Varanasi, the holiest city for Hindus, is one of the longest inhabited cities in the world, dating back to 1100 BCE. It is a must-see sight on any northern Indian travel itinerary.

            The Ganges River flows through Varanasi from its source high atop the Himalayas at the Gangotri Glacier to the canal waters of West Bengal that flow into the Bay of Bengal.

            It is a place where devout Hindus come to worship and bathe in the waters of the holy river. It is also a place where Hindus want to be cremated when they die.

            For the non-Hindus, your day in Varanasi starts very early, as in, 4 a.m. early because you want to be up and out of your hotel before sunrise. Most days out in Varanasi begin with a sunrise cruise on the Ganges as you pass by thousands of devotees bathing in the river, purifying their souls.

            Now, for the non-morning people, there are sunset cruises but why would you want to do that? When the sunrises are as majestic as they are over Varanasi, it’s worth getting up early to see a blood-red sun rising over the horizon.

            Also at that early hour, it is a surreal experience to wander around the narrow alleys of Varanasi in which virtually every building is some sort of shrine or temple. You can see people receiving their blessings for the day, people making offerings to the gods, and the odd cow or so having free reign over the city.

            But be careful to move to the side when told as many funeral processions pass through the streets of Varanasi as mourners take their loved ones to the river to prepare for the evening’s cremation ceremonies.

            Another sight to see in the area is Sarnath which is sacred for Buddhists because this is the first place Buddha spoke after achieving enlightenment. It is about 10 km from Varanasi and accessible through your tour guide or even tuktuk.

Getting in:

            The airport is primarily for domestic flights with the exception of a few daily flights to Nepal and Thailand. Varanasi Junction, Manduadih, and Mughal Serai Junction are the three main train stations serving Varanasi and are reachable from major cities around the country.

Getting around:

            Certain parts of the city are only accessible by foot such as the ghats at the Ganges and the labyrinthine alleyways leading to the ghats. Normally, your tour van will pull up along one of the outer roads and you will walk to the river.

Where we stayed:

            There are a wide range of hotels and other types of accommodations across Varanasi. On our trip we stayed at the Gateway Varanasi which is part of the Taj group. It is a very large hotel on 40 acres of gardens complete with peacocks strutting about the laneways. In tune with the religious nature, the hotels are in the shape of a swastika, the extremely sacred symbol of Hinduism which is not to be confused with the sign of hate by the ignorant far right that hijacked it.

Safety:

            Varanasi is a very safe city. There are a few scams about which you should be aware such as the rickshaw and cremation ghat scams. In the post about scams, I wrote about the taxi scam which is also the tuktuk scam and the rickshaw scam. The driver will attempt to con you into believing that the hotel, sight, restaurant, etc., you want to visit is closed down/burned in a fire and try to take you somewhere else where they earn a commission for bringing in people. The ghat scam occurs when people will attempt to tell you that they are cremators, will explain the process, and take you to areas that afford you unique views of the area. In return they will ask you for 500 rupees to pay for wood for the poor.

Harassment:

            As a tourist city and a religious city, Varanasi attracts thousands of visitors everyday which means that you are fair game for touts and beggars. If you don’t want to spend money or give to beggars don’t say no, don’t even look at them, and don’t acknowledge their existence. When we visited the ghats, a man selling necklaces approached our group and our family friend said “maybe later” to his offer. We took a 45-minute boat ride which dropped us about 1.5 kilometres from where we started and the same man was standing there trying to sell her the necklaces. He walked 1.5 km to find us and continue his sales pitch. He followed us through the alleyway, which which time we had somehow attracted the attention of three other touts and several beggars. They are relentless and will not leave you alone until you get back into your tour vehicle and leave. Even if the vehicle waits there, they continue to inundate you with offers. I think our friend relented and bought one of his necklaces for about 80 rupees. Talk about the world’s worst salesman, 3 hours to make an 80-rupee sale in a place where tens of thousands of people pass through in a day.

Respect:

            For non-Hindu tourists, always remember Varanasi is a holy city and a place for pilgrimages and funerals. If you see a funeral in progress, have some decency and don’t go threading around them to get Instagram moments. It is extremely rude. How would you feel if you are mourning at a loved one’s funeral and someone came in for a selfie?

Tips:

            There is a lot of mud, cow manure, and water around Varanasi. Also, you will go into and out of many temples in the city. As such, consider wearing flip flops because you will have to take them off all the time and they are easy to clean.