I Took the Delhi – Varanasi Vande Bharat for a 3-Day Weekend Getaway: How I Saw Everything Without the Chaos

Varanasi is not just another city. There is something about Kashi that you can feel the moment you arrive. The busy roads, the sounds, the crowds, the ghats; everything can feel a little overwhelming at first. But somewhere between the chaos, the Ganga, and the evening aarti, you start to feel calmer.

I have been to Varanasi multiple times, and this was my fifth visit. Yet, I arrived with the same excitement I had the first time. And just like every other trip, I left feeling peaceful, happy and somehow a little lighter.

Home to the holy Ganga and the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, Varanasi has a way of staying with you long after you leave.

If you are looking for a short getaway from Delhi that feels different from the usual weekend trip, Varanasi is worth experiencing. Yes, the city can be crowded and chaotic, but if you plan your days well, you can enjoy its best parts without feeling completely overwhelmed.

Here’s how I spent three days in Banaras – and how you can plan your own trip.

Quick Trip Snapshot

Think about taking a flight from Delhi to Varanasi. You leave home hours in advance, deal with Delhi traffic, reach the airport early, stand in security queues, wait for your flight, collect your luggage and then take another hour-long cab ride from Babatpur Airport to the old city. By the time you finally reach your hotel, you’ve already spent almost six hours travelling, and you’re exhausted.

I took the Vande Bharat, and the journey felt so much easier.

My driver dropped me right at the station entrance, and the platform was barely a one-minute walk away. No long airport queues, no waiting for baggage. You simply walk in, find your seat and settle in. The train was clean and comfortable, and food and tea were served during the journey. What I really liked was how well the train was maintained. Even when I used the washroom around midnight, the cleaning staff was there and made sure it was clean.

For me, the journey itself became a relaxed start to the trip. By the time I reached Varanasi, I didn’t feel like I had already spent half the day travelling. I was ready to check in, head out and start exploring.

Around 10:00 AM, we stepped out and walked towards the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

There is something different about being inside the temple. The crowds, the chants and the whole atmosphere make you pause for a moment. After darshan, we spent some time walking around the nearby ghats, watching people take a dip in the Ganga, priests performing rituals and boats moving slowly along the river. This is also a good time to simply walk around and take in the old lanes of Banaras. There is always something happening around you.

If you’re doing Varanasi in three days, I would definitely recommend keeping a few hours in the afternoon to rest. You’ll enjoy the evenings much more.

One important tip: reach early. The aarti usually starts around 7:00 PM, but the area gets crowded well before that. We reached around 5:00 PM, so we could find a good spot and sit comfortably.

You often hear people say that the Ganga Aarti makes them emotional; you will never really understand what they mean until you experience it yourself.

As the evening gets darker, the lamps are lit, the bells start ringing, and the priests begin the aarti. With the Ganga flowing in front of you and hundreds of people watching in silence, it is difficult not to feel something. For those few minutes, you forget about your phone, work, traffic and everything else happening outside. You are simply there, watching the aarti.

After the ceremony, you can either stay by the ghat for a while or take a boat ride to see the ghats from the river. We chose to spend some time walking through the narrow galis afterwards.

The lanes are full of little shops, flower sellers, food stalls and people going about their evening. It is chaotic, but somehow that is also what makes Banaras feel like Banaras.

We called it an early night because Day 2 starts very early and sunrise in Varanasi is something you don’t want to miss.

We headed to Assi Ghat for one of my favourite experiences from the entire trip: a morning boat ride on the Ganga. If you’re in Varanasi, I would definitely recommend doing this at least once. Watching the sun come up over the river, with the ghats slowly coming to life, is such a peaceful experience. You can see people taking a dip in the Ganga, hear the morning prayers and music, and watch the city slowly wake up.

It was one of those moments where you don’t really feel like taking out your phone. You just want to sit there and take it all in. After the boat ride, we stopped at Um Cafe near Assi Ghat for breakfast and coffee before heading out for the rest of the day.

The campus is surprisingly green and peaceful, especially after the busy lanes and ghats of old Varanasi. We visited the New Vishwanath Temple, which is located inside the university campus. If you have some extra time and enjoy history and art, you can also visit Bharat Kala Bhavan, the museum inside BHU.

By around 1:00 PM, we stopped for lunch before heading to our next destination.

Sarnath is about a 30-minute drive from Varanasi and is an important Buddhist site. It is believed to be the place where Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment.

There is quite a lot to see here, including:

If you still have some energy left, spend some time walking around the old lanes near Godowlia and the ghats. There is something very interesting about Banaras at night. The lanes are still busy, temples are still open, people are still going about their day and cycle-rickshaws somehow find their way through the narrow streets.

After two days, you start to understand what makes Banaras so different. It is a city where everything seems to exist together – temples, food, music, celebrations, life and death and somehow, it all feels completely normal here.

After darshan, it was time for one of the best parts of the morning, Banarasi breakfast. We walked through the narrow galis and stopped for hot aloo-puri, kachori and jalebi. There is something so simple and enjoyable about having breakfast in these old lanes, surrounded by small shops, old houses and the usual morning rush.

By around 11:00 AM, we started shopping. Varanasi is known for its beautiful Banarasi silk sarees, dupattas, stoles and handloom fabrics, along with brass idols, rudraksha beads and wooden handicrafts. If you’re planning to buy silk, don’t buy from the first shop you visit. Take some time to check a few stores, compare the fabric and ask clearly whether it is pure silk or a blend. And if you’re spending a significant amount, always ask for an itemised bill.

By around 3:00 PM, we went back to the hotel to pack our bags. We kept the next couple of hours free instead of trying to fit in one more sightseeing spot. Around 4:00 PM, we went out for one last walk by the Ganga. We spent some quiet time at the ghats, had a cup of hot ginger chai in a kulhad and simply watched the river and the city around us.

After three busy days of temples, ghats, food, shopping and exploring the lanes of Banaras, it felt good to just sit there for a while before leaving.

We then picked up our luggage and headed to the station for our Vande Bharat back to Delhi.

And just like that, our three days in Banaras came to an end. I’ve visited Varanasi five times now, but somehow, every trip still feels different. Maybe that’s the thing about Kashi; you may come with a plan, but you always leave with something you didn’t expect.

The Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat gets crowded quickly. If you want a good spot, try to reach by around 5:00 PM rather than arriving just before the aarti starts.