Campus guide · IIT (BHU) · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
IIT (BHU) Varanasi does not have a campus of its own in the usual sense: it sits inside the 1,300-acre main campus of Banaras Hindu University, and it runs 16 hostels that house over 8,000 students. The 1,300-acre figure belongs to BHU as a whole, not to the IIT, and neither body publishes a separate area for the IIT's portion. This guide sets out what each official source says, lists every hostel with its rooms and founding year, explains how to get there, and shows campus photos.
How big is the IIT BHU campus?
The number you will see everywhere, 1,300 acres, is Banaras Hindu University's main campus. BHU's own BHU campuses page says "Development of the main campus, spread over 1,300 acres (5.3 km2), started in 1916 on land donated by the then Kashi Naresh". That campus holds the whole university, including its medical institute, its temple and over 60 hostels.
IIT (BHU) uses the same figure, and is careful about whose it is. Its IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) says the institute is "Situated within the 1300-acre beautiful campus of Banaras Hindu University". We could not find any IIT (BHU) document, annual report or NIRF filing that gives an area for the IIT's own buildings and grounds. So the honest answer is: the IIT is part of a 1,300-acre campus, and its own share is not officially stated.
BHU also has a second campus that is not the IIT's. The Rajiv Gandhi South Campus at Barkachha in Mirzapur district is "Spread over an area of over 2,700 acres (11 km2)", about 60 km from the main campus (BHU campuses page).
| Figure | Belongs to | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1,300 acres (5.3 sq km) | BHU main campus, Varanasi (IIT (BHU) sits inside it) | BHU campuses page |
| "1300-acre" campus | Same BHU figure, as stated by IIT (BHU) | IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) |
| 2,700+ acres | BHU's Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Mirzapur (not the IIT) | BHU campuses page |
| Separate area for IIT (BHU) | Not published by either body | IIT (BHU) NIRF page, IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 |
| Hostels | 16 IIT (BHU) hostels | IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) |
| Students housed | Over 8,000 | IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) |
| Undergraduates / postgraduates / research students | 6,506 / 1,061 / 1,787 | IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) |
IIT BHU vs BHU: what is the difference on campus?
They are two separate institutions on shared ground. BHU is a central university. IIT (BHU) grew out of its engineering colleges: "Engineering education in BHU started in 1919 with the establishment of Banaras Engineering College (BENCO)", and "IT-BHU became IIT (BHU) Varanasi on June 29, 2012, by an Act of Parliament" (IIT (BHU) homepage).
The 2012 law moved the engineering institute's assets across: "all property, movable and immovable, of or belonging to the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, shall vest in the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi" (Institutes of Technology Act, as amended in 2012). The same Act keeps a formal link, since BHU's Executive Council nominates some members of the IIT's Board of Governors.
For a visitor, the practical result is that you enter through the university. The IIT's departments, hostels and Gymkhana are spread among BHU's buildings, and its brochure says the older ones, "constructed in the first half of the 20th century, are fine examples of Indo-Gothic architecture" (IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026)). The IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 mentions campus roads running "from Hyderabad Gate to Department of Computer Science & Engineering Crossing", which gives a sense of how the IIT is woven into the larger campus.
IIT BHU hostels: the full list
The IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) says "IIT (BHU) is home to 16 hostels, including 12 for boys and 4 for girls", providing "comfortable accommodation for over 8,000 students". The IIT (BHU) hostels page names the same 16. Room counts and founding years below are taken from each hostel's own page, retrieved 23 October 2026.
| Hostel | Rooms | Founded / note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prafulla Chandra Ray | 577 | Boys | hostel page |
| Aryabhatta I & II | 433 | Boys; A block from 15 October 2013 | hostel page |
| Satish Dhawan | 402 | Boys; opened May 2022, 7 floors | hostel page |
| Nivedita Girls | 364 | Girls; established 2019 | hostel page |
| Vishweshwaraiya | 321 | Not stated | hostel page |
| GSMC Old & Extension | 84 + 141 | Girls; extension established 2012 | hostel page |
| Dr. C. V. Raman | 200 | "One of the oldest" | hostel page |
| Vishwakarma | 200 | Boys; since 1964 | hostel page |
| Vivekanand | 200 | Boys | hostel page |
| Morvi | 196 | Established 1942 | hostel page |
| Rajputana | 188 | Established 1927 | hostel page |
| Dhanrajgiri | 188 | Boys; "one of the oldest" | hostel page |
| S. N. Bose | 168 | PhD scholars; double occupancy | hostel page |
| Dr. S. Ramanujan | 129 | Boys | hostel page |
| S. C. De Girls | 122 | Girls | hostel page |
| Limbdi | Not stated | Established 1928 | hostel page |
Where a page does not say whether a hostel is for boys or girls, we have left that blank rather than guess. The rooms listed add up to 3,913 across 15 pages (Limbdi's page gives no count). Two pages both claim the top spot: Aryabhatta calls itself "the largest hostel in the entire IIT(BHU) in terms of students allocation" (Aryabhatta page), and Prafulla Chandra Ray uses almost the same words (PC Ray page). By rooms, PC Ray is bigger.
The count may not stay at 16. The IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 speaks of "student life improvements in 17 hostels" and lists "Construction of Boys Hostel-I (S+7) and Dining Block (G+4 floor) is underway" and "Construction of Girls Hostel-II (S+7)". The same report says a ₹464.20 crore HEFA loan will fund projects including two new boys' hostels.
What are the rooms and messes like?
Food is run hostel by hostel. The IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 says "hostel facilities include well-managed mess services in every hostel, including one South Indian and two Satwik messes for pure vegetarians". Satish Dhawan, the newest boys' block, says it has "2 big size of mess with capacity of 1200+ students" and "6 Lift facilities" (Satish Dhawan page).
Shared rooms are normal, especially in the first years. Students on r/iitbhu, a forum used by both BHU and IIT (BHU) students, describe three- and four-person rooms in the big new blocks:
"I also had 4 person sharing in PC ray ....the room is fairly spacious if you set the beds and table the right way....for me it was fine.." (r/iitbhu, July 2026)
"And no you don’t get single room anytime. Maybe 1-2 people per branch get single rooms. I am not sure if anything has changed in recent years." (r/iitbhu, July 2026)
These are individual accounts, not institute rules. Allotment changes each year, and the new hostels under construction may change it again. For a general packing and allotment checklist, see our IIT hostel guide for freshers.
How to reach IIT BHU
The nearest airport is Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, which the Airports Authority of India places at "Village Babatpur, Pindra Tehsil, Varanasi District". The district administration says flights use "LBS airport Babatpur which is 22 km. from Varanasi and 30 km. from Sarnath", and that "Prepaid Taxi service is available at the LBS airport Babatpur" (Varanasi district how-to-reach page). That 22 km is measured to the city, not to the campus; neither IIT (BHU) nor BHU publishes an airport-to-campus distance.
By train, BHU's BHU how-to-reach page says "There are two railway stations in Varanasi, the Kashi Junction and the Varanasi Junction (also known as Varanasi Cantonment)". For long-distance trains such as the Rajdhani, the district page points to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, "16 Km. from Varanasi" (Varanasi district how-to-reach page).
| Arrival point | What the official page says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| LBS International Airport, Babatpur | 22 km from Varanasi (city), 30 km from Sarnath; prepaid taxis | Varanasi district how-to-reach page |
| Varanasi Junction (Cantonment) | One of the city's two main stations | BHU how-to-reach page |
| Kashi Junction | The other main station | BHU how-to-reach page |
| Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction | 16 km from Varanasi; Rajdhani and other through trains | Varanasi district how-to-reach page |
| Sarnath | 10 km from Varanasi by road | Varanasi district how-to-reach page |
Students on the subreddit suggest shared cabs to Lanka, the market area at the BHU gate, as the cheaper airport option:
"Sharing can will cost you around 400 from airport to lanka" (r/iitbhu, April 2026)
That fare is one student's figure from April 2026; check current prices before you travel. We found no official distance from Lanka gate to any IIT (BHU) building, so we have not given one.
What is on the IIT BHU campus?
The IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) lists these, among others:
- Shreenivas Deshpande Library, with five departmental libraries: "over 142,000 print volumes", open "8:00 AM to 1:00 AM daily, with extended hours during exams".
- Ramesh Srinivasan Student Activity Center: the ground floor has a "Badminton hall, 2 squash courts, 1 gym, and locker rooms", with boxing and taekwondo rings, table tennis and a yoga hall above.
- Three sports grounds: "Gymkhana Ground, ADV Ground, and Rajputana Ground", covering football and cricket, athletics, and court games.
- Campus network: the IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 says "The total Fiber layout is more than 18 Km. within the IIT (BHU) campus."
Student life runs through the Gymkhana and its five councils. The IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 names the big fests as Kashiyatra (cultural), Technex (technical, its 86th edition in 2025) and Jagriti, plus the Saturnalia and Spardha sports events.
What BHU landmarks are around IIT BHU?
Because the IIT shares the university campus, BHU's landmarks are part of daily life. The BHU campuses page describes the "Shri Vishwanath Mandir, located in the centre of the campus", whose foundation "was laid in March 1931". It also notes Sir Sunderlal Hospital, the university's teaching hospital, which "has since been expanded to over 900 beds", and the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum, established in January 1920. The IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) mentions "early morning strolls to the temple" among the pleasures of campus life.
How to check this yourself
For current wardens, contacts and each hostel's details, use the IIT (BHU) hostels page. The IIT (BHU) Annual Report 2024-25 carries construction updates each year, and the IIT (BHU) Experience brochure (April 2026) has the latest student and hostel numbers. For BHU-wide facts, including the 1,300-acre figure, go to the BHU campuses page.
More on IIT BHU and other campuses
Read our IIT BHU placements 2025-26 report and the story of Anil Chakravarthy, IIT BHU alumnus. Compare campuses with the IIT Bombay campus guide and the IIT Kanpur campus guide.
Studying at IIT BHU, or about to? Wear it: IIT BHU hoodies, tees and varsity jackets, shipped across India.
By Arun Raghav S · Co-founder, IITian Vibes · Facts retrieved 23 October 2026 from the linked official pages and documents. Corrections to hello@iitianvibes.com.