Latitude/longitude: 25°19’59″N83°00’00″E
Decimal coordinates: 25.3333 83.0000
Altitude: 77 m.
Time Zone: Asia/Kolkata.
Population: 1164404
Geonames-ID: 1253405
Open Hand Shop & Café Varanasi
Open Hand Shop & Café Varanasi has been the face of Open Hand over the years and has become a must-stop for tourists. It is well advertised and acclaimed in travel guides and with tour operators. The shop was established in 2000 and comprises a retail shop, a café, and a printing unit. The target customers are primarily tourists, although expatriates and locals are also among customers. The shop is situated in the Assi area of town, walking distance from Assi Ghat and the Ganges River, sites popular among tourists.
The retail shop offers a variety of home décor and crafts items, such as table linen, bed linen, pillow covers, curtains, shawls, silk scarves, jewelry boxes, and postcards. The café offers a variety of drink, food, and baked products. The coffee has a competitive advantage in Varanasi, as there are few cafés that offer a similar experience.
It is one of only two shops recommended in the Lonely Planet guide for silk shopping in Varanasi and is a quiet resting place in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Holy City. It holds a competitive advantage particularly because of its combination of printing, café, and shop. The Open Hand Coffee Shop was the first of its kind in Varanasi and helped to create a coffee-culture amongst travelers and locals in the city.
The printing unit produces quality printed goods for customers as well as internal use, and employs previously marginalized people, most of whom had been street children and received vocational training through the Open Hand Charitable Trust Learning Center/Literacy Program.
Here are some Open Hand Shop & Café Varanasi reviews:
www.lonelyplanet.com – Open Hand Shop & Café Varanasi
www.tripadvisor.com – Open Hand Shop & Café Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Contact Us:
Open Hand Shop & Café Varanasi
B1/128-3 Dumraun Bagh Colony, Assi, Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh
+91 (0542) 2369751
rhyne@openhand.in
Varanasi
Varanasi has a charm of its own that is hard to describe…it grows on you one may say. This oldest of old cities makes one believe that time stood still here.
This city holy to Hindus attracts artists, musicians and language students from all over the world and is a favorite with photographers due to its unique character and spectacular sunsets. Varanasi, also known as Banaras, is also a student city due to the popular Banaras Hindu University. The campus has a unique circular layout and is a virtual forest which provides a wonderful escape from the dusty streets and crowded markets in town.
The Ganges river is home to Gangetic Dolphins (Platanista Gangetica) and a few can still be seen in the Varanasi river area.
Apart from visiting an assortment of temples and shrines in the city a visit to the Buddhist pilgrimage site Sarnath outside Varanasi is well worth the trouble getting there (and back).
In the Sarnath Museum Emperor Ashoka’s famous “Lion Capital of Ashoka” (circa 250 BC) is on display and the remnants of the pillar it once stood on can be seen in the archaeological site next to the Dhamekh Stupa. This four Asian lion head sandstone carving has been adopted as India’s National Emblem and is engraved on most government stationary, coins, stamps and currency. The ‘Wheel of Dharma’ or ‘Ashoka Chakra’ is a spoked chariot-wheel carved out of a solid piece of sandstone and was believed to be part of the famous pillar.
Navigate your way to REAL coffee.