Durga Mandir (Durga Kund Temple) vs Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple
Two temples in Varanasi. Durga Mandir (Durga Kund Temple) has no online ticket listed; Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple has no online ticket listed. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
No ticket for Durga Mandir is sold online, and entry is free. The temple is a busy place of worship in the south of Varanasi, and devotees and visitors walk in from Durga Kund Road without paying anything. Garlands, red cloth, sweets and other offerings are sold at stalls near the gate, and you will be asked to leave your shoes, and often your phone and bag, at a deposit counter for a small tip or a few rupees.
Most travellers reach the temple by auto-rickshaw or cycle-rickshaw from the ghats or from Godowlia crossing, a ride of fifteen to twenty minutes through heavy traffic.
No ticket for the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple is sold online, and none is required. It is one of the busiest shrines in Varanasi, entry is free for everyone, and you simply join the flow of worshippers at the gate. Phones, cameras and bags are not allowed inside, and the temple runs its own lockers near the entrance where they can be left for a small charge. The traditional offering is a box of besan laddoos, sweet gram-flour balls bought from the stalls within the temple grounds, which are blessed and returned as prasad.
The temple stands in the south of the city, close to Banaras Hindu University and about 1.5 km from Assi Ghat, so most visitors come by auto-rickshaw or cycle-rickshaw from the ghats, or walk from the Assi area.
