Hyderabad to Varanasi (Bike Ride)

[JRD]

Round Trip:

 

Hyderabad to Varanasi - Hyderabad - Nagpur - Jabalpur (Via bandhavgarh) - Varanasi

Varanasi to Hyderabad - Varanasi - Jabalpur - Nagpur - Hyderabad 

 

• Number of Days 8 (Including travel)
• Start Date: 17th December 2022
• End Date: 25th December 2022
• Bike: RE Classic 350
• Round trip: 2915 Kms
• Spent: 25K

 

Day 1:

Hyderabad to Nagpur:

• On the first day of my trip, I left Hyderabad around 9:00 AM. I made 3 stops along the way, 2 for rest and 1 for lunch, each lasting about 30 minutes. I arrived at OYO in Nagpur by 9:10 PM.

 

Day 2:

• On the second day of my trip, I started from OYO Nagpur at 8:00 AM. My itinerary for the day included visiting the Dhuadhar waterfalls, taking a boat ride at the marble rocks Narmada, and going to the Bandhavgarh National Park. After these activities, I continued my journey to Jabalpur.

 

Day 3:

Jabalpur to Varanasi:

 

On the third day of my trip, my phone fell out of the mobile holder on my bike and the screen broke. I continued my journey to Varanasi, following signs and getting help from locals along the way. After traveling about 200 km, I arrived in Varanasi and some locals helped me find a place to stay for the night.

 

Day 4:

 

Varanasi: 

• On the fourth day of my trip, I visited Assi Ghat and took a boat ride to pass the time while waiting for my phone to be repaired. My phone's screen had broken earlier in the trip, and I had given it to a repair shop. The shop owner told me the repair would take an hour, so I went to Assi Ghat to kill time. I ended up spending most of the day there, including changing rooms and organizing my things.

 

Day 5:

 

• On the fifth day of my trip, I walked through all the ghats in Varanasi and visited most of the temples near ghats. I also went to the Kaala Bhairav temple, and attended the Ganga aarati at night.

 

Day 6:

• On the sixth day of my trip, I visited Sarnath and saw all the temples and attractions there (I have updated what are there in varanasi in the below itinerary). Afterwards, I returned to my hotel room for a short rest and then visited the New Vishwanath Temple, Kala Bhairav Temple, Dhurga Khund, Bandi Maata Mandir, Manas Temple, Kashi Dham, Sakat Mochan Temple, Ruchika Art Gallery, and the Thateri Bazar at night to taste Banaras special foods.

 

Day 7: 

• On the seventh day of my trip, I attended the Sparsha Darshan at 3 AM at the Old Kashi Vishwanath Temple after doing bath in ganga and I came back to room packed my bags and while returning, visited the Bharat Mata Temple and the Ramnagar Fort and Museum. After these activities, I began my return journey with a stop at Jabalpur.

 

Day 8:

• Jabalpur to Hyderabad

 

Itinerary for Varanasi

1. Morning Aarathi - Must be there near ghat by 5:00 AM.
2. All Ghats - Instead of taking a boat ride if we walk, we can cover most of the beautiful temples
3. Raja rajeshwari temple
4. Aarathi at night
5. Bath in ganga
6. Vishwanath temple Old
7. Visalakshi temple
8. Annapurna temple
9. Vishwanath temple new (In BHU)
10. Sakat mochan temple
11. Kaala bhairav temple
12. Manas temple
13. Durga kund
14. Kashi dham
15. Gowri Kedareshwar temple
16. Bandi maata temple
17. Ruchika art gallary 
18. Mukti Bhavan
19. Bharat mata temple
20. Ramnagar fort and Museum 
21. Sarnath - sarnath is a place in varanasi and here you find many Bhudha and jain temples, and most importantly ashok stumb and museum 
    1. Sarnath Museum
    2. Ashoka stambh
    3. Dhamekh Stupa
    4. Chaukhandi Stupa
    5. Budda temples of Tibitian, Japaniese, China
    6. Mulagandha Kuti Vihara
    7. Wat Thai Sarnath Temple
    8. If you have time
       1. Visit Jain temples if you feel you have some time, but I skipped.
       2. Silk factory

 

It is possible to visit all these places in 3 days even if we spend a good amount of time in each place; because they are all located near each other. Here is a suggested grouping to help plan your itinerary:

1. Set 1:
   1. Morning Aarathi
   2. Boat ride in ganga
   3. Bath in ganga
   4. Old Kashi Vishwanath temple
      1. New corridor of temple
      2. Annapurna temple
      3. Visalakshi temple
2. Set 2: 
   1. All ghats by walk
      1. Visiting all the important temples and places near ghats
         1. Bandi maata temple
         2. Raja Rajeshwari temple
         3. Kashi dham
         4. Gowri Kedareshwar temple
         5. Mukti Bhavan
         6. Kaala bhairav temple (This is a bit far from ghats but can be doable)
         7. Bharat Maata temple (this is 5 kms far from Assi ghat so this is also doable)
   2. Night Aarathi
3. Set 3:
   1. Ruchika art gallary 
   2. Durga Kund
   3. Sakat mochan temple
   4. Manas temple
4. Set 4:
   1. Saranath
      1. Sarnath Museum
      2. Ashoka stambh
      3. Dhamekh Stupa
      4. Chaukhandi Stupa
      5. Budda temples of Tibitian, Japaniese, China
      6. Mulagandha Kuti Vihara
      7. Wat Thai Sarnath Temple
      8. If you have time
         1. Visit Jain temples if you feel you have some time, but I skipped.
         2. Silk factory
5. Set 5:
   1. Ramnagar fort and Museum
6. Set 6:
   1. Thateri baazar for food

 

Must spend some good amount of time:

1. Assi ghat
2. Dhashaswametdha ghat
3. Manikarnika ghat
4. Ganga aarathi at night
5. Thateri bazar to satisfy taste buds with banaras food
6. Ashok sthamb 
7. Sarnath musium
8. Ramnagar fort Museum

 

It's ok to skip:

1. Mukti bhawan
2. Early morning aarathi at ghats
3. Ruchika art gallery; basically it's a place where paintings available and its ok to skip this Because you see all those beautiful arts at the foot steps of Ghats.

 

Tips:

1. Avoid taking a private auto/rickshaw if possible, as they can charge exorbitant fees.

2. It costs only 20 INR to travel from Assi Ghat to Dhaswamedha Ghat.

3. Consider using the Rapido app for transportation instead of autos or rickshaws.

4. Bring earplugs to avoid the irritation of constant horn honking.

5. Plan your itinerary carefully, as you can see the main attractions of Varanasi in 3 days, but if you want to see everything the city has to offer, you'll need at least 30 days.

6. Be cautious of scams and do not let anyone take advantage of you financially.

7. If you are booking an OYO room, make sure to confirm availability with the owner before visiting.

8. To attend the Sparsha Darshan, you need to arrive at the temple by 3:30 AM and stand in line and YOU MUST GO FROM GATE NUMBER 2, not from new corridor because new corridor opens at 4:00 AM or some approx (By the way, there is no dress code as mentioned on some websites).

9. Instead of taking auto rickshaws, try walking and using maps, as most attractions are located close to each other.

10. Never hire a photographer near ganga, 90% photographers there know almost nothing; each photo is 15 to 25 Rs based on the location and I tried many photographers.

11.  

 

Road condition:

• The road conditions were excellent throughout my journey to Varanasi. I did not encounter any significant potholes or damage, except for a few stretches of bad road in Madhya Pradesh. Overall, it was the best road experience I've had.

 

Food shout out:

 

• In addition to Aman Restaurant in Bhandhavgad and Hotel Adarsh in Bhedaghat, I did not enjoy the food at any other restaurants on my trip. The only exception was the street food in Varanasi, which I found good.

 

 

Last but not least:

 

• I learned from another traveler the importance of being responsible and not littering on the road. To prevent littering, I collected all my waste in my tank bag and disposed of it in a trash bin whenever I find one. Even though it is a basic lesson, I was not following this... But I made sure to follow it throughout my trip this time.

 

Some pics:

 

 

 

 

Pranamam. 

Edited December 26, 2022 by JRD