A huge stupa, Chaukhandi stupa is the first point of interest you note as you enter Sarnath from Varanasi.

Chaukhandi Stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Sarnath located 8 kilometres from Cantt Railway Station in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Stupas have evolved from burial mounds and serve as a shrine for a relic of the Buddha.[1] The site was declared to be a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India in June 2019.