Full day sightseeing tour of Varanasi tour with Boat Ride

Enjoy this full day tour starting from a boat ride in the morning to one of the most holiest city of India,Varanasi. Also visit to Sarnath,where Gautama  Buddha gave his first sermon.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

– Enjoying 2 hours boat ride at Ganges river

– Exploring Sarnath city located 10 Kms away from Varanasi

– Witnessing traditional ceremonies occurring within the city

– Enjoying a buffet Indian lunch at Indian restaurant

FULL DESCRIPTION

Your tour of city would start at 5:30 A.M. where your guide would meet at hotel lobby. You would then leave for a 2 hour boat ride where you would experience morning aarti’s,people taking bath to remove their sins and cremation ceremonies happening on banks of river Ganga.

After breakfast, you’ll be  driving to Sarnath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is hailed as one of the holiest Buddhist places in India and the place where Gautama Buddha, after attaining spiritual enlightenment, delivered his first sermons and claimed the place as an important pilgrimage site for his followers.

Here, you’ll first visit Chaukhandi Stupa, which is an elevated structure surrounded by octagonal towers. It’s the gateway to Sarnath and adorned by lush green lawns from all sides. Then, you’ll see Dhamek Stupa, a remarkable structure built of stone and brick. This cylindrical pillar is engraved with delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. After this you’ll visit Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, a modern temple encasing unrivalled frescoes by a Japanese painter and a rich repository of Buddhist literature. Later you will be taken to visit the Sarnath Museum. This is an expansive museum that houses the finest specimens of Buddhist art and culture.

After lunch, you’ll be visiting the Bharat Mata temple which has a huge relief map of India carved into marble. After that, you’ll visit Durga Temple, Tulsi Manas Mandir, and have an evening rickshaw (tricycle) ride passing through the busy streets and bazaars of Varanasi.

In the evening arrive at the holy river Ganges, where you can witness the traditional ceremonies amidst hundreds of lighted candles and flower offerings. After sightseeing you would be dropped at the hotel / train station/airport in Varanasi at 19:30.