Best Specialty in Varanasi

Located in the middle of the 'Carpet City'-Bhadohi, Vishal Carpets has been manufacturing finest quality carpets ever since it was first set up in the year 1985. Made famous for their alluring patterns, designs and prints, all their products are intricately designed by skilled artisans. Popular varieties include hand-knotted, hand-woven and Tibbeti carpets, among others.

Located a few minutes away from the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Raj Bandhu Sweet Shop is buzzing with activity during all times of the day. Selling the choicest sweetmeats in town at fixed rates, you can even sample a few of the usual suspects such as gulab jamun, jalebi, motichur laddoo and others. Spicy deep-fried snacks that Indians consume at tea time are also on offer. This shop is hard to miss because of the line of policemen who sit right by the entrance to guard the little streets leading up to the temple.

Tucked away in the by-lanes of Varanasi's Old City lies the Vishnu Tea Emporium whose hand-painted signs are seen on almost every wall of the ghats area and its alleys. Young Vishnu who speaks a smattering of French proudly discusses how he explains the tea-making process to French tourists in their own language. Home-made spices and coffees are up for sale, while those wanting to sample a hot tea before buying it can do so too.

Consistently dishing out a mind-boggling range of fresh and tantalizing traditional sweets since 1968, the family-run Ksheer Sagar uses 100% natural ingredients in all its preparations. Literally translating into Ocean of Milk, this shop does roaring business no matter what time of the day or year. Locals flock here to pick up delicacies such as gulab jamun, jalebi and shrikhand (a sweetened yogurt served with cardamom, pistachios and saffron). If the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, Ksheer Sagar wins in a heartbeat!

Situated in the heart of the 'Carpet City', Ivory Rug Creation is a landmark store selling an exhaustive range of carpets. The boutique stocks both hand-made as well as machine-made rugs and features an interesting array of designs, colors and prints. Be it their hand-weaved wool carpets, intricately designed Nepali rugs or the brown jute-made carpets, all their products are equally popular in India and abroad.