Banarasi silk is the city's signature purchase and one of India's most celebrated textiles. Banarasi sarees are woven with fine silk and intricate zari (gold or silver thread) brocade, traditionally featuring Mughal-influenced floral and foliate motifs. A genuine handwoven piece takes weeks or months to make and is priced accordingly.
Buying silk without being cheated requires care, because Varanasi has a well-established industry of selling machine-made or blended fabric as handwoven pure silk:
- Buy from established, fixed-price showrooms rather than from someone who approaches you on the street or in a boat
- Be extremely wary of anyone — including rickshaw drivers, guides and "students" who befriend you — offering to take you to a workshop; they earn substantial commissions that are added to your price
- Ask for the Silk Mark label, which certifies pure silk
- Genuine handwoven Banarasi silk is expensive. A very cheap "pure silk saree" is not one.
- Handloom pieces have slight irregularities; power-loom pieces are perfectly uniform on the reverse
Where to shop: The government emporium and established showrooms in the Cantonment and around Godowlia are the safer options. Some weavers' cooperatives in the Madanpura and Alaipura areas sell directly, but go with a trusted contact rather than a street introduction.
Other purchases:
- Brass and copper items — lamps, puja vessels, figurines, from the lanes around Vishwanath Gali
- Wooden toys and lacquerware — a traditional Varanasi craft
- Rudraksha beads and prayer malas — widely sold; quality and authenticity vary considerably
- Stone inlay and soapstone work
- Books on Indian philosophy and religion — the university area has good bookshops
- Musical instruments — tabla, sitar and other instruments are made in Varanasi, given the city's classical music tradition. Buy from established makers.
- Langda aam — the celebrated local mango variety, in season roughly June to July
Markets: Vishwanath Gali (the lane approaching the main temple, dense with shops), Godowlia Market (general), Thatheri Bazaar (metalware), Chowk (traditional).