The Haveli Blog · Regions of India

Varanasi: A Gentle Guide to India's Oldest Living City

By the Hindi Haveli team · October 28, 2026

At dawn in Varanasi, the river Ganga is pale gold. Boats glide past long flights of stone steps where people are bathing, praying, washing clothes and doing yoga. Bells ring from temples, someone is selling chai, and a kite flies over a rooftop. By evening, the same steps fill with crowds for a ceremony of fire and song. Varanasi is often called one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it may be the most intense, moving and memorable place in India.

This guide offers a gentle introduction to Varanasi: its three names, its ghats and rituals, its poets and food, and the Hindi words you will hear along the river.

One city, three names

Varanasi has three names, and you will hear all of them:

  • Kashi (काशी, kaashee): the oldest name. It is often explained as "the city of light," from a root meaning "to shine."
  • Banaras (बनारस, banaaras): the everyday name, used by many locals and in the names of famous products like Banarasi silk.
  • Varanasi (वाराणसी, vaaraanasee): the official name, often explained as the land between the Varuna and Assi rivers, two small streams that meet the Ganga at either end of the old city.

The city's names

  • काशी (kaashee): Kashi, "city of light"
  • बनारस (banaaras): Banaras
  • वाराणसी (vaaraanasee): Varanasi
  • गंगा (gangaa): the river Ganga (Ganges)

The ghats

The heart of Varanasi is its ghats. A घाट (ghaaT) is a flight of steps leading down to the river. Varanasi has more than 80 of them, stretching for miles along the curving western bank of the Ganga. Each has its own name, history and personality.

  • Dashashwamedh Ghat is one of the busiest and most famous, and it hosts the city's best-known evening ceremony.
  • Assi Ghat, at the southern end, is relaxed and popular with students, musicians and travelers.
  • Manikarnika Ghat is the main cremation ghat. For many Hindus, being cremated in Kashi is deeply meaningful. Visitors should be quiet and respectful here, and should never take photographs of cremations.

The best way to see the ghats is from a boat at sunrise, when the light is soft and the city is waking up.

By the river

  • घाट (ghaaT): steps down to a river
  • नाव (naav): a boat
  • मल्लाह (mallaah): a boatman
  • सूर्योदय (sooryoday): sunrise
  • सीढ़ियाँ (seeRhiyaan): steps, stairs

Ganga aarti: the evening ceremony

Every evening at Dashashwamedh Ghat, a team of young priests performs the Ganga aarti. Standing on platforms facing the river, they move in perfect unison, raising tall multi-tiered brass lamps, waving incense and fans, and ringing bells as devotional songs fill the air. Thousands of people watch from the steps and from boats crowded on the water.

Many visitors float a small leaf boat with flowers and a tiny lamp on the river, called a दीया (diyaa) offering. Watching hundreds of these small lights drift on the dark water is something people remember for years.

The aarti

  • आरती (aartee): a ceremony of light and song
  • दीया (diyaa): a small lamp
  • घंटी (ghanTee): a bell
  • फूल (phool): a flower
  • भजन (bhajan): a devotional song

Poets of Varanasi

Varanasi has been a home of learning, music and poetry for centuries.

  • Kabir (15th century), the weaver-poet, is closely linked with Varanasi. His short, sharp couplets, called dohe, question empty ritual and speak of a love for the divine that is within everyone. Children across India still learn his verses.
  • Tulsidas (16th century) is believed to have written much of the Ramcharitmanas, the beloved retelling of the Ramayana in Awadhi, while living in Varanasi. Tulsi Ghat is named after him.
  • Ravidas, another great saint-poet of the bhakti movement, was born near Varanasi.

The city is also famous for Hindustani classical music, especially the Banaras gharana, a style of singing and tabla playing. The shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan lived in Varanasi and played at its temples and ghats for much of his life.

Beyond the ghats

  • The lanes: Behind the ghats lies a maze of narrow lanes, called गलियाँ (galiyaan), so narrow that only people, bicycles and the occasional cow can pass. Shops sell silk, brass, sweets and flowers.
  • Sarnath: About 10 kilometers away, Sarnath is where the Buddha gave his first teaching after his enlightenment. It is a peaceful place of gardens, ruins and a great stone stupa.
  • Banaras Hindu University: Founded in 1916, it is one of India's largest residential universities, with a huge green campus.

The food of Banaras

Varanasi is a fantastic city for food:

  • Kachori sabzi: crisp fried breads with spicy potato curry, a classic breakfast, often followed by hot jalebis.
  • Lassi: thick, creamy yogurt drinks in clay cups, sometimes topped with a layer of cream.
  • Banarasi paan: a betel leaf folded around sweet and fragrant fillings, eaten after meals.
  • Malaiyyo: a light, saffron milk foam made only in winter, traditionally left out overnight to catch the morning dew.

Food words

  • कचौरी (kachauree): a fried flaky bread
  • लस्सी (lassee): a yogurt drink
  • पान (paan): a betel-leaf after-meal treat
  • कुल्हड़ (kulhaR): a small clay cup

Banarasi silk

Varanasi is one of India's great weaving centers. Banarasi sarees, woven by skilled families in neighborhoods across the city, are famous for silk brocades with patterns in gold and silver thread called ज़री (zaree). They are among the most treasured bridal sarees in India.

Visiting respectfully

Visitor tips: dress modestly, especially near temples. Remove your shoes where asked. Ask before photographing people, and never photograph cremations. Agree on a boat price before you set off. Above all, go slowly. Varanasi rewards people who sit on a step, watch, and listen.

Useful phrases

  • नाव कितने की है? (naav kitne kee hai?): How much is the boat?
  • क्या मैं फ़ोटो ले सकता हूँ? (kyaa main foTo le saktaa hoon?): May I take a photo? (said by a man)
  • क्या मैं फ़ोटो ले सकती हूँ? (kyaa main foTo le saktee hoon?): May I take a photo? (said by a woman)
  • बहुत शांत है (bahut shaant hai): It's very peaceful

Read the poets of Varanasi

Kabir's couplets are short, wise and surprisingly modern, and they are a beautiful way to hear the music of Hindi. Our poems section has free collections of playful rhymes for young learners, and our Kabir collection explains every line in simple English. Start with the free poems and let the rhythm of Hindi carry you down the river.

गंगा किनारे फिर मिलेंगे: we will meet again by the Ganga.

Your turn: try it free

Two poem collections are free for everyone: playful rhymes and the rhymes every Indian child knows. Open the free poems