A Good Start To Explore Varanasi.

A good start for an unforgettable stay is if you book a room in a hotel along the holy river Ganges. This is where all the action happens 24/7. It’s best of course if you get a room that overlooks the river (Alka Hotel / Room 105 is a great bet).

There are many must-visit places in Varanasi, and a good start is a walk along the Ghats, which will be a very rewarding experience. Every minute you’ll get to see something interesting. People bathing, shampooing, shaving their hair, resting, placing flowers on to the water or the occasional corpse drifting downriver. Not everybody is cremated, that’s why this is nothing out of the ordinary: pregnant women, children, people who died from a snakebite and holy people. They are “set free” into the Ganges River and well, their bodies occasionally show up at the surface again. You will also get to see (if you’re “lucky”) dogs gnawing on bones which were not cremated properly … yes you will get to see things that you only see in India.

The cremation process itself work like this: the bodies arrive strapped to the car roofs at a certain place outside the old city and is then carried through the little alleys down to the cremation Ghats, where hectic activities are going on all day long. Some Indian guy told us that about 100 people are cremated every day. This needs a lot of firewood and a lot of people to build the fireplaces. Certain wood is used for the cremation process, to keep the smoke and the smell as little as possible.

Walking through the small alleys of Varanasi is like walking through a maze … you need a while to manage this but after a while you’ve got the knack of it. If you stroll away from the main attractions you get to see curiosities like a local gym for example. Imagine, 45 degrees outside and people working out …

There are also some rooftop restaurants, which don’t get to see many foreigners but never the less; they have great food and very attentive service. You simply have to be eager to check out things, this is most important in every city if you ask me.

After a long day walk, crossing the double-Decker bridge across the Ganges river to the East is interesting as well because on top is the local traffic and underneath pass the trains. The bridge is huge and fluctuates especially when a train crosses (somehow a bit scary). The bridge is very high above the river and about one kilometre long. After arriving on the other side, we started walking back to Varanasi along the river shore and got hold of a local fisherman who was very happy to row us upwards the river back to our hotel. He was chewing some leaves all the time and we were wondering what it was. He explained that the leaves give him some sort of “boost” to keep him rowing. I guess they worked because he was one hell of a fast rower. It was clear that he know what he was doing and even the strong current didn’t bother him.

The days in Varanasi went by really fast, too fast actually, therefore we will be exploring this very exciting city in summer again!

The city of Varanasi has grown along the arc of the Ganges, with the river as a focal point in one direction and growth of the city taking place in a semi-circular direction.

Alka Hotel offers one of the most spectacular views of Varanasi’s skyline.

A simple stroll along the Ghats in Varanasi will give you hundreds of wonderful photo opportunities.

Dogs roam the streets of Varanasi.

You’ll never get enough from walking through the side streets of Varanasi. It’s a real colour explosion.

The best way to explore the city is to get lost in the alleyways – the sounds, sight and smells are unbelievable. Walk along the ghats and up to the sights, this will give you the best impression of the city.

Varanasi is sacred to Hindus and also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In many ways Varanasi epitomises the very best and worst aspects of India, and it can be a little overwhelming.

There are several markets in Varanasi that are well worth a trip.

Mark Twain, who was enthralled by the legend and sanctity of Varanasi, once wrote: “Benaras (as Varanasi was once called) is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together”.

The best way to explore the city is to get lost in the alleyways – the sounds, sight and smells are unbelievable. Walk along the ghats and up to the sights, this will give you the best impression of the city.

People use the Ganges river for bathing, laundry, washing, eating, cleaning utensils, and brushing teeth.

We randomly ended up in this local gym in Varanasi.

Malviya Bridge is a double decker bridge over the Ganges river in Varanasi. It carries rail track on lower deck and road on the upper deck. It is one of the major bridges on the Ganges.

There is some resentment for tourists trespassing through the cremation ghats in Varanasi. You can take photographs from a distance, but you shouldn’t come too close out of respect.