Varanasi City

Varanasi City- Varanasi city of Shiva, located on the banks of the sacred Ganges, is one of the most sacred places in all of India. Hindu pilgrims come here to bathe in the river's waters, a ritual that purifies all sins, and the city is also a favorite place to die: those who breathe here ensure freedom from the cycle of rebirth and immediate access to paradise Hindu. It is, therefore, a magical place, where the most intimate rituals related to life and death occur under the eyes of all along the famous ghats of the city; and it is precisely the fact of being able to easily attend the ritual practices of an ancient one.

Varanasi City A religious tradition that attracts so many visitors to Varanasi. In the past, the city was known under the names of Kashi & Banaras, but its current name is nothing more than the recovery of an ancient name that indicates the position of the city between two rivers Varuna and Assi.

Varanasi City The old town has in fact preserved an atmosphere of other times, but there are few buildings that date back more than two centuries, due to the raids of Muslim invaders and the destructive desire of Aurangzeb.

Varanasi CityThe main tourist attractions of Varanasi are its Ghats which follow one another for a long stretch of the western bank of the Ganges. Almost all these steps leading to the Ganges are used for ritual ablutions but there are some Ghats for the cremation where the bodies of the dead are burned. The best time to visit the ghats is the sunset when the river is enveloped in magical light and the pilgrims flock to offer a Puja in the setting sun. Varanasi can boast over a hundred ghats, but that of Dasashwamedh is undoubtedly the most suitable to start visiting the area. Even the short boat trip from Dasaswamedh to Manikarnika Ghat can be an excellent introduction to life on the river.

Varanasi CityAlternatively, and if the water level is low, you can simply walk from one ghat to another. In this way you can be in the midst of the multitude of people who go to the banks of the Ganges not only for the ritual bath, but also to practice yoga, offer blessings, buy the Paan, sell flowers, get a massage, or play cricket swimming shaving and doing good to one's karma, giving alms to beggars. If you do not have much time to visit the ghats, try at least to see Asi Ghat, Tulsi Das Ghat, Bachraj Ghat, Shivala Ghat, Dandi Ghat, and Hanuman Ghat, some of the most suggestive.

Varanasi CityThe most important sacred temple in the city is dedicated to Shiva. It was built, in its present form, in 1776 by Ahalya Bai of Indore and the 800 kilos of gold with which its towers were covered, and from which derives the popular name of the temple, were provided by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh of Lahore and about fifty of years later. Access to the temple is forbidden to non-Hindu, but you can still take a look at the building from the top floor of the house opposite. Near the temple of Vishwanath is the Gyan Kupor Well or "well of knowledge" ": even if the water of the well is protected by a robust screen, the faithful believe that drinking it can reach a higher degree of spirituality; that in the well is the language of god Shiva, transferred from an older and hidden temple here to protect him from Aurangzeb.

Varanasi CityAnother well-known temple is the temple of Goddess Durga, commonly known as Monkey Temple for the numerous and lively monkeys who made it their home. This small building, built in the 18th century by a Bengali Maharani and painted red with other, is a typical example of the Nagara style of northern India and is adorned with a multi-story sikhara. A few steps south of the Durga Temple stands the modern Tulasi Manas marble temple, built in 1964 in Sikh ara style. Its walls are decorated with reliefs with verses and scenes taken from the Ram Charit Manas.

Varanasi CityThe Benares Hindu University, one of the many testimonies that attest to the cultural value of Varanasi i. With a walk of about thirty minutes starting from the university entrance you reach the new temple of Vishwanath which was designed by the pundit Malaviya and built thanks to the means of the wealthy industrial family Birla. On the opposite bank of the river is the fort of Ramnagar, a structure dating back to the seventeenth century, the former residence of the Maharaja of Benares.

Varanasi CityThanks to its proximity to, Varanasi enjoys a particularly enjoyable climate with an average annual temperature of Varanasi around 20 degrees. The best months to visit the city are October, November, February, and March when the days are mild, dry and the sky is almost always clear; in December and January, the cold and fog can cause some annoyance

Varanasi CityApril and May are torrid months, with highs above 40 degrees, which are a prelude to the arrival of the monsoon which, starting in June, brings torrential rains and a high rate of relative humidity.

Babatpur AirportIt is located 22 kilometers north-west of the city and is served by buses leaving from the Vaibhav Hotel in Cantonment. The Varanasi bus stop is located a few hundred meters north-east of the Varanasi Junction railway station, the most important in the city, a very quiet place even if it does not have directions in English. Not all trains running between Delhi and Calcutta stop at the Varanasi Junction station, but almost all stop at Mugalsarai, 15 kilometers south of the metropolis, which is 45 minutes away by bus. Urban transport is often congested by the huge amount of traffic that grips the main carriageways of the city center and the suburbs