Best time to visit Varanasi for good weather

Best match

Dev Deepawali on Kartik Purnima — a million oil lamps line the ghats, the city's defining spectacle.

#1 for good weather

Best match

Maha Shivaratri pilgrim crush in late Feb/early Mar — Varanasi's most intense religious event.

#2 for good weather

Best match

Post-monsoon clarity, Dussehra and ten-day Ramlila — Varanasi opens its true season here.

#3 for good weather

Best match

Cool dry mornings cloaked in Ganges mist — the most atmospheric photographic month on the ghats.

#4 for good weather

Best match

Holi festival turns the ghats fluorescent — riotous, joyous, the trip's most photographed day.

#5 for good weather

Strong option

Cool dry mornings on the ghats — peak foreign tourist season, classic Varanasi conditions.

#6 for good weather

Strong option

Late monsoon withdrawing, Ganges receding — atmospheric green ghats before the season returns.

#7 for good weather

Worth considering

Heat starts to crush — 39°C by day, crowds drain away, prices bottom out.

#8 for good weather

Worth considering

Monsoon arrives — Ganges rising, some lower ghats flooding, atmospheric but limiting.

#9 for good weather

Worth considering

Ganges peaks — flat-roof boatmen out of work, half the ghats underwater.

#10 for good weather

Worth considering

Pre-monsoon humidity climbs, first storms break the heat — uncomfortable transition month.

#11 for good weather

Avoid

Hottest month — 42°C+ regularly, only pilgrims around, not a tourist month.

#12 for good weather