Sarnath is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, India.One of the holiest Buddhist sites in the world, Sarnath is famous as the place where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon. From then to the 12th century CE – nearly 1,700 years – it remained a centre of great learning, a place of pilgrimage and a vihara (monastery) for monks and scholars