Varanasi (Dev Deepawali)
Varanasi → Varanasi
3 days 2 nights
year-round
Starting from
Price on request
per pilgrim · 3 days / 2 Nights
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Experience My India's 3 Days Dev Deepawali Varanasi Tour takes you to Varanasi's great festival night - the ghats lit with lakhs of diyas, the grand Ganga Aarti, a laser show and fireworks, all seen from a pre-booked boat on the river - plus Sarnath, Kashi Vishwanath and the Subah-e-Banaras sunrise. AC car, hotel, a guide and meals. Rated 4.9 out of 5 · 980+ reviews. Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Purnima (late November in 2026) and boats sell out early - WhatsApp +91-7302265809 to book. Har Har Mahadev · Jai Gange 🙏
Experience My India's three-day Dev Deepawali Varanasi Tour is built around the most luminous night in the calendar of the world's oldest living city - Dev Deepawali, the Diwali of the gods, when the long crescent of Varanasi's ghats is lit with lakhs of earthen lamps on the full moon of Kartik, fifteen days after Diwali.
Day 1 settles you in with an excursion to Sarnath, the Dhamek and Chaukhandi stupas and its museum, and the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh. Day 2 is the festival day: a dawn Subah-e-Banaras and sunrise boat at Assi Ghat, darshan at Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav, an afternoon of heritage at Ramnagar Fort or the Bharat Kala Bhavan, and then, as night falls, Dev Deepawali itself - viewed the only way it truly can be, from a pre-booked boat on the Ganga, as the 84 ghats glow, the grand aarti rises, and fireworks break over the river. Day 3 is a relaxed morning boat, the Banarasi silk and souvenir markets, and your departure.
A private AC car, two nights of hotels booked ahead of the rush, a local guide and meals are included. Because the boats and hotels sell out early, the one rule is to book well in advance. For your dates' price, WhatsApp +91-7302265809.
Route overview
Varanasi → Varanasi
Departure
Varanasi
Stop 1
Sarnath → Dhamek and Chaukhandi stupas and the museum
Stop 2
Dashashwamedh Ghat → The evening Ganga Aarti
Stop 3
Kashi Vishwanath & Kal Bhairav → Darshan on the festival day
Stop 4
The Ganga, by boat → Dev Deepawali - lakhs of diyas on the 84 ghats
Final arrival
Varanasi
3 days / 2 nights in Varanasi, built around Dev Deepawali on Kartik Purnima
Pre-booked Dev Deepawali boat - shared, Bajra or private - boarded early
Lakhs of diyas on the 84 ghats, the grand Ganga Aarti, laser show and fireworks
Subah-e-Banaras sunrise boat, Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav darshan
Sarnath, Ramnagar Fort or Bharat Kala Bhavan, and the Banarasi silk markets
Private AC car, two nights of hotels booked early, local guide and meals
You are met at Varanasi Airport (VNS) or Varanasi Junction and driven to your hotel, booked well ahead of the Dev Deepawali rush, to check in and freshen up.
Day 1 - Arrival, Sarnath and the Evening Ganga Aarti
A gentle start in Kashi - the calm of Sarnath by day, and the fire and chanting of the Ganga Aarti by dusk.
Good to know
On the festival approach the city fills fast; an early check-in leaves time for a relaxed first evening.
We visit Sarnath, where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon - the great Dhamek Stupa, the older Chaukhandi Stupa that marks where the Buddha met his first disciples, and the Archaeological Museum with the Lion Capital of Ashoka, India's national emblem.
Good to know
The Sarnath Archaeological Museum is closed on Fridays; the stupas and gardens stay open and are flat and easy to walk.
As dusk falls we take you to the grand Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat - the synchronised lamps, conches, bells and chanting performed by young priests in perfect unison - a nightly ceremony that is a fitting prelude to the great festival to come. We can arrange it from the steps or, for a calmer view, from a small boat on the river, away from the press of the crowd.
We return you to your hotel for the night.
Stay
Varanasi
We begin with the Subah-e-Banaras ceremony and an unhurried sunrise boat ride from Assi Ghat - the ghats waking, the morning prayers, the soft light on the water.
Day 2 - Festival Day: the Dev Deepawali Celebration
The heart of the trip - dawn on the river, the Kashi darshan by day, and the night the whole city becomes a field of flame.
Darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple through the new corridor, and at Kal Bhairav, the fierce guardian deity whose blessing tradition holds is sought for a complete pilgrimage to Kashi.
Good to know
Corridor queues can be long on festival days; Experience My India advises on sugam or VIP darshan and the quietest time.
After lunch, a choice of heritage - the riverside Ramnagar Fort, seat of the Kashi Naresh, with its old museum of vintage cars and arms, or the Bharat Kala Bhavan at BHU, one of India's fine art and archaeology museums.
Good to know
Bharat Kala Bhavan is closed on Sundays; we keep the late afternoon easy so you are rested to board the boat early.
We board your pre-booked boat - a shared motor boat, a decorated Bajra, or a private cruise - well before dusk, because the river fills with thousands of boats and boarding is cut off as the evening peaks.
Good to know
Boarding early is essential on Dev Deepawali; Experience My India plans the timing and the boarding ghat so you are on the water in good time.
From the river you watch the whole crescent of Varanasi light up - lakhs of diyas along all the ghats, the grand Ganga Aarti performed by rows of priests, a laser and light show, fireworks over the water, and the tribute to fallen soldiers at Dashashwamedh. It is Varanasi's great festival night.
We bring you back to your hotel after the celebrations.
Stay
Varanasi
Insider tip
Dev Deepawali is seen from the water, not the ghats - the ghats themselves are packed shoulder to shoulder. The boat is the whole experience, which is exactly why Experience My India pre-books it and boards you early.
A gentle morning boat ride on the Ganga to see the ghats by day, when the lamps of the night before still line the steps, or simply a leisurely breakfast at the hotel - your choice after the big night. The city is quieter now, and it is a lovely, unhurried way to say goodbye to Kashi.
Day 3 - Morning Boat, Silk Markets and Departure
A soft close - the river by morning light, the famous Banarasi silk, and an easy transfer onward.
We visit the local silk and souvenir markets for the world-famous Banarasi silk, brassware and keepsakes, with guidance to genuine weavers and away from the common tourist traps.
Good to know
We steer you to trusted shops - avoid buying silk from places that drivers or touts push aggressively.
After checkout, a comfortable transfer to Varanasi Airport or Junction for your onward journey.
Good to know
Tell Experience My India your departure time so the transfer is planned around the post-festival traffic.
Quick enquiry
Usually within minutes on WhatsApp.
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Based on 980 reviews
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If you take one thing from this page, take this: on Dev Deepawali, the boat is not an add-on. It is the entire experience, and getting it is the single hardest and most important part of the trip. Here is why, and how it is done.
Varanasi's ghats run in a long, continuous crescent for some seven kilometres along the western bank of the Ganga - traditionally counted as eighty-four ghats, the number itself held sacred. On Dev Deepawali, every one of them is lined with lakhs of earthen diyas, lit together at dusk. From the ghats themselves, you can see only the few steps you are standing on, hemmed in by a crowd packed shoulder to shoulder. From the water, you see the whole thing at once - the entire curving riverfront ablaze from Assi to Rajghat, the aarti flames, the fireworks reflected in the Ganga. There is simply no comparison. This is a festival designed to be seen from the river.
Which is why the boat is the thing that sells out. On an ordinary evening a shared boat seat costs a few hundred rupees; on Dev Deepawali, demand from lakhs of visitors drives prices many times higher and the good boats are gone weeks ahead. There are three kinds: a shared motor boat, the most affordable, with a seat among others; a Bajra, the large traditional decorated wooden boat, roomier and more comfortable; and a private cruise or motor boat for a family or group. Experience My India books whichever you choose, early, at a fair rate locked before the surge - rather than leaving you to bargain on the ghats on the night, when there is nothing left to bargain for.
A word on the night itself. The river fills with thousands of boats and the police regulate movement and boarding closely, so boarding is done well before dusk from an assigned ghat - a late arrival can mean no boat at all. We board you early, settle you on the water, and let the evening unfold in front of you. Done this way, Dev Deepawali is the sight of a lifetime; left to chance, it is an evening lost in a crowd on the bank. Book early - it is the whole game.
Dev Deepawali means, quite literally, the Diwali of the Devas - the gods. And the belief behind it is a beautiful one: that on this one night, the gods themselves descend from the heavens to Kashi, to bathe in the Ganga and to celebrate - and the city lights every step of every ghat to welcome them.
The story goes back to Lord Shiva. On this day, Kartik Purnima, Shiva is said to have destroyed Tripurasura, the demon who had built three great flying cities of gold, silver and iron and terrorised the three worlds. When Shiva burned the three cities with a single arrow and freed the heavens, the gods, in their joy, came down to his own city of Kashi and lit lamps in celebration - a Diwali for the victory, held on earth, in the city of the one who won it. For this reason the day is also called Tripurari Purnima, after Tripurari, the slayer of Tripura. Dev Deepawali is Kashi re-enacting that divine celebration, year after year, on the very ghats where the gods are said to have lit their lamps.
There is a quieter, more modern thread woven into the night too. At Dashashwamedh Ghat, amid the lamps, a tribute is paid to India's fallen soldiers - an Amar Jawan shraddhanjali - so that the festival of the gods also honours those who gave their lives for the country. Faith and remembrance share the same river of light.
To stand on a boat in the middle of the Ganga on this night, with the whole of Kashi glowing on the bank, the aarti rising, the full moon of Kartik overhead, and the belief all around you that the gods have come down to bathe beside you - it is, for many travellers, the most moving thing they have witnessed in India. Rajeev Sharma and the Experience My India team have shared this night with pilgrims and first-time visitors alike, and it leaves no one unchanged. Har Har Mahadev, Jai Gange.
Pro tip: Our local guides know these nuances intimately. They navigate crowds, time the darshan, handle protocols and share the stories textbooks miss.
Watch before you go
Watch the real Ganga Aarti, the Ram Mandir darshan flow and the ghat atmosphere, curated by our local experts so you arrive prepared.
Live aarti atmosphere
The evening ceremony at Dashashwamedh Ghat
Temple flow guide
The darshan process before you reach
Ganga boat experience
Sunrise rides over the holy river
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Dev Deepawali is a single evening on Kartik Purnima (late November in 2026) - the date shifts each year with the lunar calendar and is set about fifteen days after Diwali, so the whole trip is built around that one night.
The boat is the whole experience - the lit ghats are only visible as one from the river; Experience My India pre-books your boat (shared, Bajra or private) well in advance, as boats sell out and prices surge on the night.
Hotels in Varanasi sell out weeks to months ahead at premium rates for Dev Deepawali - booking one to two months early is strongly advised.
Boarding is done well before dusk from an assigned ghat - the river fills with thousands of boats and the police cut off boarding as the evening peaks, so a late arrival can mean no boat.
The ghats themselves are extremely crowded on the night - the river is the comfortable, and far better, vantage point.
The Sarnath Archaeological Museum is closed on Fridays and the Bharat Kala Bhavan on Sundays - Experience My India plans the days around it.
Kashi Vishwanath Corridor darshan can mean long queues on festival days - we advise on sugam or VIP darshan and timing.
Carry a light shawl for the November evening on the water, wear comfortable slip-on shoes for the temples, dress modestly for darshan, and keep valuables secure in the crowds.
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Experience My India's 3 Days Dev Deepawali Varanasi Tour takes you to Varanasi's great festival night - the ghats lit with lakhs of diyas, the grand Ganga Aarti, a laser show and fireworks, all seen from a pre-booked boat on the river - plus Sarnath, Kashi Vishwanath and the Subah-e-Banaras sunrise. AC car, hotel, a guide and meals. Rated 4.9 out of 5 · 980+ reviews. Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Purnima (late November in 2026) and boats sell out early - WhatsApp +91-7302265809 to book. Har Har Mahadev · Jai Gange 🙏
30 min reply No hidden costs
Local guide, Experience My India
Born and raised in Varanasi, among its ghats, temples and pandits. I have been guiding pilgrims for more than 40 years, across Ayodhya, Kashi and Prayagraj, in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. Experience My India was built on one belief: a well-planned yatra is a deeply felt one.
More about RajeevPlease review these policies before confirming your yatra.
Processing Time: Approved refunds will be processed within 7 to 10 working days via the original payment method. Force Majeure: If a tour is cancelled by Ayodhya Varanasi Guide due to unforeseen circumstances (extreme weather, government restrictions, or vehicle breakdown), a 100% refund or an alternative date will be offered. Unused Services: No refunds will be provided for any part of the sightseeing missed by the guest due to late arrival or personal choice during the tour.
We understand that travel plans can change. Our cancellation slabs are as follows: 48 Hours or More before the tour: Full Refund of the advance amount (minus a small 5% processing fee/bank charges). 24 to 48 Hours before the tour: 50% of the advance amount will be refunded. Less than 24 Hours or No Show: No refund will be provided as the vehicle and driver are already blocked for your service. Peak Dates: For bookings during major festivals like Holi, Janmashtami, or Radha Ashtami, all advance payments are Non-Refundable due to extreme demand.
To provide competitive local pricing while maintaining high service standards, we follow a split-payment structure: Advance Deposit: A 50% advance payment of the total package cost is required to process the booking. Balance Amount: The remaining balance must be paid to the coordinator or driver upon arrival or at the start of the tour. Mode of Payment: We accept UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm), Bank Transfers, and Cash. Exclusions: Please note that E-Rickshaw charges (for narrow lanes near Banke Bihari Temple), Guide fees, and Temple donations are typically not included in the package and should be paid directly in cash.
We want to ensure your spot is secured so you don't miss the divine Darshan timings. Booking Confirmation: A booking is considered "Confirmed" only after the receipt of the initial advance payment. Voucher Issuance: Once the payment is verified, we will issue a Digital Confirmation Voucher via WhatsApp/Email containing your driver details, vehicle number, and reporting time. Reporting Time: For Same Day Tours, guests are expected to report at the designated pickup point (Hotel/Railway Station) at the scheduled time. A maximum waiting period of 30 minutes is allowed, after which the tour may be treated as a "No Show."
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