to get a good frame.