Varanasi also know as benaras, situated on the banks of holy river Ganga, is the world's oldest living city. Varanasi has been one of the holiest and place of importance of hindu communities living in India. This city has also been one of the favorites places to visit for any foreign traveler, because of its rich heritage and cultural value.
The Ghats of Varanasi
Ghats are basically are where pilgrims perform various rituals, having stone steps that goes right into the river.
There are at least 84 ghants, which serves different puposes, some are used for bathing for pilgrims, some for cremation and other for prayers.
Full of Life and Death
Varanasi is so full of life with all the crowded lanes and people doing all kinds of holy ceremonies and at the same time it is not untouched by death. There are many ghats which are used for cremation only and you can see hundreds of people gets cremated which itself signifies the complete cycle of life.
Full of Colors
In the lanes of Varanasi you can find children, adults and elderly with all these vibrant colored clothes with ambroidements. Saffron and red can be seen everywhere. During the festival of Holy, everyone gets colored in diffent colors and the atmoshphere is great.
Ganga Aarti
If you go in to visit Varanasi make sure you don't miss the 'Ganga Aarti', which takes place at night. Everyone stands on the steps of Ghats while the priest does the prayer of the holy river Ganga. The visuals are breathtaking.
I went to Varanasi as a child and the thing I remebers the most is the night where the Aarti took place. Unfortunalty, I have no pictures of that trip as it was like 15 years ago but still the memories lives. Hope to visit again soon and relive those moments.
Food and Cuisine
It is true that the food in every state in every city is so good but the stalls in Varanasi provides delicious chaats, lassi, and other fast foods too. But the most famous is the Benarasi Paan which everone must try.
Varanasi is truely magical and beautiful which has a mix of all colors, life, joy, death, devotion and so much more. Truely a magical place to be.
There is some much more that can be written about this holiest city but one must go and pay a visit to experience what it truely offers.
Note: All the images taken from Pixabay.com which is copyright free and the image source are provide below the images
Thanks for reading till the end. Hope you liked Varanasi and are ready to visit.
