Holi in Varanasi: the only city that plays it first with ashes, then with colour

Kashi's Holi unfolds over roughly a week, from the temple to the cremation ground to the streets. The 2027 dates:

On Phalguna Shukla Ekadashi, a few days before the national Holi, Kashi begins. The tradition holds that on this day Lord Shiva brought Goddess Parvati to Kashi as his bride, and the city welcomes them with the first gulal of the season. The silver palanquin of Baba Vishwanath and Mata Parvati is carried in a procession through the narrow lanes around the temple, and devotees shower it with colour and rose petals. This is the devotional opening: Holi offered to the divine couple before anyone plays it with each other. It is temple-centred, joyful and deeply local.

From the ground: for my Telugu and Kannada guests, this is the moment that explains why Kashi's Holi is different. You are not starting a colour fight; you are welcoming Shiva and Parvati home, and only then does the city let itself go.

The day after Rangbhari Ekadashi comes the one Kashi alone keeps. By legend, having played gulal with gods and men, Shiva went to the cremation ground to play Holi with his other companions, the ganas, spirits and ascetics who cannot join the living's celebration, and there the colour was ash from the pyres. So at Manikarnika Ghat, and a day earlier at Harishchandra Ghat, sadhus, Aghoris and devotees smear the ash of the burning ghats in place of gulal, to the beat of damrus and chants of "Har Har Mahadev," among pyres that never stop burning. It is a meditation on impermanence made visible: the ultimate truth that in Kashi even death is not feared but danced with. It is unlike anything else in Hindu practice, and it draws photographers from around the world.

Two nights later, on the Phalguna full moon (Monday, 22 March 2027), the Holika bonfires are lit across the neighbourhoods at dusk, burning the demoness Holika and the triumph of devotion over pride. The next morning, Tuesday, 23 March, is Rangwali Holi: the city dissolves into gulal and water, bhang and thandai, gujiya and song, the ghats and lanes a blur of colour. Banaras plays Holi hard and joyfully; it is exuberant, loud and wet, and best met in the morning and in company.

No other city moves Holi through these three stages, from the temple, to the cremation ground, to the street; from devotion, to detachment, to celebration. Elsewhere Holi is a colour festival. In Kashi it is a philosophy in three acts: welcome the divine, accept impermanence, then celebrate life without fear. That sequence, and Masaan Holi above all, is what makes people travel across the world for it.

• Kashi Vishwanath and its lanes (Rangbhari Ekadashi): for the palanquin procession and the first gulal.
• Manikarnika Ghat (Masaan Holi): for the ash-Holi, from a respectful, regulated viewing zone, never among the cremation platforms.
• Your neighbourhood (Holika Dahan): the bonfires are everywhere at dusk.
• Assi Ghat and the old city (Rangwali Holi): the joyful colour, in the morning.
• A hotel celebration: the safe, controlled way to play with colour, which we can arrange.

Masaan Holi is the reason many come, and it is the part that most needs honesty. Manikarnika is a working cremation ground, not a festival stage: real families are grieving real dead a few feet from the ash-play. Attend only from the regulated viewing zones the administration marks, never step onto the cremation platforms, and be extremely careful with photography, many people here are in mourning, and a camera pushed into grief for a dramatic shot is a genuine wrong. There is no ticket and no VIP access, and anyone selling "Masaan Holi passes" is exploiting the sacred. What we honestly provide is a guide who positions you respectfully, explains the ritual and its meaning, and makes sure you witness it as a pilgrim rather than a tourist. On this of all mornings, conduct matters more than the photograph.

Fly into Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VNS), about 25 km out; trains serve Varanasi Junction, Banaras and Kashi stations. Holi week is one of the busiest and most-booked weeks of the Kashi year; secure flights and rooms months ahead. On Rangwali Holi day, transport largely stops and the city is walked. Our guests move by private Innova Crysta on the temple and ghat runs. Full detail in the How to Reach Varanasi guide.

Our package guests stay at the Taj Ganges or Hilton Varanasi with breakfast, which also gives a safe, controlled space to play with organic colours on Rangwali Holi morning. Ghat-side stays put you in the heart of it; all of Kashi's rooms are scarce and dear in Holi week. More in the Stay & Hotels guide.

• Old clothes you will discard; the colour does not fully wash out. White is traditional for the colour day.
• Ask for organic, herbal gulal; oil your skin and hair beforehand and it comes off far easier.
• Sunglasses to protect eyes; a cap; closed footwear.
• At Masaan Holi: no bright celebration, quiet respect, and photograph the ritual, never mourners or pyres up close.
• On the colour day: keep phones and valuables in a sealed pouch; play in the morning and in a group.

Holi week timed around Rangbhari Ekadashi, Masaan Holi and Rangwali Holi builds on one flat rate: ₹12,500 per day for two guests, Taj or Hilton base, Innova throughout, confirmed in writing before any advance. It sits close to Maha Shivratri in the Kashi calendar, both Shiva-centred Phalguna festivals, and slots into the 4 Days Ayodhya Varanasi Tour Package, ₹50,000 per couple (₹25,000 per person), with the Holi sequence added. Browse all packages.