Varanasi is inside the CDC's malaria advice. The Ganges at dusk is where the bites are.
- Travel clinic CDC recommends medicine or vaccines for some areas · which ones
- No CDC travel notice for mosquito-borne disease
The CDC places malaria transmission "Throughout the country" in India, with none only above 6,500 ft, and recommends prevention medicine. That takes in Varanasi, the ghats and Sarnath. Evening boats on the river are the city's bite hotspot, and the advice is the same for a visit home to family.
Yes, and the timing matters. The CDC's malaria advice covers the whole city, and the evening ceremony on the ghats and the sunset boats on the Ganges fall in the hours when malaria mosquitoes start biting. Our India briefing covers the rest of the country.
The malaria advice covers Varanasi
The CDC's India page places malaria transmission "Throughout the country, including the cities of Bombay (Mumbai) and New Delhi (the capital)," with none only in areas above 2,000 m (6,500 ft). Uttar Pradesh isn't among the high-altitude exceptions, and Varanasi lies on the Ganges plain far below that line.
The CDC's recommendation. "CDC recommends that travelers going to certain areas of India take prescription medicine to prevent malaria." It lists "Atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine, tafenoquine," and adds, "Fill your malaria prescription before you leave and take enough with you for the entire length of your trip." Book a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before departure. Which medicine, if any, fits you is the clinician's call, and our malaria-zone checklist covers the rest.
City counts aren't available, so national data are the guide. The World Health Organization counted 70,140 dengue cases across India through September 2026, close to the 68,356 of the same months of 2025, and September's count was 72% above August's. The CDC also says "There is elevated chikungunya risk in India." Both spread through day-biting Aedes mosquitoes, so the routine has a morning half too.
Japanese encephalitis in the region
The CDC's India page doesn't name states for Japanese encephalitis, but a study at Banaras Hindu University's hospital shows it circulates around Varanasi. Of 126 adults admitted with encephalitis from September 2020 to September 2022, most of them from Varanasi district, 8 (6.3%) had antibodies to the virus in their spinal fluid, according to a 2025 study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Many tests overlapped with dengue or chikungunya, and some could reflect past infection. A few days on the ghats fits CDC's "short-term travel to urban areas," for which the vaccine is "Not recommended," while village stays or a month or more come under its "Consider" or "Recommended" wording, as the FAQ explains.
The river at dusk
The evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and the sunset boats that watch it from the water are the bite window. Boats moored for the ceremony tend to sit still for an hour, and reviews describe evening boats as thick with mosquitoes. Wear light long sleeves and trousers, and put repellent on every patch of exposed skin, ankles, neck and face included, before you walk down. Dawn rides from Assi Ghat miss the dusk shift, but the dengue mosquito's morning peak means repellent at breakfast too. Sleep in an air-conditioned or screened room or under a net. The CDC also warns that schistosomiasis and leptospirosis spread in fresh water in India and says to avoid swimming in "lakes, ponds, or rivers," which includes bathing in the Ganges.
Going home to see family
Going home to relatives in Varanasi or the villages around it? The malaria advice is the same. The CDC's advice for travelers visiting friends or relatives warns that "immunity can decrease after a person moves away." A relative's home may lack a hotel's air-conditioning or screens, so pack a bed net and permethrin-treated clothes. Our Mumbai briefing has the CDC's full advice for family visits.
Where you're going
Dashashwamedh Ghat & the Ganga Aarti
The main ghat and its nightly fire ceremony, watched from the steps or from boats. It runs in the hours when malaria mosquitoes start biting, so put on long sleeves and repellent before you walk down.
Assi Ghat & the dawn boats
Where many river rides start at sunrise. A dawn ride misses the dusk biters but falls in the morning peak of the day-biting dengue mosquito, so repellent goes on either way.
The old city & Kashi Vishwanath
Dense lanes behind the ghats, with shrines, stored water and drains of the kind the dengue mosquito tends to breed in. A morning application covers a temple walk.
Sarnath
Stupas, monasteries and a deer park just north of the city, usually a daytime half-day trip. Greener and shadier than the city, so expect more mosquitoes in the gardens in the monsoon. CDC's malaria advice covers it.
Adding Delhi, Agra and Jaipur? Our Golden Triangle briefing covers the post-monsoon dengue peak there.
The Varanasi kit
- Picaridin 20% travel sprays: odorless in the heat, layers over sunscreen and works on day and night biters. One 3.4 oz bottle covers about a week of daily use for one person.
- Permethrin 0.5% for evening clothes: treat a long-sleeved shirt and light trousers at home 48 hours before you fly. It goes on fabric, never on skin.
What travelers report
Paraphrased from two TripAdvisor reviews and linked so you can read them in full. Neither is dated, and both describe evening boats. A trip with few bites doesn't change the CDC's malaria advice.
- Varanasi (Alaknanda Cruise on the Ganges)
A reviewer said the cruise boat was full of mosquitoes and grasshoppers, alongside complaints about price and service. TripAdvisor ↗
- Ganges River sunset boat ride, Varanasi · evening
A reviewer said there were hundreds of mosquitoes on the sunset boat ride, flying into faces, and advised drenching in DEET for that excursion. TripAdvisor ↗
One more rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during your trip or in the year after it means a doctor visit, right away, and you tell them you were in India. Dengue usually shows up within two weeks; malaria can take much longer.
Traveler questions
Do I need malaria pills for Varanasi?
The CDC recommends prescription malaria prevention medicine for travel in India and lists the transmission area as "Throughout the country, including the cities of Bombay (Mumbai) and New Delhi (the capital)," with no transmission only in areas above 2,000 m (6,500 ft). Varanasi sits low on the Ganges plain, so the city, the river and Sarnath are inside the recommendation. CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. Which one, if any, fits your health and dates is a call for a travel clinic, made 4–6 weeks before departure.
Do I need the Japanese encephalitis vaccine for Varanasi?
It depends on the trip. Japanese encephalitis is present in the region: at Banaras Hindu University's hospital, 8 of 126 adults admitted with encephalitis from September 2020 to September 2022, most of them from Varanasi district, had antibodies to the virus in their spinal fluid. CDC says the vaccine is "Not recommended for travelers planning short-term travel to urban areas," which fits a few days on the ghats. It says to consider it for shorter trips that include "visiting rural areas, hiking or camping, or staying in places without air conditioning, screens, or bed nets," and recommends it for a month or more in areas with the disease. Take your full plans to a travel clinic.
I'm visiting family in Varanasi. Does the malaria advice apply to me?
Yes. The CDC's recommendation makes no exception for people who grew up in India, and its advice for travelers visiting friends or relatives warns that "immunity can decrease after a person moves away" and that some "have died of malaria after they returned to the United States." Pills have to be started before you leave, and CDC says to "only take medicine that you bring from home" because counterfeit drugs are common in some countries. Book the clinic visit 4–6 weeks ahead, and pack a bed net if your relatives' home has no screens.
When is the best time to visit Varanasi for fewer mosquitoes?
Roughly December to March, when north India is cool and dry and dengue is past its post-monsoon peak. August to November is the hardest stretch. Dev Deepawali, the festival of lamps on the ghats in November, falls at the tail of that season. The CDC's malaria advice applies in every month, so the clinic visit doesn't depend on your dates.
Sources
Health authorities, surveillance reports and news coverage of official bulletins used for this briefing, last checked October 2026. Traveler reports are linked where they appear. This page summarizes public-health guidance and is not medical advice.
- CDC destination page for travelers
- World Health Organization
- Peer-reviewed study (PubMed Central)
- newslaundry.com
- business-standard.com
- World Health Organization
- World Health Organization
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
- etvbharat.com
- World Health Organization
- World Health Organization
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- outlookindia.com