Varanasi, the oldest city in India, is believed to have been founded by the god Shiva 3000 years ago, making it as significant to Hindus as the Vatican is to Catholics. This city is a unique blend of contrasting elements, where water and fire coexist intricately. Approximately 100 funeral pyres burn daily along the banks of the Ganges River. Given the sanctity of this place, tens of thousands of Hindus desire to be cremated here upon their passing. Children and unmarried women are not cremated but are instead laid to rest in the Ganges River. As a result, the sight of human remains in the river can be startling for newly arrived tourists.
Every year, millions of pilgrims from across India converge on Varanasi to partake in sacred ablutions and offer prayers at the city's numerous temples, numbering over 3,000. Each temple is dedicated to a different Indian deity, and according to legend, visiting 108 temples here can fulfill all one's wishes. Pilgrims journey hundreds of kilometers, sometimes barefoot, and endure sleeping in shelters or in the open air, all to reach Varanasi, this sacred place where mortals can find profound harmony and bliss in the very spot where the gods are believed to descend.
Varanasi
Indian Vatican
This city in the northeast of India does not leave tourists indifferent. One either falls in love with it at first sight or sincerely does not understand the Hindu culture and tries to stay away from it from now on. The city of crematoria, the city of funeral pyres, the city of the sun, the sacred city. This place has dozens of names, and all of them as accurately as possible characterize an important city for Buddhists and Jainists. Varanasi can be treated differently, but one thing cannot be denied: here are the most stunning sunrises on the Ganges River, so it is worth coming here, if only to see them with your own eyes.
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