Varanasi Old City Walk: The Afternoon Lanes

Varanasi is usually described at its extremes: the river at dawn, the aarti at dusk, the burning ghats at any hour. The middle of the day gets little attention. Guidebooks tell you to rest, and in the heat of summer that is sensible advice. But in November, in the days around Dev Deepawali, the afternoon is mild, the light is soft, and the old city behind the ghats is at its most legible. This is the time to walk its lanes.

The old city, briefly

Behind the riverfront lies a dense web of narrow lanes, called galis, that climb away from the ghats. Many are barely wide enough for two people to pass, and some are shared with cows, motorcycles and handcarts. Houses rise several storeys on either side, with small temples tucked into walls, doorways painted with names and dates, and shops no bigger than a cupboard. The area around the Kashi Vishwanath temple, and the stretch between Dashashwamedh and Manikarnika, is especially dense, though large parts near the temple were rebuilt for the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project opened in 2021.

Getting lost is normal. Most lanes eventually lead either down to the river or up to a main road, and locals are generally willing to point you in the right direction.

Why the afternoon

In the morning the lanes are busy with pilgrims going to and from the river and with people heading to work. In the evening, especially in festival season, they fill with people walking to the ghats for the aarti and the lamps. The afternoon falls between these two tides. Shops are open, but the crush is lighter. Families sit on doorsteps. Children are home from school. In November the sun is warm without being harsh, and it falls into the lanes at angles that reveal carved doorways and faded paintwork.

Around Dev Deepawali the afternoon has an added quality. Preparations are under way: lamps being bought in bulk, marigold garlands being strung, cotton wicks being twisted, oil being poured into containers. You see the festival’s supply chain at street level.

A loose route

There is no single route, and we would not want you to follow one too closely. But a good afternoon might go like this. Start from Dashashwamedh Road and enter the lanes heading north, roughly parallel to the river. Wander towards the area around the Vishwanath temple, noticing how the newer corridor sits against the old lanes. Continue towards Manikarnika through the lanes rather than along the ghats, and observe the woodpiles stacked for cremations, which tell their own story of the city’s relationship with death. Then turn back towards the river and come out on a ghat in time for the late afternoon light.

Alternatively, start near Assi and walk the residential lanes around Bhadaini and Shivala, which are quieter and give a sense of everyday neighbourhoods rather than pilgrimage routes.

What you will see

Small shrines in walls, often freshly decorated with flowers and vermilion
Sweet shops frying and stacking festival sweets
Lamp and pottery sellers, with stacks of clay diyas
Flower sellers threading marigold garlands for the ghats
Houses with carved wooden doors and old balconies
Akharas, traditional wrestling gyms, in some neighbourhoods

Food in the lanes

The afternoon is a good time to try Varanasi’s street snacks, which are part of its reputation. Look for kachori and sabzi, a common breakfast and snack, jalebi, and malaiyyo, a frothy milk sweet traditionally associated with the winter months, though whether you find it in early November depends on the weather. Lassi in clay cups is another local favourite, as is the famous Banarasi paan. We do not recommend particular stalls here, because good ones are everywhere and reputations change. Choose places that are busy with local customers and where food is cooked fresh in front of you.

Etiquette

The lanes are homes and places of worship, not a backdrop. Ask before photographing people, especially women and children, and do not photograph inside temples where it is prohibited. Remove your shoes where indicated. Give way to processions, which may include funeral processions carrying bodies to the cremation ghats; step aside and let them pass. Cows have right of way in practice, and their horns deserve respect.

Touts and self-appointed guides are common near the main temples and ghats. A firm “no, thank you” is usually enough. If you would like a guide, arrange one through your accommodation or a reputable heritage walk organiser, and agree the fee and duration in advance.

Temple visits

If you plan to visit Kashi Vishwanath, check the latest rules on entry, security and what you can carry, which change from time to time; mobile phones, bags and leather items have often had to be deposited before entry. Around festivals, queues can be very long, and the afternoon may be one of the less crowded windows, but there is no guarantee during Dev Deepawali week.

Getting your bearings

A paper map is of limited use in the lanes, and phone navigation can be unreliable between tall buildings. Use landmarks instead: the river is always downhill, and major ghats are usually signposted at lane junctions. Note the name of your guesthouse’s nearest ghat, and you can always find your way back along the riverfront.

Ending on the steps

Come out of the lanes onto the ghats as the sun begins to drop. In the days around Dev Deepawali you will find the steps busy with preparations, and the light on the river turning gold. Sit for a while. You will have seen the city behind the spectacle, the one where people live, cook, pray and make the lamps that will soon light the riverfront. The evening will make more sense for it.

Shopping without the pressure

The lanes are full of small shops selling brass, wooden toys, rudraksha beads, religious images, and of course textiles. Afternoon is a relaxed time to browse, but be aware that some guides and rickshaw drivers earn commissions for bringing visitors to particular showrooms. If you are taken somewhere you did not ask to go, you are under no obligation to buy. Take your time, compare, and buy what you like rather than what you are told is special.

A final suggestion

Leave room in your afternoon for nothing in particular. Sit on a step at a lane junction, drink a cup of tea from a stall, and watch the neighbourhood go about its business. Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, according to a claim the city makes proudly and that historians debate, and an hour simply watching it live is time well spent.