Best time to visit Varanasi

India · South Asia

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in Varanasi

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Sweet spot
Good
OK
Avoid
Busy

Go in Jan or Feb — 27C max, 1 rainy day. Nov is the next best.

Plan this trip

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Where to stay

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Things to do in Varanasi

Kashi Vishwanath Temple The most famous temple in the city, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Manikarnika Ghat There's a 74 m temple on the ghat called Ratneshwar Temple, which is leaning by 9°…
Gyanvapi Mosque A rather controversial mosque built during the rule of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
Dashashwamedh Ghat Known as the 'main' ghat, this is the site of the large evening aarti ceremony.
Assi Ghat A popular place for tourists, long-term students and researchers to stay…
Durga Mandir Built in the 18th century, the Durga temple was made as a tribute to Goddess Durga.
Bharat Mata Temple The Bharat Mata temple at Varanasi is the only temple dedicated to Mother India.

Tours and tickets in Varanasi

Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank

Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Varanasi), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.

Month by month

No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.

Month	Max °C	Rain days	Humidity	Sun h/day	Verdict	Why
Jan	22°	2d	78%	9.1h	sweet spot	22C max, 2 rainy days
Feb	27°	1d	63%	10.4h	sweet spot busy	busier than usual
Mar	33°	1d	49%	10.7h	okbusy	busier than usual
Apr	38°	0d	35%	11.1h	avoid	extreme heat: 26 days over 35C
May	39°	1d	46%	11.2h	avoid	extreme heat: 28 days over 35C
Jun	38°	8d	58%	10.4h	avoid	extreme heat: 23 days over 35C
Jul	33°	18d	80%	8.4h	avoid	monsoon: 18 rainy days, 358mm
Aug	32°	18d	84%	8.2h	avoid	monsoon: 18 rainy days, 331mm
Sep	32°	13d	84%	8.8h	avoid	32C max, 13 rainy days
Oct	31°	3d	75%	9.8h	ok	31C max, 3 rainy days
Nov	28°	0d	67%	9.9h	goodbusy	busier than usual
Dec	23°	1d	72%	9.0h	goodbusy	busier than usual

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at the centre, 21 km from the airport (VNS): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

Busiest in February, March and November; quietest in August.

Then and now

Varanasi's July days now average 33.2°C, 1.2°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 3 of 12 months are clearly warmer, 1 clearly cooler.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1981–90	22.7°	25.7°	32.1°	37.8°	39.7°	37.7°	31.9°	31.4°	30.9°	30.4°	27.6°	24.0°
2017–26	21.5°	26.6°	32.5°	38.4°	39.1°	37.9°	33.2°	32.1°	31.9°	31.3°	28.1°	23.3°
Change	-1.1°	+0.9°	+0.4°	+0.6°	-0.6°	+0.2°	+1.2°	+0.7°	+1.0°	+0.9°	+0.5°	-0.7°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Getting there

How far Varanasi is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Before you go

Type C and D plugs at 230 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the Indian rupee. UK Foreign Office: avoid all travel to parts. Everything for India: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Being there

On arrival

Paying — Cards are taken at larger hotels, chain stores and many restaurants; small shops and family-run businesses rarely take them, so carry some cash.
Tipping — Not traditional; up to 10% is usual only in smarter restaurants. Taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers do not expect a tip.

Getting around Varanasi

Apps — Rides: Ola, Rapido, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp. The apps also book auto-rickshaws, and bike taxis where these are allowed.

Many streets are too narrow to be reached by cycle-rickshaw, auto-rickshaw, and car and therefore, you may have to walk a bit to reach your destination. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Varanasi, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help

Emergency — 112 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (29)

Varanasi in pictures

Varanasi 2010 ghats2 — i

Marcin Białek, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Varanasi 2010 ghats3 — i

Marcin Białek, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Scindia Ghat in morning, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India (2012) — i

travelwayoflife, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Varanasi, India, Varanasi skyline in the evening — i

Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Varanasi, India, Banaras (Varanasi, Kashi) embankment — i

Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What Varanasi is like

Varanasi (वाराणसी Vārāṇasī), also known as Banaras (बनारस Banāras) or Kashi (काशी Kāshī), is a holy city at the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh, India. Being the most sacred city in Hinduism and Jainism, and important in the history of Buddhism, Varanasi is India's most important pilgrimage destination. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing: Varanasi is not a city with distinct tourist destinations; the experience is in watching the spectacle of life and death on the river and meandering through the alleys of the old city. More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing: Bathe in the Ganges - Over 60,000 people come to the ghats every day to take a dip in the sacred waters of the Ganga, most notably at sunrise. This is a fantastic sight to see. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in: Varanasi is well connected by plane, train, and bus. Varanasi is mostly on the west bank of the Ganges. More on Wikivoyage
Staying safe: Violent crime is rare, but still do be careful in the lanes after dark.(Safe maximum times) Carry a light or phone; power outages are now rare, but due to sleeping cows and broken paving stones… More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Varanasi, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Around Varanasi

Also in India

Nearby

Kind of place

Varanasi is in India, South Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

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