The City Of Light Varanasi

Varanasi, or Benaras, (also  known  as Kashi)  is  one  of the oldest living cities in the world known as the city of Pandits in orange chaddars and wooden sandals. A crumbling maze of a city that rises from the ghats (steps) on the western banks of the Ganges, Varanasi is in many senses the quintessential India. Varanasi is the city where the smoky haze of funeral pyres blends with the sound of Temple bells. Mark Twain famously described it as "older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together";  it is also one of the most sacred cities in the world today. Kashi, or "City of Light, where the eternal light of Shiva intersects the earth," as Varanasi is seen by devotees, is the holiest of Indian pilgrimages, home of Shiva, where the devout come to wash away their sins. For Kashi is ground zero for Hindus who come here to die in the hope of breaking out of cycle of Karma and re-birth. It is also one of the holiest tirthas (literally a "crossing" or sacred place where mortals can cross over to the divine, or the gods and goddesses come to bathe on earth), where many return to die in the hope that they may achieve moksha, the salvation of the soul from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. For anyone, there's no better way to sum up Varanasi other than in First person: its where one experiences his nearest-nir-vana moment. Getting lost in the impossibly cramped labyrinth, you are crowded by pilgrims purchasing flowers for puja (offering or prayer), grieving relatives bearing corpses, chanting priests sounding gongs, and sacred cows rooting in the rubbish, in other words, an experience one will never forget.

Varanasi is an ideal window to view thousand years old Indian culture and traditions. The city is as old as Babylon, has survived invasions since the 6th century BC and offers everybody a place, o promise and a touch of salvation. No other place in the world is so mesmerizing, soulful and timeless as the Varanasi is. All these qualities make it the most visited holy places of the world. In many ways Varanasi epitomizes the very best and worst aspects of India, and it can be a little overwhelming. However, the scene of pilgrims doing their devotions in the River Ganges at sunrise set against the back drop of the centuries old temples is probably one of the most impressive sights in the world. Visit the Ghats on the Ganga and the old city. Both are linked through a series of steps. Boats are good for a ghat tour.

Mark Twain say it all: "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together".