Half Day Cultural Tour of Temples, BHU, Sarnath and Muslim Area

Let Varanasi Old City Tours take you on a cultural exploration of Varanasi. By car we will visit one of the most prominent churches in the area, ancient temples with soot covered walls that hold the secrets of centuries of prayers and Banaras Hindu University, famous throughout India and abroad for its stature in the academic world,which has a beautiful campus full of greenery and tranquility with a great History Museum.

In the fifth century BC, Buddha preached his first sermon under the famed Bodhi tree at Sarnath speaking on how to end suffering and achieve enlightenment. It is located about 10km north-east of Varanasi. There are many Buddhist monuments and edifices in Sarnath. Some of the important Buddhist monuments at Sarnath are the Dhamekha stupa, the Chaukhandi stupa and monasteries and temples of different schools of Buddhism from Japan, China, Thailand, Burma and others. The Indian Buddhist society called Mahabodhi Society maintains a park around the Buddha temple. The Mahabodhi Temple within the park even has a tooth relic of the Buddha.. We will spend about 4 hours here with your expert tour guide who will tell you about the history, architecture and religious background of the sites.

There is also a vast expanse of ancient ruins at Sarnath. Several Buddhist structures were raised at Sarnath between the 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD, and today it presents the most expansive ruins amongst places on the Buddhist trail. The Ashoka pillar of Sarnath is the National emblem of India.

From Sarnath, we travel by car to the vibrant Muslim area famous to see where they make the most beautiful silk sarees the world over.

We will return by auto to Dasashwamedh Ghat. From here we will help you find transportation back to your hotel.

Highlights include:

St. Thomas Church
Durga Temple
Bharat Mata Temple
Monkey Temple
Banaras Hindu University and BHU Museum
Sarnath
Muslim area

Start: Varanasi Old City Tour office

End: Dasashwamedh Ghat

When: 9:00am - 3:00pm (tour duration is approximately 6 hours). Start time varies depending on weather, so please check with us.