City of Varanasi

Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Benares, is among the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth and the spiritual heart of India. Sacred to Hindus as the city of Lord Shiva, it has drawn pilgrims, sages and seekers for thousands of years. To stand on its riverbank at dawn is to witness a way of life that has endured, almost unchanged, across the centuries.

The ghats are the stage on which the city's life unfolds. These broad stone steps descend to the Ganges, where pilgrims bathe in the holy water at sunrise, priests perform rituals, and daily existence plays out in an unforgettable tableau. A slow boat ride along the river, especially in the soft light of early morning, offers the most beautiful introduction to the city.

Faith and mortality sit openly side by side here. The cremation ghats, where the departed are believed to attain liberation, lend Varanasi a profound, unflinching intimacy with the cycle of life and death. Each evening the grand Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat unfolds in a blaze of fire, incense and rhythmic chanting that draws a spellbound crowd.

Beyond the river, a labyrinth of ancient lanes hides temples, shrines and tiny shops, including those selling the celebrated Banarasi silk saris woven here for generations. Nearby Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, adds a serene Buddhist dimension to any visit, with its stupa and quiet gardens.

We include Varanasi because no journey through India feels complete without it. Intense, moving and utterly unique, it is best experienced over at least one full night, allowing both the lamp-lit drama of the evening aarti and the hushed, golden serenity of a sunrise on the Ganges.