The Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi is attracting record-breaking number of people, not only from eithin India, but also from around the world. In just the first quarter of 2025, after the launch of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, the domestic footfall in Kashi surged by 77.59%, with the number of foreign visitors rising by 34.21%.
The holy city of Mahadev attracted over 11.46 crore visitors in Q1 2025 (January to March), significantly higher than the footfall recorded in 2024.
Kashi draws 11.46 cr tourists in Q1 2025, with domestic footfall up 77.59% and foreign visitors rising 34.21% as tourism booms post-KV Dham corridor launch pic.twitter.com/dsWuV2B31O
— Government of UP (@UPGovt) May 5, 2025
As per the government data, in the first quarter of 2024, Kashi was visited by 2.56 crore people. This translates into an increase of around 8.89 crore domestic visitors in Q1 2025.
Similarly, foreign visitors also surged from 98,961 in 2024 to 1,50,425 in 2025, recording an increase of 51,464 visitors in first three months of the year.
Notably, the increase in footfall can be attributed to many factors, especially the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2021, rejuvenation of Ganga Ghats, beautiful roads, cleanliness, new ropeway project, cruise service, and the divine Ganga Aarti.
Back in 2021, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple area was from 2,700 sq ft to 5 lakh sq ft under the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor project worth Rs 900 crores which was launched by PM Narendra Modi. The BJP-led government established direct connectivity between the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the river Ganga through Jalasen, Manikarnika, and Lalita ghats. This project has significantly contributed to increased connectivity, beautification of the sacred city and attracting domestic and foreign visitors.
According to Rajendra Rawat, Deputy Director of the Tourism Department, the development that has taken place in Banaras in the last eight years is showing results today. Earlier, where the number of visitors coming here was in lakhs, now this figure has reached crores.
