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Varanasi Culinary & nightlife

Our most recommended Varanasi Culinary & nightlife

Varanasi: Night Boat Ride, Aarati Ceremony and Dinner

1. Varanasi: Night Boat Ride, Aarati Ceremony and Dinner

Your tour will begin at 5:00 PM with pickup from your hotel. Take a boat ride along the river, where you can enjoy the breathtaking sights of the city lit up at night. Disembark to watch the aarti ceremony on the banks of the Ganges. See a priest take a sacred brass lamp and offer prayers to the holy river. The ceremony involves lights, cymbals, scented incense sticks, and people singing hymns and chanting. It’s a truly mesmerizing experience. After the ceremony, you will be taken for a delicious dinner at a local restaurant. Order your favorite dishes and relish them in the warm hospitality and cozy ambiance. After dinner, you will be dropped safely back at your hotel in Varanasi.

Varanasi: Evening Arti Boat Tour with Dinner

2. Varanasi: Evening Arti Boat Tour with Dinner

At around 5:30PM, your chauffeur along with your tour representative will pick you up from the hotel lobby to drive you toward the Dashashwamedh Ghat to experienc the mesmerizing Ganga Aarti. On arrival, you will board the royal boat to enjoy a 1-hour cruise and Aarti experience in a more comfortable manner. This royal boat has red carpet flooring and is decorated with flowers. You will receive a warm welcome on board to the boat with a welcome drink, with the boat also having snacks and soft drinks to make this evening more relaxed and comfortable. You can easily catch a glimpse of Ganga Aarti from the boat, with many vantage points being provided to enhance your evening aboard the vessel. The Aarti will start from 6:45PM after sunset, with a croon of mantra. This will be followed by melodious hymns dedicated to Lord Shiva, Surya (The Sun), Mata Ganga (Ganga river) and Agni (Lord of Fire) given by priests wearing the same kind of cloth named as dhoti and kurta, and holding a multi-tiered heavy brass lamp and conch shell. After experiencing the elegance of Ganga Aarti, you will be taken to a famous restaurant in Varanasi for a tempting dinner. In the restaurant, you will receive a pleasing welcome before being served with drinks, starters, a main course and desert. After your appetizing dinner and interesting conversation with your guide, your chauffeur will drop you back at your nearby accommodation.

India: Evening Ganga Aarti With Dinner and Private Transfer

3. India: Evening Ganga Aarti With Dinner and Private Transfer

Your driver will collect you from your hotel lobby for the journey to Ghat for Aarti. On arrival at Ghat, you will embark on the boat trip to Dashashwamedh Ghate. The Aarti prayer service is performed each evening by a group of priests. You will also witness the Agni Pooja, which is performed as a commitment to the Lord Shiva. All priests here are students of the Vedas and Upanishads, which is led by the head priest of the Gangotri Seva Samiti. The service is performed by traditionally-garbed priests by the light of brass lamps. This magnificent Aarti takes 45 minutes and starts at 6:45 p.m.  After Aarti, eat in a famous Indian restaurant, where you will enjoy a mouthwatering dinner.

Varanasi: Maharaja Boat Ride and Dinner

4. Varanasi: Maharaja Boat Ride and Dinner

At around 5:00PM, your chauffeur will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the Dashashwamedh Ghat, for a Maharaja boat ride with music and Ganga Aarti. Once you have reached the ghat, you will board the Maharaja boat, welcomed by a seller who is dressed up in a uniform complete with a garland and bouquet. The royal boat will be decorated with flowers, furnished with carpet, and you will be served some snacks and drinks like tea, coffee, cashew nuts, cookies and chocolates. Once you go upstairs on the boat, you will see that the floor has been covered with white mattresses, one side of which renowned musicians will be sitting with a tabla and sitar. You can sit here on a chair or on the floor to enjoy the mesmerizing Indian classical music. After admiring the soothing Indian music and praising the art of the musicians, it will be time to watch the magical Ganga Aarti. You will be able to easily catch a glance of this one hour Ganga Aarti from the boat. This awe-inspiring Aarti will start a chant of mantra followed by harmonious hymns dedicated to Lord Shiva, Mata Ganga (Ganga River), Surya (the sun), and Agni (lord of fire). The prayer will be given by a group of priests dressed up in similar clothes (dhoti and kurta), who will be holding a multi-tiered heavy brass lamp and a conch shell. This Aarti is splendid, with the ghats being overcrowded with people to witness this glorious Aarti. Every evening it seems to be the occasion at Dashashwamedh Ghat. After sightseeing this lavish Ganga Aarti, you will be taken to one of the famous restaurants in Varanasi for a tempting dinner, after which you will be dropped back at your hotel.

Varanasi: Private Evening Street Food Tour

5. Varanasi: Private Evening Street Food Tour

Your tour will begin at 4:00 PM with pick-up from your hotel. Then you will drive in an air-conditioned car to Assi Ghat, the southernmost ghat in Varanasi and the first stop on the tour. After exploring the ghat, your guide will take you to try the first dish in this street food tour, poori sabzi. Hot and crispy poori or kachori is stuffed with dal and served with a spicy potato gravy. Next, it is time to taste some of the famous sweets of Varanasi. Try jalebi, a treat made from deep fried batter. Then taste shahi turka, an Indian bread pudding. Both of these food items are served crispy and hot, with lots of syrup. Afterwards, you will be served a lassi in an earthenware glass. Lassi is a yogurt drink flavored with cardamom and garnished with pistachios, fresh cream, and a few drops of rose water. You can also try and number of other Indian sweets. Varanasi is famous for aloo tikki chaat, potato patties with chickpea curry and garnished with green chutney, and pani puri, a hollow snack stuffed with different filings. Finally you can try the best chewing paan in Varanasi. After tasting all of these delicious street foods, you will be dropped back at your hotel at around 7:00 PM.

Varanasi: Night Tour with Aarti Ceremony and Street Food

6. Varanasi: Night Tour with Aarti Ceremony and Street Food

Try the deliciously varied street food that characterizes Varanasi, and see the famous aarti light ceremony on this magical evening tour of the city. The tour starts at 5:00 PM, with pickup from your hotel or residence. Travel through the winding streets towards the city center to witness the ritual of aarti. During the ceremony a group of priests clad in saffron and white robes will perform a ritual of Hindu worship with oil lamps, all synced to beautiful music. It’s a spectacular vision and one not to be missed. After witnessing the aarti, enjoy a street food tour led by an expert local guide. Try mishrambhu, a local milk product. Then visit multiple locations to sample a variety of delicious savory southern and northern Indian flavors. Stop at a sweet shop and see how these products are made, then sample some to satisfy your sweet tooth. At the end of the evening, you will be taken back to your hotel by your guide. 

From Varanasi: Temple Hopping with Transfers

7. From Varanasi: Temple Hopping with Transfers

First make your way to the most famous and important temples of Varanasi, the Goddess Durga temple. This is one of the most revered temples of the region, built in a striking red color. Learn of the many interesting stories and myths attached to this temple from your guide.  Next up is the famous Monkey temple or the Sankat Mochan temple, which is dedicated to the Monkey God. Known to relieve people from every sort of pain and trouble, see pilgrims in large numbers paying their respects here. Also, see the many curious monkeys roaming about the streets. Visit the Tulsi Manas temple, another famous and revered temple in the region. Dedicated to Saint Tulsi Daas, the writer of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, the walls of this temple have the entire Ramayana craved on them. Visited by people from all over the world, be amazed to see how the walls of this two-storey temple depict the epic poem. Next see the Bharat Mata temple or the Mother India temple. This temple is one of a kind in the entire country where rather than idol worship, there is an undivided map of India, symbolizing the worship for one’s motherland. Finally, explore the Shri Vishwanath temple in the Banaras Hindu University, which is known to be one of the tallest temples in India and has a lot of interesting stories and fables attached to its construction.

Varanasi: Evening Dinner with Private Transfer

8. Varanasi: Evening Dinner with Private Transfer

Between 7:00PM and 7:30 PM, your chauffeur along with a representative will pick you up from the hotel lobby in a private air-conditioned vehicle for your evening dinner in local restaurant. Upon arrival, you will be received with a pleasing welcome by the restaurant staff. You will receive some soft drinks as per your taste, partnered with appetizing starters. In between, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about Varanasi City, about its culture & tradition, about Hinduism, and any curious questions which you might want to know the answers to. After your authentic three course dining experience is over, you will be dropped back at your nearby accommodation in your air-conditioned vehicle.

Varanasi: Private Evening Rooftop Dinner

9. Varanasi: Private Evening Rooftop Dinner

At around 6:30PM, your chauffeur will pick you up from your hotel lobby and drive you to the Ganga View Roof Top Restaurant, situated near Chausatti Ghat and Dashaswmedh Road. It is a relatively low costing restaurant that prominently serves North Indian Cuisine. From this open terrace restaurant, you can enjoy the light breeze coming in from the river, as well as an enchanting view of the Ganga river. The panoramic glances will take your breath away, and you can take photographs from here to catalogue your memories. After having a mouth-watering dinner in one of the most famous restaurants in Varanasi your chauffeur will drop you back to your nearby accommodation.

Other Sightseeing Options in Varanasi

Want to discover all there is to do in Varanasi? Click here for a full list.

What people are saying about Varanasi

Guide was good and he explained in detail about all the ghats

Everything fitted

Set up friendly guide, well put together tour, good food