10 memorable things to do in Varanasi including a short retreat

Varanasi, fondly known as Banaras, is a city steeped in stories and is older than history itself. It lives on in the hearts of its people, passed down through generations as they share their experiences and ancestral tales. We have gathered numerous such stories from ancient times that continue to resonate, and now we present to you 10 things to do in Varanasi, including an incredibly fascinating retreat.

Retreat in Varanasi

Making an effort to spend a few days in the city of Lord Shiva and exploring more about the surroundings is a great idea. A retreat is the perfect excuse to distract yourself from daily life affairs and lose yourself to the serenity of Varanasi. The city offers you various things to do in Varanasi including temples, food, shopping for sarees, papads, achaars and a lot more leaving the tourists yearning for more.

A retreat lets you unwind yourself to the delicacies of the city and listen to ancient stories that let you imagine the originality of its existence.

Living in a heritage property at Guleria Kothi

An 18th-century restored heritage property Guleria Kothi is the best example of enjoying your retreat. It serves you with great hospitality along with delicious food, fruitful sessions to keep you engaged and offers you all-time view of river Ganga. All famous sweets and food are available at the hotel and the connectivity with the city is through boat or porters who help you walk through the ghats and reach the city within 10-15 mins.

The porters are very helpful and easily accessible by calling the hotel reception. They know the easy routes to walk you through the lanes of Varanasi and are super quick to respond whenever and wherever you require them.

The property is wheelchair accessible also. More than the heritage structure, it is the staff that coordinates and helps you through places not easily approachable.

Poetry session by Umesh Kabir

Umesh Kabir, an English Literature graduate and a postgraduate in Computer Applications calls himself a spiritual mentor, religious guru, life coach and theology researcher. For some people, he may be all of them and for another set of people, he may just lend his ears to listen to their stories.

He deliberately abandons his original surname and adds Kabir to his name opposing the caste system. He lives in Chaura Math, Moolgadhi Ashram where Saint Kabir lived for 118 years. Umesh Kabir regularly conducts Kabir talks in schools, colleges, senior citizen platforms and corporate setups and holds online sessions for his international audience. His singing of Kabir dohas is very famous and available on YouTube.

Art session with Ruchika Mehrotra

Ruchika Mehrotra is a gold medalist in Fine Arts from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). She owns the Ruchika Art Gallery. A qualified expert professional for Pidilite and fevicryl workshops, she specializes in Varanasi Ghats painting, 3Dfolk arts, paintings in mix media of Ganesha and Shiva, fluid art etc. She has been teaching art and taking art workshops for more than 19 years now.

She churns magic through her painting workshops and reflects the authentic city through her art.

DIY session with Scrapshala

In today’s world who doesn’t like to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and Scarpshala by Shikha provides us the same. Aired on Shark Tank India, this DIY workshop is totally innovative, experimental and sustainable. The workshop helps you experience the basic household items that can be used for home decor, gifting and celebrating festivals. You can find their offline store in Varanasi and online shop on Instagram too.

Ganga Aarti

Attending Ganga Aarti is one of the most checked in the list of things to do in Varanasi. Living by the ghats, you cannot miss this auspicious and exclusive way of doing aarti by 4 sages. The whole city comes to the foot of river Ganga and patiently waits for the aarti to start which runs for around 1 and half hours. You can also call it a desi version of the light and sound show of this city but with pure positive vibes that keep you glued to this authentic city for the days to come.

Vishwanath Temple

Going back to the city from Dashawamedh Ghat, you see a lane called Vishwanath Gali. The whole of Varanasi reflects in this lane in the form of food, shopping for small idols of Lord Shiva and temple, clothes and Rudraksha mala. As you keep walking, you see Vishwanath Temple which is one of 12 Jyotirlingas. There are 4 gates to enter the temple and worship Shivaling and seek blessings. Gate No. 4 is wheelchair accessible too.

The Darshan procedure is simple and systematic. You can get tickets from the registered Govt. office which will provide you with a sage to accompany you too.

Boat ride to see the sunrise and Assi Ghat

Coming to river Ganga, you ought to see the sunrise as you take a boat ride. Early morning at 6, the boatman goes around to see the first rays of sun on a sunny day. In the same boat, you can take a longer ride to see and hear stories about the famous Assi (80) Ghats.

Shopping Banarasi silk

Varanasi silk is famous around the world and you come to this city to tick off that from your bucket list. Even if you are not aware of good silk, there are genuine shopkeepers to help you choose the best saree. These sarees range from approximately INR 7000 to any higher value that suits your budget.

Local street food

Let’s start with delicacies as the city offers a variety of delicious sweets. Laung Lata, Kesari Peta are a few of the options to start with. Here’s a quick list of foods to try when in Varanasi

• Meethi Lassi
• Blue Lassi
• Aloo Kachori
• Samosa
• Banarasi Paan
• Gol Gappe

Ending it at Manikarnika Ghat completes things to do in Varanasi

The story of this city doesn’t end with food, river Ganga, ghats, and temples but with leaving this vicious circle of life and death and achieving Moksha. It is said that you should sit at Manikarnika Ghat for a few hours watching the bodies burning and turning into ashes. It makes you feel the importance of birth and your purpose in life. It is said that you value your life and love yourself more while returning from this ghat.

As you accomplish all the things to do in Varanasi, it is essential to research well before making your itinerary. It helps you divide your time efficiently and lets you make the most of your retreat time at Varanasi.

As you enjoy the city, take pictures and videos and make this small retreat a memorable stay at Varanasi. For more updates on the retreat, keep following #BlogchatterMeets on social media platforms.