Varanasi

Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Benares, is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities and the spiritual heart of India. Situated on the banks of the sacred River Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, this city is a chaotic, colorful, and deeply profound place of pilgrimage. Life in Varanasi revolves around its famous ghats, the long series of stone steps leading down to the river. These ghats are used for everything from daily ablutions and religious ceremonies to laundry and recreation. A boat ride along the Ganges at dawn is an essential Varanasi experience, offering a front-row seat to the spectacle of pilgrims performing their morning rituals against the backdrop of the rising sun. In the evening, the Ganga Aarti ceremony at Dashashwamedh Ghat is a mesmerizing display of devotion, with priests chanting, ringing bells, and waving large oil lamps in unison. The city is also a significant site for last rites, with cremation ceremonies taking place openly at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats, a stark and powerful reminder of the Hindu cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The narrow, winding alleys of the old city are a labyrinthine world of their own, filled with temples, shrines, shops selling silk and brassware, and countless cows. Exploring these lanes reveals the city's ancient pulse. Varanasi is a place that can overwhelm the senses but offers an unparalleled insight into the core of Hindu faith and tradition.