Kashi Vishwanath Temple

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is the main Shiva shrine among the places to visit in Varanasi. This guide covers daily timings, the aarti schedule, free versus ticketed darshan and what to expect in the queue.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple stands in Vishwanath Gali in the old city and is one of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines dedicated to Shiva. Its main linga, about 60 cm tall, sits in a silver altar in the sanctum. The shrine has been destroyed and rebuilt several times; the present temple dates to 1780, when Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore had it built, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh later donated gold plating for the spires in 1835.

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, inaugurated in December 2021, widened the approach so that pilgrims can walk from the riverfront ghats to the temple precinct. Wikipedia reports roughly 45,000 visitors a day in 2023, so queues are normal and rise sharply on Mondays, Shivaratri and during Shravan.

According to the temple trust, the temple opens at 2:30 am and closes at 11 pm, with Mangla Aarti between 3 and 4 am, general darshan through the day, the Sapta Rishi Aarti from 7 to 8:30 pm and Shayan Aarti at 10:30 pm. Ordinary darshan is free; paid Sugam Darshan and aarti tickets are booked through the trust's portal or app. Plan for security checks and for leaving phones and bags outside, as rules change, so check the trust's site before you go.