Sarnath with a Specialist Guide

Sarnath lies about ten kilometres from the centre of Varanasi, and it was here, in a deer park, that the Buddha is said to have given his first teaching after his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Many visitors walk past the ruins in under an hour. With a specialist guide, the same ground becomes legible.

Your guide walks you around the Dhamek Stupa, with its carved band of floral and geometric patterns, the monastery foundations and the broken shaft of the pillar raised by the emperor Ashoka. In the Archaeological Museum you see the Lion Capital that became the national emblem of India. Time permitting, the visit continues to the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara, completed in 1931, whose walls the Japanese painter Kosetsu Nosu covered with scenes from the Buddha's life, and to the Chaukhandi Stupa.

Transport between Varanasi and Sarnath and the entry tickets are listed separately in your quotation, so it is clear what is included. If Sarnath is already part of your journey, it shows as included rather than as an extra. The museum is closed on Fridays, so the visit is planned for another day.