About Varanasi
Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities and Hinduism's holiest, its riverfront ghats the setting for cremation rites, ritual bathing and the nightly Ganga aarti fire ceremony, watched from the water or the steps above it. A dawn boat ride, as the city wakes and the light turns gold along the ghats, is one of the more affecting hours on any of our journeys. Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon, sits a short drive outside the city.
Best time to visit: October to March; the ghats are at their most atmospheric in the cool, hazy light of a winter morning.
Worth arranging
- The evening Ganga aarti ceremony, watched from a private boat
- A boat on the Ganges at dawn as the city wakes
- Sarnath and its stupa, with a scholar guide
Begin
Make Varanasi part of your journey.
Tell us your dates and what draws you here, and we will shape a private route around it, whether from the journeys above or a design of your own.
A personal conversation. No booking or payment.
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