Places to Visit Near Varanasi Within 100 km: Chunar Fort, Rajdari Waterfall, Vindham Fall and More

Ask any of our drivers where they take their own families on a Sunday off and not one of them will say the ghats. They'll say Chunar, or Rajdari, or "the falls past Mirzapur". Varanasi sits right on the edge of the Vindhya hills, and inside a 100 km circle you've got forts, waterfalls and some seriously old temples that most people who visit the city never even hear about.

So this is our list of the places to visit near Varanasi that are actually worth giving a whole day to, with how far each one is, which ones you can string together, and roughly what the cab will cost you. Quick warning before you get excited, though: none of these are hill stations. If it's cool air in May you're after, our hill stations near Varanasi piece explains (sadly) why you'll need to go a lot further. These are day trips. Out after breakfast, home for dinner.

Tourist places near Varanasi, nearest first

• Sarnath, 12 km. Half an hour or so in the car. It's where the Buddha gave his first sermon, and a morning there is plenty; our Sarnath guide has the details.
• Ramnagar Fort, about 14 km. The Maharaja of Benares's sandstone fort on the far bank, with a slightly dusty but lovable museum of vintage cars, palanquins and old weapons. It slots in nicely before an evening down at the ghats.
• Chunar Fort, 40 km. Around an hour and a quarter. A fort perched on a rock over a bend in the Ganga that Sher Shah Suri, Akbar and the British all took turns holding.
• Lakhaniya Dari, about 55 km. An hour and a half out on the Ahraura road. A gorge with a waterfall at the end and old rock shelters up on the cliff.
• Rajdari and Devdari, 60 to 70 km. Somewhere between an hour and a half and two hours, past Chakia, inside the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Vindhyachal, 70 km. An hour and a half down NH-19, and home to Vindhyavasini Devi, one of the Shakti Peethas.
• Vindham (Wyndham) Fall, 75 to 80 km. Two hours or a little more, south of Mirzapur, with a small park and zoo alongside.
• Prayagraj, 125 km. Technically outside the circle, but honestly it's the day trip we get asked about more than any other, so it gets its own Sangam day trip guide.

Chunar Fort

If you're only going to add one thing to a Varanasi trip, we'd pick Chunar Fort every time. The Ganga swings north right under it, which meant that for centuries whoever sat on this rock got to keep an eye on every boat going between Bengal and Delhi, and so pretty much everybody wanted it. The story locals tell is that Maharaja Vikramaditya of Ujjain built it for his brother Raja Bhartrihari (his samadhi is still up there). Sher Shah Suri grabbed it in the 1530s, Akbar took it back in 1575, and from 1772 the British kept guns and powder in it. If you grew up on Chandrakanta, the novel or the old TV serial, this is Chunargarh.

Once you're inside, look out for the Sonwa Mandap, Bhartrihari's samadhi, a very deep stepped well, the old gun emplacements and, best of all, the view down the river from the ramparts on the western side. Two hours is about right.

A few practical bits. Chunar Fort timings are daytime only, usually somewhere around 10 AM to 4 PM, and parts of the complex are used by the government and stay locked. People who've been recently say entry is free. Come between October and March if you can, and aim for late afternoon when the light hits the water. It pairs really well with Vindhyachal and Vindham Fall, which are on the same road, or with Lakhaniya Dari.

Rajdari waterfall and Devdari

Rajdari waterfall and its neighbour Devdari sit on the Chandraprabha river inside the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary in Chandauli district. The sanctuary was set aside back in the 1950s for Asiatic lions. The lions didn't last, sadly, but the forest did, along with the rock pools and a surprising amount of birdlife. The two falls are only a short hop apart, so think of them as one stop.

You get there by heading for Chakia and then taking the forest road up to the sanctuary gate, and that last stretch is honestly where a driver who's done it before earns his money. There's a small entry and parking charge at the gate; bring cash, because there's no ATM inside and card machines are hit and miss. Food is a handful of snack stalls and that's it, and you can't stay overnight, so pack a picnic.

Go between July and February. The water's at its best right after the monsoon, and by April there's barely a trickle. Skip Sundays and holidays if you can, when half of Chandauli seems to turn up with a picnic. And please, whatever the locals are doing, don't swim in the pools. The rock is slick, the current is stronger than it looks, and sadly people drown here most years.

Vindham Fall and Lakhaniya Dari

Vindham Fall is spelled Wyndham, Windom or Wyndom depending on whose signboard you believe. It's named after a British Collector of Mirzapur, of all people. It's about 14 km from Mirzapur station and 15 from the Vindhyavasini temple, so it fits very neatly into a Vindhyachal day. The district has put in a small park and zoo next to it, and there are old rock paintings in caves nearby if you fancy a scramble.

Try to be there before nine; after that the crowds build. There's hardly any food around, so bring water and something to eat. You might also get hassled by unofficial "parking attendants" wanting money, which is a known annoyance. Our drivers just use the proper lot and it isn't an issue.

Lakhaniya Dari is wilder and, we think, more dramatic: a narrow gorge with a fall at the end and rock shelters high up on the cliff face. It goes nicely with Chunar Fort. Same rule as the others, go between the monsoon and February.

Vindhyachal

For a lot of our guests, Vindhyachal is the whole reason to drive south. The Vindhyavasini Devi temple is one of the Shakti Peethas, and the full trikon yatra (Vindhyavasini, Ashtabhuja up on the hill, then Kali Khoh) takes three or four hours. Both Navratris get very, very crowded. Fares and timings are on our Varanasi to Vindhyachal page.

One day trips from Varanasi that actually work

Forts and falls. This is the one we'd suggest to most mixed groups, about 170 to 180 km all told. Leave at seven, spend a couple of hours at Chunar Fort, do darshan at Vindhyachal, see Vindham Fall in the afternoon and you're back in Varanasi by about eight.

Just the waterfalls. Out at seven towards Chakia, three hours or so at Rajdari and Devdari with lunch by the water, and home by five. Only worth it from July to February, mind.

A pilgrim's day. The Vindhyachal trikon yatra in the morning and Chunar Fort on the way back. It's gentle on older travellers too, because there's no long walking.

What the cab costs

The short, fixed trips have fixed fares; a Vindhyachal round trip starts at ₹2,200 in a Swift Dzire, for instance. Anything longer goes on our published per-km rates, and those already cover fuel, the driver's allowance and parking. A Swift Dzire starts at ₹11/km for up to four people. An Innova Crysta is from ₹16/km for six, and it's the car we'd put you in for the forest road to Rajdari. For families and small groups the 12-seater tempo traveller is from ₹24/km, and the 17-seater from ₹23/km.

One thing that trips people up: outstation days have a 250 km minimum, so a 175 km forts-and-falls day gets billed as 250. Every rate's on the pricing page, and you can see the cars themselves on the fleet page.

Frequently asked questions

1. What's the best one day trip from Varanasi?

For most groups we'd say Chunar Fort, Vindhyachal and Vindham Fall in one go. You get a bit of history, a big temple and a waterfall, all on the same road, and you're still home for dinner.

2. Which tourist places near Varanasi are within 50 km?

Sarnath at 12 km, Ramnagar Fort at roughly 14 km, and Chunar Fort at 40. Lakhaniya Dari and Rajdari sit just past that, somewhere between 55 and 70 km out.

3. When should I visit the waterfalls near Varanasi?

Any time from July to February, with August and September being the best for water. Between April and June most of them are more or less dry, so don't bother then.

4. What are the Chunar Fort timings and entry fee?

It's a daytime visit, usually about 10 AM to 4 PM, and recent visitors say they didn't pay to get in. Some of the buildings inside belong to the government and are kept shut.

5. Can I swim at Rajdari waterfall or Vindham Fall?

We'd really rather you didn't. The rocks are slippery and the currents are strong, especially after rain. Paddle at the edges by all means, but keep off the wet ledges.

6. Can I get to these places by bus or train?

Chunar and Vindhyachal both have stations, but the waterfalls don't, and the last bit is by shared jeep or auto. Hiring a cab for the day is a lot quicker and means you can do two or three places instead of one.

Fancy a day out of the city? Tell us where you'd like to go, the date and how many of you there are, and we'll send you a fixed price. Call or WhatsApp us on +91 92503 31290, or plan your trip online.