Visited January 2015
Sarnath is the birth place of Buddhism. Lord buddha deliverd his first preaching. After his first preaching at sarnath in 6 century BCE, Buddhism starts. Dhammek Stupa was built by King Ashoka the great in 3rd century BCE to mark the place where lord Buddha did his first preaching.
The Stupa there is about 1600 years old; built to replace an earlier monument which was originally built about 300 BC in honor of Buddha’s activities there at the Deer Park. It’s a very nice half-day trip - just 13 miles from the center of Varanasi. Reasonable taxi ride. Also nearby is the huge Thai statue of the Standing Buddha, and numerous other sites nearby. If you know or follow Buddhist Philosophy, Religion or are just curious about an important historic site, it’s worth a short day-trip.