Varanasi

If India has a heartbeat, it’s here — steady, ancient, and impossible to forget. In Varanasi, life and death share the same steps down to the river. The air smells of smoke, marigolds and ghee lamps, and the Ganges glows gold at dawn. It’s confronting and deeply beautiful all at once — a place that humbles you, and somehow, makes you feel more alive.

Size & Comparison

• Area: Approximately 82 km²

• Population (2025): Around 1.8 million

• Comparable to: Bigger than Manhattan, smaller than Paris

What Food Is Varanasi Famous For?

Varanasi (Banaras) is a paradise for street food lovers, where recipes have been perfected over centuries in narrow lanes.

• Banarasi paan (betel leaf confection): Iconic, symbolic, and still a ritual after every meal.

• Kachori-sabzi & jalebi: The classic local breakfast — hot, spicy, and sweet all at once.

• Lassi: Try it at the historic Pahalwan Lassi shop.

• Tamatar chaat, baati-chokha, and countless other chaat varieties — small bites, big flavours.

Top Things To Do in Varanasi

• Attend the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat (sunset ceremony) — lamps, chants, and an atmosphere you’ll feel in your bones.

• Take a boat ride on the Ganges at sunrise — watch the city wake, pilgrims bathe, and the ghats come to life.

• Visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of Hinduism’s holiest Shiva shrines.

• Witness the cremation ghats — Manikarnika and Harishchandra — respectfully observed, they reveal Varanasi’s raw spiritual truth.

• Take a short trip to Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first sermon.

• Wander the old city’s narrow lanes — silk bazaars (for Banarasi sarees), perfume stalls, tiny temples, and food joints that have been around longer than most cities.

And Did You Know…

• Varanasi has many names.

  • Varanasi comes from the rivers Varuna (north) and Asi (south) that meet the Ganges.

  • Banaras is the older, more familiar name.

  • Kashi means “The Luminous One” — the city of light.

• The burning ghats are public and ever-burning — locals believe dying or being cremated in Kashi brings moksha (liberation).

• Banarasi silk is world-renowned — many weavers still use techniques passed down for generations.

• Paan culture runs deep here — paan shops are local institutions, some more than a century old.

• During Dev Deepawali, millions of lamps light the ghats in one of the most breathtaking sights in India.

Practical Tips & Respectful Visitor Notes

• The old city is dense, with narrow lanes — wear comfortable shoes and be ready for a full sensory experience (smoke, incense, spices, and people).

• Be respectful around cremation ghats. Photography and access rules vary — always ask first.

Nicola’s Story Around a Corner in Varanasi Was…

As light began to break, I left my hotel and walked toward the ghat to meet my Ganga boat. The sunrise was pure Indian orange — thick, shimmering, and softened by a little morning mist.

Two young men rowed me quietly into the river. Around us, people were beginning their daily rituals. This was no tourist show — this was life. Men and women bathing three times in the Ganges to cleanse their sins, women still in their bright saris, sadhus seated cross-legged on the ghats, their skin dusted white, their robes saffron.

The fires for the cremations had already begun upstream. The smell of wood smoke mixed with the cool air and the sound of temple bells. As the sun rose, the city woke — voices, water splashing, buffalo wading in, laundry being beaten against stones. Boats drifted past selling flowers, incense, and offerings.

It was busy, chaotic, deeply human — and yet, for a moment, completely still.