Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Kashi Vishwanath Temple tickets and tours: which one to book

General entry to Kashi Vishwanath Temple is free and needs no booking: you leave phones, cameras, bags, pens and leather items in the lockers around the gates, pass a strict security check and join the darshan queue. Non-Hindus are allowed into the temple compound. What can be booked is offered by the temple trust itself on its official website: a paid fast-track darshan that avoids most of the general queue, and tickets for the aarti ceremonies, of which the pre-dawn Mangala aarti is the most sought after and sells out well ahead in busy months. Rudrabhishek and other rituals can also be booked through the trust. Avoid touts in the lanes who promise a quick darshan for cash. Most visitors come on foot or by boat.

The temple stands in the old city behind the ghats, and since 2021 a broad corridor leads up to it from the Ganges at Lalita Ghat, so arriving by river is the most memorable approach. From elsewhere, cycle rickshaws and e-rickshaws drop you at Godowlia or Maidagin, from where the last stretch is a walk through the lanes. Guided walks of the old city and early-morning boat rides on the Ganges usually pass the temple or end near it; the guide and boat are included, but because of the security rules guides often wait outside. Day tours from Varanasi to Sarnath can be added on. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the temple.

Visiting Kashi Vishwanath Temple: what to see and how to behave

Kashi Vishwanath, the temple of Shiva as lord of the universe, is the spiritual centre of Varanasi and one of the twelve jyotirlingas. A shrine to Vishwanath has stood in this part of the city for many centuries, but it was destroyed and rebuilt several times; after Aurangzeb ordered its demolition in 1669, the Gyanvapi Mosque rose on the old site, and the present temple was built next to it in 1780 by Ahilyabai Holkar, queen of Indore. In 1835 Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab paid for the gold covering of its spires, which gave rise to the name Golden Temple. The shrine itself is small and closely packed: a modest stone building with carved walls and two gilded spires, the sanctum with a silver-framed linga at floor level and smaller shrines around a courtyard.

The scale changed with the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project completed in 2021, which cleared many old buildings and created wide stone plazas, galleries and a monumental gateway leading down to the river. Look up at the gold spires from the courtyard, notice the many small lingas and shrines kept within the complex, and visit the Gyanvapi well area, revered by pilgrims. Inside, the queue moves fast and priests may hurry you past the linga, so prepare an offering of flowers or milk in advance if you wish to make one. Photography is forbidden inside the temple compound. Dress modestly, follow the barriers and be patient with crowds. Return to the riverside afterwards by the corridor to Lalita Ghat, with views over the Ganges.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The temple opens around 3 am for the Mangala aarti and closes late at night after the last aarti of the day, with brief closures for the midday and evening rituals; check the trust's website for the current schedule. Very early morning, combined with a sunrise boat ride, is the best time: queues are shorter and the old city is at its most atmospheric. Weekdays are calmer than weekends.

October to March is the most pleasant season, while April to June is hot and July to September brings monsoon rain and a high river. Maha Shivaratri in February or March and every Monday in the month of Shravan, in July and August, draw enormous crowds and waits of many hours. Dev Deepawali in November, when the ghats are lit with lamps, is spectacular but busy. Allow one to three hours depending on the queue. Combine it with the evening Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and a half day in Sarnath.