How to Reach Varanasi

By air. Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VNS) at Babatpur is about 25 km northwest of the city. It has good domestic connections — Delhi is roughly 1 hour 15 minutes, Mumbai around 1 hour 45 minutes, Kolkata around 1 hour — plus limited international routes including Kathmandu and some Gulf and Southeast Asian services, and seasonal Buddhist-circuit connections.

Getting into the city: prepaid taxis and app cabs are available and typically take 45 minutes to an hour to reach the ghat areas. Note that vehicles cannot enter the old-city lanes — you will be dropped at the nearest accessible point and walk the final stretch, sometimes 10 minutes or more with luggage. Confirm this with your accommodation in advance.

By train. Varanasi is well connected by rail:

1. Varanasi Junction (BSB), also known as Varanasi Cantt, is the main station, centrally located
2. Banaras station (BSBS) at Manduadih handles a growing number of services
3. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (DDU), formerly Mughalsarai, is a major junction about 15 km away across the river, where many long-distance trains stop

Direct trains connect Varanasi to Delhi (several overnight and Vande Bharat services), Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna, Gaya and across the country. Book well ahead through IRCTC, particularly around festivals.

By road. National highways connect Varanasi to Lucknow (around 6 hours), Allahabad/Prayagraj (around 3 hours), Gaya and Bodh Gaya (around 5 hours), Patna (around 5 hours) and Khajuraho. State and private buses operate from the Cantt bus stand near the railway station.

Buddhist circuit note. Varanasi is a natural base or waypoint for the Buddhist pilgrimage circuit — Sarnath is in the city, and Bodh Gaya, Kushinagar and Lumbini (in Nepal) are all reachable by road.