Kashi Vishwanath Darshan: Timings, Sugam Darshan, RulesKashi Vishwanath Darshan: Timings, Sugam Darshan, Rulesकाशी विश्वनाथ दर्शन: समय, सुगम दर्शन और नियम

According to the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, the temple opens at 2:30 am and closes at 11 pm. The day is framed by five aartis, and general darshan runs in the gaps between them: roughly 4 am to 11 am, noon to 7 pm, and a short window from 8:30 pm to 9 pm.

During an aarti the queue for general darshan slows or pauses, so plan your visit around these windows. Timings shift on festival days and are sometimes revised by season; the schedule below is as published on the trust's site in September 2026, so check it again before you travel.

• Mangala Aarti: 3–4 am (ticket holders only; ₹500 on the trust portal)
• Midday Bhog Aarti: around 11:30 am–12 noon (the booking page lists 11:15 am–12:20 pm; ₹300)
• Saptarishi Aarti: 7–8:30 pm (₹300)
• Shringar/Bhog Aarti: 9 pm (₹300)
• Shayan Aarti: 10:30 pm, after which the temple closes at 11 pm

Sugam Darshan is the trust's paid, queue-less darshan. A Shastri from the temple escorts you past the general line to darshan; the trust's portal describes it as including a free locker and ending with mewa laddu prasad. As of September 2026 the fee on the official portal is ₹300 per person. Older guides quote lower figures, so rely only on the portal.

Book on shrikashivishwanath.org for a specific date. The booking cannot be moved to another date, and same-day tickets are sold only at the temple helpdesk counter. Carry a printed copy of the ticket and report to the temple helpdesk near Shapuri Mall, where a Shastri is allotted to you.

The trust says children below 12 do not need a ticket and no fee is charged to divyang (differently-abled) devotees, who can be taken for darshan without queuing. Sugam Darshan is not available during aarti times, on special days, or for sparsh darshan. In Sawan 2026 it was suspended on the Mondays (10, 17 and 24 August), and the administration said it may pause it whenever crowds surge. Book only through the official portal or counter; the temple has warned against touts.

Since December 2021 the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor links the temple directly to the river at Lalita Ghat, so you can arrive by boat or on foot along the ghats and walk up through the Ganga-side entrance. For Sawan 2026 the administration listed seven entry points: Gate No. 4, Kashi Dwar Marg (4B), Nandu Feria, Silco, Dhundhiraj, Saraswati Phatak, and Bhairav Dwar on the ghat side.

When the Ganga rises in the monsoon, entry from the Lalita Ghat side is closed for safety, as it was in July 2025, and you have to come in from the city side. Gate names and which gates are open change for festivals and crowd control, so follow the signs and police directions on the day. Sugam Darshan ticket holders go to the helpdesk near Shapuri Mall first rather than joining a general queue.

Mobile phones, smartwatches, earphones and cameras are not allowed inside the temple, and the administration's Sawan 2026 guidelines also barred large bags, cosmetics, tobacco and intoxicants. The same guidelines advised leaving these at your hotel, which is the simplest option on busy days. In 2025, pens and metal items were also on the list during Shravan.

Free lockers at the Yatri Suvidha Kendra facilities by the Dham's gates were introduced in 2022, and Sugam Darshan includes a free locker. On peak days the free baggage counters may not operate at all, as happened in Shravan 2025, and queues at the counters can be long. Avoid private shops charging for 'locker' services near the gates.

The trust's published pages do not state a dress code for general darshan. Modest, comfortable clothing and footwear that is easy to remove is sensible. Leather belts and wallets are widely reported to be discouraged, but we could not find this in a trust notice, so treat it as advice rather than a rule.

Sparsh darshan, touching the jyotirlinga inside the garbhagriha, is controlled by the temple administration and is not part of Sugam Darshan. It is routinely withdrawn on the heaviest days: on Sawan Mondays the administration has cancelled sparsh darshan along with all daily passes, and on those days devotees have darshan from outside the sanctum.

The trust's portal does not currently publish a fixed schedule, fee or dress code for sparsh darshan. Details quoted on travel sites, such as specific attire or time slots, are not officially confirmed, so ask at the temple helpdesk on the day.

Mondays are Shiva's day and are busier than the rest of the week. The month of Shravan (Sawan, July–August) is the busiest period of the year: about 5.3 lakh devotees were reported on the first Sawan Monday of 2026. On Maha Shivratri the temple stays open through the night; in February 2026 it remained open for 45 hours continuously and recorded more than 9.5 lakh darshans.

On ordinary days the first hours after the morning opening and the stretch after the Saptarishi Aarti tend to be calmer. If you are travelling in Shravan or at Shivratri, expect Sugam Darshan and passes to be suspended on peak days, allow several hours for the queue, and carry water. The trust streams live darshan on its website and YouTube channel for those who cannot come in person.

The Annapurna temple, dedicated to the goddess who feeds Kashi, stands in the lanes right beside the Vishwanath precinct, and many pilgrims visit it in the same trip. Kaal Bhairav, honoured as the kotwal or guardian of Kashi, has his temple in Bhaironath to the north, a short auto-rickshaw ride or walk through the old city; by tradition many pilgrims pay their respects there as well. Its aarti times also change with the season.

The Gyanvapi mosque stands immediately next to the temple complex. The area around it is under heavy security; keep to the marked paths and follow the instructions of police and temple staff.