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Varanasi aka: Benares, Kashi, वाराणसी, وارانسی

73 people want to go here. 96 people have been here.

97% of people who have been to Varanasi think it's worth visiting. The most popular places in Varanasi are Ghats of Varanasi, Ram Nagar, and Manikarnika Ghat. Varanasi is featured on the lists Hillman's Top 100 "Wonders", Wanderlust 7Wonders list - Top 75, and Lonely Planet's "The Cities Book".

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C	Cantonment, Chowk
G	Ghats of Varanasi, Gorakhpur
M	Madanpura, Manikarnika Ghat
P	Phulwari Restaurant And Sami Cafe, Public Baths, Benares
R	Ram Nagar
S	Scindhia Ghat
T	Tulsi Ghat

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Untitled by cottonball

The ghats – the steps leading down to the water’s edge – are the focus for ritual bathing, readings from the sacred texts by gurus and cremations

over 2 years ago

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Untitled by johnmccartney

try to get lost every day, until you can’t anymore

over 5 years ago

Varanasi: Shit-Hole of the Gods by mbjesq

My review Called Varanasi: Shit-Hole of the Gods provides a glimpse of the tragedy of this place.

Be sure to read the comments for dissenting views.

over 5 years ago

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Untitled by alain

I jumped into the Ganga river and took a bath…such a unforgettable experience..

over 6 years ago

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Exceeded my expectations. As exotic as the world comes, in my humble opinion. Saw the funeral pyres, vibed it up with the cycle of life along the river and ghats: cremations, ablutions, con jobs, prayers, monkey shit, cow shit, human shit…it’s all in-your-face as so many previous travelers have said. Life, with all the filters stripped away. The sublime, the base, the shameful, the inspiring, all in one place. That was Varanasi for me.

over 6 years ago

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Varanasi (Sanskrit: वाराणसी Vārāṇasī, pronunciation [ʋaːɾaːɳəsiː] (help·info)), also commonly known as Benares ([bə.naː.rəs]) or Banaras (Hindi: बनारस, Urdu: بنارس, Banāras pronunciation [bənɑːɾəs] (info)) and Kashi (Hindi: काशी Kāśī [kaː.ʃiː] (info)), is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanasi
Short changed by Lonely Planet January 18, 2010 A lesson in how not to change money on the road. Shane and I traipsed our way overland from Australia... (read article)
A Humble Road to the Noble Truths in India and Nepal by RALPH FRAMMOLINO May 24, 2009 The Buddhist Circuit in southern Nepal and northern India has drawn monarchs and monks, relic-hunters and curiosity seekers for centuries. (read article)
Introduction to Varanasi by FROMMER'S November 20, 2006 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. With an ancient history -- 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. 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. (read article)
Introduction to Varanasi by FROMMER'S November 20, 2006 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. With an ancient history -- 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. 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. (read article)
Walk This Way by CHRISTINE MUHLKE September 25, 2005 (read article)
Walk This Way by CHRISTINE MUHLKE September 25, 2005 (read article)
In the Light Of the Pyre by PHYLLIS RAPHAEL April 18, 1999 (read article)