Kashi Vishwanath Timings — Aartis & Sugam Darshan Ticket (2026)

Kashi Vishwanath opens at 2:30 am and closes at 11 pm, with free darshan in three windows between the ticketed aartis and a Bhog closure around 11:15 am–12:20 pm. The paid Sugam Darshan ticket costs ₹300 and buys a faster queue. Here is the clock, each aarti's price, how Sugam works and which gate to use.

⏰ The daily clock at Kashi Vishwanath

The temple runs almost round the clock, but free darshan is not continuous. The official rituals schedule, as published by the temple trust:

Sources differ by about 15 minutes on the Bhog and Sapta Rishi windows, so treat the gaps as approximate. The quietest free window on a normal weekday is 4 to 6 am, which is also when sparsh darshan of the Jyotirlinga is usually allowed; it is suspended on peak days.

🪔 The five aartis and what each ticket buys

Mangala Aarti is the one Yatris travel for. Reporting time is 2:30 am at Gate 1, the aarti runs 3 to 4 am, and the ticket is ₹500. Bhog Aarti at midday, Sapta Rishi in the evening and Shringar Bhog at night are ₹300 each. Shayan Aarti needs no ticket.

Rules worth knowing before you pay:

• A booked aarti cannot be cancelled or moved; the date is final

• Online booking is switched off for two days around Mahashivratri, as it was in February 2026

• Some older blogs quote ₹180 for the evening aartis; that was the pre-2025 rate

Our Delhi to Varanasi darshan guide covers the VIP protocol pass, which is a different thing from these tickets.

🎫 How the Sugam Darshan ticket works

Sugam Darshan is the trust's own paid fast-track: ₹300 a person, a separate queue that bypasses the general line, and prasad at the end. You book it on shrikashivishwanath.org or the official app for a fixed date; on the day, spot tickets are sold at the helpdesk near Gate 4 when slots remain.

Three limits the booking page is quiet about:

• It is valid only in the free-darshan windows, not during any aarti

• The booked date cannot be rescheduled

• It goes off sale when VIP darshan is suspended. For all of Sawan 2026, 30 July to 28 August, every protocol and paid fast-track was stopped

Older guides quote ₹250; the official page showed ₹300 through 2026. Daily Sugam slot numbers are not published, so book early for a weekend.

🚪 Which gate to use

The corridor has numbered gates plus the river entrance, and the right one depends on where you start:

• From Godowlia or Dashashwamedh Ghat: walk into Vishwanath Gali to Gate 1, near Dhundhiraj Ganesh. This is the Mangala Aarti entry

• From Chowk or Bansphatak: Gate 4, the main entrance, with the helpdesk for Sugam and Rudrabhishek

• Gate 2 opens from Saraswati Phatak

• From Lalita Ghat or a boat: Ganga Dwar, the riverside entry; it closes when the Ganga floods, as it did in August 2025

• Gate 4B, Kashi Dwar, is reserved for Varanasi residents with ID since July 2026

Godowlia Chowk to the corridor is 400–700 metres, a 5–10 minute walk. Cars stop at Godowlia; on peak days the Godowlia–Maidagin stretch is closed even to e-rickshaws.

👜 Lockers, phones and what cannot go in

Nothing electronic passes the security line: mobiles, smartwatches, cameras and power banks go into the lockers at each gate, named for Godowlia and Chowk. Leather belts and wallets are turned back, and since August 2025 plastic lotas and baskets are banned under the plastic-free Dham rule.

What to carry: ID, cash, a steel or copper lota for Ganga jal, and nothing else. Locker charges range from free to a nominal amount depending on the counter. Footwear goes to the stands at the gates.

Paid poojas, from the official list: Rudrabhishek with one Shastri ₹450, five Shastris with video ₹2,100, eleven Shastris ₹2,600, assigned at the Bansphatak-side helpdesk.

📅 Crowds, and the plan from Dashashwamedh

On a normal day the temple sees 1.5 to 2.5 lakh Yatris; Mondays are heavier, and the peaks run to 10 lakh. Sawan 2026 drew 53 lakh in its first 19 days. The next peak is Dev Deepawali, Tuesday 24 November 2026, when the ghats fill from mid-afternoon.

A plan for someone staying near Dashashwamedh:

1. 2:15 am walk to Gate 1 for Mangala Aarti, or 4:30 am for free darshan

2. 6:30 am Annapurna temple, a few steps away in Vishwanath Gali

3. Morning Kaal Bhairav, about 1 km north, open roughly 5 am–1:30 pm and 4:30–9:30 pm

4. 6:00 pm Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh in winter, about 45 minutes; 7 pm in summer

Which should you choose?

• With elders: Sugam Darshan in the 12:20–7 pm window, when the gali is driest and the queue shortest

• On a budget: free darshan at 4:30 am; everything else is optional

• On a tight schedule: Mangala Aarti, then the airport by 7 am

• Avoid: a Monday without a ticket, Sawan without a hotel booked, and carrying a phone to the gate

🏨 Where to stay for a 2:30 am start

Stay within a 15-minute walk of Godowlia, towards Dashashwamedh or Bangali Tola, so Mangala Aarti is a stroll, not a pre-dawn taxi hunt. Varanasi Junction is about 6 km away and the airport 25–26 km, 45–60 minutes; a station hotel makes 2:30 am hard. Our Lucknow circuit post covers multi-city stays.

Book the aarti you want, leave the phone in the room, and walk in through Gate 1 before the city wakes. Har Har Mahadev.