Sarnath is a place located 10 kilometres north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh. The deer park in Sarnath is wherein, circa 528 BCE, at 35 years of age, Gautama Buddha taught his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Buddha mentioned Sarnath as one of the four places of pilgrimage his devout followers should visit. The attractions Chaukhandi Stupa was built as a terraced temple during 7th & 8th centuries where Buddha & his first disciples met. Govardhan, the son of Raja Todar Mal, modified the stupa to its present shape by building the octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun, the Mughal ruler. The Dhamek Stupa The Dharmarajika Stupa The Ashokan pillar The ruins of the ancient Mulagandha Kuty Vihara mark the place where the Buddha spent his first rainy season. The Dharma Chakra Jina Vihar, a massive monastery and living quarters for monks The famous Lion Capital of Ashoka, which miraculously survived its 45-foot drop to the ground (from the top of the Ashokan pillar), and became the State Emblem of India and national symbol on the flag of India. The museum also houses the original 5th-century CE sandstone sculpture of Buddha Preaching his First Sermon, as well as the Kumaradevi inscription Tourist attractions unrelated to Buddhism and spirituality in Sarnath include the Sarnath Deer Park and Fish Canal, and the Sarnath Turtle Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre.

This little town is almost in the outskirts of the city and dotted with several Buddhist temples, archaeological parks, and a very nice small museum. Karan recommended us this place, and trust me, it was a good decision. He explained to us the basics of Buddhism, and we roamed around. It was a fabulous day.

It's a wonderful Buddhist historical site where Buddha gave his first sermon. The sculptures in the museum are second to none. I highly recommend visiting here. There isn't a toilet at the ruins only at the museum. Is a very tranquil reprise from the Hindu sites in Varanasi.

We travelled as a family with the help of Pappuji guide. He is a knowledgeable and helpful person. He helped our family travel with ease and showed us all the places that matter. 5 star service! Highly recommended! Pappu Ji's cell: +919839067293 / +918948735966 . Email : pappu703@yahoo.com

Sarnath main compound,Sarnath museum, Buddha statue and Jain tirthankar place are places to visit at this area. First directly go to museum. Than Sarnath main complex , guide charges was very high 2000 rs here(don’t know why you may try) so we avoided hiring here. A guide followed us and showed only Buddha statue and said that’s only place and charged 100rs. He take us to some handloom shop than and vanished after taking money. So I said to directly go to museum and then ruins. It’s large compound and will take almost 2 hours. Ashoka pillar base and stupa is main thing here. Go to Jain temple than Buddha statue on last.

It takes about 30-45 mins from Benaras to reach the Sarnath site and Museum. The visit to the site takes about 60-90 mins and the museum takes 30-45 mins. The excavation sites are very well presented and the entire location has information and details at each site (you don't require a guide unless one likes listening to stories about the site :) ) The museum is small but has many artefacts to see. It is closed on Fridays.

We were welcomed at Varanasi airport by Pappu who was our driver and guide for 3 days. Very kind, available, patient, knowledgeable and most importantly punctual , in addition he is an amazing driver: with his helicopter (tuk tuk) he will take you everywhere you wish, including shopping places and restaurants. Pappu knows everything and will recommend places according to your needs. Overall Sarnath and its Buddhist temples were very interesting , however I would suggest to enjoy Varanasi ghats and atmospheric alleys rather than visiting its outskirts, as you will take loads of time to move around Varanasi traffic and it's not really worth it if you have limited time. Pappu703@yahoo.com is his e-mail im case you need to visit Sarnath and Varanasi like us. Thank you India ❤️

We had a wonderful time with Pappu. He was our driver and guide and had knowledge about all the places. He has a wonderful tuktuk which he called the helicopter and brought us everywhere we wanted to go. Pappu703@yahoo.com for more information and book your time with him. It's recommended. Thank you Pappu!

Hi I recently completed my 4 day trip to varanasi(Feb 7th to 11th). Me, my wife and my 6 yr old daughter had stayed at Hotel rivatas. I was quite confused how to cover Varanasi and what will be the cheapest way. I had initally planned to book a 2 wheeler BUT lucklly didn't choose that as very difficult to drive in the hectic and congested varanasi roads Fortunately, I met a tuk-tuk driver Mr.Raj Jaiswal(Ph 90055 41343), One of the most honest person I met.As my daughter is just 6 year old so we had to make freuqent trips back to the hotel He was more than willing to walk with me to the temple to see if the arrangements for Puja can be made or not. He charged Rs 1500/day and he was available from Morning 2:30 ( As i planned for the Mangla Aarti ) to Night 9 pm. We had booked his tuk tuk services from 8th to 11th feb Now coming to Sarnath We visited Sarnath on 9th and 11th, What an amazing place for my daughter to know about Indian history and Buddha;s histrory We took help of a local guide which Raj arranged for Rs 200 and he joined us to all the nearby places in Sarnath(Dhamek Stupa,Thai temple,Chaukand stupa) I also bought the Tibetian Music Bowl and my wife bought some lovely handbags at a good bargained price( as opposed to normal trend of getting commision from them) which was helped by Raj . More than just a driver Raj was a great tourist guide too showing a lot of temples like the Mani temple , Baba bhairav temple which are not mentioned in most of the blogs. He took us to all the places to try the best delicacies that was on my list.

This was one of the nicest places I have visited in India . It is beautifully maintained and a place of quiet serenity. The slight issue is with the ticket purchase in the adjacent museum. One needs to scan a QR code but this didn’t work on our phone and there is no other option for buying. We were advised ( by security!) to ask a tout to scan and pay for our tickets and pay him double!! As the price of a ticket is quite low this wasn’t a problem but surely one should be able to get tickets by paying at the counter .