India
Varanasi and the Ganges
One of the oldest living cities in the world, on the banks of the Ganges: pilgrims bathing at dawn, the evening ceremony of lamps, and lanes unchanged for centuries.
Hindus come to Varanasi to bathe in the Ganges, to pray, and at the end of life to be cremated, which is believed to free the soul from the cycle of rebirth. The city is intense, moving and, for most visitors, unforgettable.
Two or three nights is enough. Stay close to the river so that you can walk to the ghats at dawn, and take your first boat ride at sunrise, when the city wakes.
Written by the TravelZeg team in New Delhi.
In short
- Best for
- Seeing faith as it is lived, photography, a short stay of two or three nights
- Less suited to
- Anyone who would rather not see cremations, which take place in the open on two of the ghats
- Best time
- October to March. Dev Deepawali, when the ghats are lit with lamps, falls about two weeks after Diwali.
- Ideal length
- 2 or 3 nights.
Where to go
Where to go
- The ghats at dawn
- A rowing boat along the river as pilgrims bathe and pray, then a walk back through the lanes for tea and breakfast.
- The evening aarti
- The ceremony of fire, bells and chanting at Dashashwamedh ghat each evening; best watched from a boat.
- The old town
- A maze of lanes behind the ghats, with temples, silk weavers and sweet shops. Go with a guide.
- Sarnath
- Where the Buddha gave his first sermon, half an hour from the city, with a fine museum. Quiet after the river.
Our view
What we rate, and what we would skip
What we rate
A guide who grew up in Varanasi
The city makes sense only when someone explains what you are seeing.
A hotel on the river
Several old palaces on the ghats are now hotels.
Silk weaving
Banarasi silk is made in family workshops in the old town; visit one.
What we would skip
Photographing cremations
It is not permitted at the burning ghats and is deeply hurtful to families. Your guide will show you where you can stand.
A single day trip
You need at least one dawn and one evening.
Visiting in the monsoon
The river rises over the lower ghats and boats may not run.
Practical
Getting there and around
- Getting there
- Fly from Delhi (about 1½ hours), Mumbai or Kathmandu; or take the overnight train from Delhi or Agra.
- Combine with
- Delhi and Agra; Khajuraho; Nepal; the Buddhist sites of Bodh Gaya and Lumbini.
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