Delhi to Varanasi Taxi Tour — 5 Days / 4 Nights

The Yamuna and Agra–Lucknow expressways to the city of the Nawabs, arriving for the monuments at sunset.

1. 6:00 AM Pickup from your home or hotel in Delhi NCR
2. 8:30 AM Breakfast near Agra
3. 2:30 PM Arrive in Lucknow, hotel check-in
4. 3:30 PM Bara Imambara and the Bhool Bhulaiya A vast 1784 hall built without beams, with a maze of 1,000 passages on its upper floor. A licensed guide is required for the maze.
5. 5:00 PM Rumi Darwaza The 18th-century Awadhi gateway beside the Imambara, the symbol of Lucknow.
6. 8:00 PM Awadhi dinner Lucknow is famous for its galouti and Tunday kebabs, biryani and sheermal.

Two Lucknow landmarks in the morning, then the Purvanchal Expressway to Varanasi for the evening aarti.

1. 9:00 AM Chhota Imambara A smaller Imambara of 1838, glittering with Belgian chandeliers and gilded domes.
2. 10:00 AM The British Residency The ruins of the Residency, besieged for months in 1857, with cannon-scarred walls and a small museum. Open from 10 AM; closed on Mondays.
3. 11:30 AM Depart on the Purvanchal Expressway
4. 2:00 PM Lunch on the way
5. 5:00 PM Arrive in Varanasi, hotel check-in
6. 6:30 PM Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat The nightly Ganga aarti by a row of young priests with great brass lamps, conch shells and chanting. Watch from the steps or from a boat.

Dawn on the river, the great temples of Shiva and his guardians, and the aarti from the water.

1. 5:30 AM Sunrise boat ride from Assi to Manikarnika A rowing boat along the ghats at dawn, from Assi past Dashashwamedh to Manikarnika, as the city bathes and prays on the steps. Paid separately.
2. 8:00 AM Kashi Vishwanath Temple The Jyotirlinga temple of Shiva, reached through the new corridor from the river. Phones, bags and leather items are deposited in the lockers before entry.
3. 9:00 AM Annapurna Devi and Kaal Bhairav temples Annapurna, goddess of food, beside Vishwanath; and Kaal Bhairav, the 'kotwal' or guardian of Kashi, whom pilgrims visit to complete the yatra.
4. 10:30 AM Breakfast and rest
5. 3:30 PM The silk-weaving quarter The lanes where Banarasi silk is still woven on handlooms.
6. 6:30 PM Ganga aarti from a boat The nightly Ganga aarti by a row of young priests with great brass lamps, conch shells and chanting. Watch from the steps or from a boat.

The Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath, then the university's temple and museum.

1. 9:00 AM Sarnath: Dhamek Stupa, Ashoka Pillar and Mulagandha Kuti Vihara Where the Buddha gave his first sermon. The 5th-century Dhamek Stupa, the Ashoka pillar and the ruins of the monasteries stand in a garden. The modern Mulagandha Kuti Vihara has Japanese murals of the Buddha's life.
2. 11:00 AM Sarnath Museum Home of the original Lion Capital of Ashoka, India's national emblem. Closed on Fridays.
3. 1:00 PM Lunch and return to the city
4. 3:00 PM BHU, New Vishwanath Temple and Bharat Kala Bhavan The vast university campus, with the New Vishwanath Temple of white marble and the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum, which is closed on Sundays.
5. 6:00 PM Evening at Assi Ghat

A last morning in Banaras, then the expressways home.

1. 6:30 AM Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple The Hanuman temple founded by the poet-saint Tulsidas, especially crowded on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
2. 8:00 AM Durga Kund and Tulsi Manas Mandir
3. 9:30 AM Shopping for Banarasi silk
4. 10:30 AM Check-out and depart on the Purvanchal Expressway
5. 3:00 PM Lunch near Lucknow
6. 7:30 PM Tea stop near Agra
7. 11:00 PM Drop at your home or hotel in Delhi NCR