Banaras Hindu University

Banaras Hindu University was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the educationist and freedom fighter, and ranks among the largest residential universities in Asia. Its Varanasi campus spreads over about 1,300 acres, and the government has named it an Institute of National Importance. Some 15,000 students study across more than 135 departments and 16 faculties grouped under five institutes.

Visitors come for the buildings as much as the greenery. Carved facades mix Hindu and Mughal elements, and the long avenues are named after the trees planted along them, such as arjuna, mahua, teak, mango, tamarind and jamun. Within the grounds stand the New Vishwanath Temple, modelled on the Kashi Vishwanath shrine, the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum, the Sayaji Rao Gaekwad Library with more than 1.3 million books, and even an airstrip.