Dasaswamedh Ghat Varanasi

After a 20-hour journey full of adventure, I ended up staying at a hotel in unknown corners of Varanasi. I wake up early in the morning, now it’s time to find the hotel that I have the booking for. It seems completely useless to find the way on my own, so I hire a cycle Rickshaw. The driver is at least 70 years old, he brings me to the …

'Brace yourself.' Lonely Planet's introductory two word sentence cannot convey the chaotic cacophony that is Varanasi, but it does go someway to preparing you for the mental attitude you are required to adopt! Upon arrival in one of the holiest places in India and the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, we were faced with the challenge …

Quite simply this is an amazing city. It has an awe of wonder, history and mystery to it and the Ganges is a site to behold. Once settled in my guesthouse, which again was a good find! I was off out for food and exploration. It seems that Varanasi is Israeli central, as many flock here each year, sometimes seeking out Indian Jews which I had no …

Entry containing 12 photos titled: Dancing, My Room, Morning, Ghats, Sahdu, Ceremony, Morning , Laundry, Temple, Buddha, Stupa, Flags

Despite having a few names throughout its history Varanasi is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities (Dating back to approximately 1200BC) in the world. Not that you could tell by looking at it. Virtually none of the buildings still standing today are more than a few hundred years old. In honesty the vast majority of the structures here …

The train journey

Well, we turned up not having a clue what type of coach we were staying in and fearing the worst as we just wanted cheap seats. Sat at the station on the floor surrounded by hundreds on Indian people, mainly men, who just sat and stared at us constantly. When another couple of white guys turned up they came and chatted to …

Entry containing 44 photos titled: Site of Buddha's first sermon after enlightenment, Hindu crematorium along sacred Ganges, Description-defying Varanasi, Hindu pilgrims lining up for Golden Temple, Hindu pilgrims prep for frigid bath in holy river

Esta mañana toca visitar templos. Cogemos un rickshaw que nos lleva al Templo de Shiva, lleno de mármol, situado en el interior del recinto de la famosa Universidad de Varanasi, en una zona tranquila sin vehículos a motor. No vemos más turistas en el templo, que podemos recorrer a nuestro antojo bajo la atenta mirada de los fieles. Como ya habíamos …

Nos pegamos un madrugón para coger una barca que nos pasee por el Ganges ante los Ghats, que son los escalones que llevan hacia el río. Hay casi 100 de ellos, y cada uno tiene su nombre. A las 5:00 ya estamos en pie. Vero decide no venir (en parte por los muertos que pueda ver, y en parte por el atracón de lasaña que se pegó anoche). Vamos al Assi …

Had a bit of a lay in in the morning before a lazy b/fast. Andi was very excited because they had baked beans and made her 2 baked bean toasties on BROWN bread! Marisa had the cheapest fruit salad yet. Today we had decided to try and navigate our way down the river through the maze of tiny alleyways,in a zig zag formation, taking as many ghats as …

... ghat for an evening boat ride, having been whisked in from hotels far away from the crowded grime of the old city. at dasaswamedh ghat a little girl approached me carrying a basket full of leaf bowls, flower garlands, and candles. i could already see the ...

... , smells, frustrations, exasperations, wonder, and confusion. The nightly Aarti Ganga ceremony sees thousands of people swarm onto Dasaswamedh Ghat. Young acolytes hold aloft braziers of flame and swing them in perfect time to the melody played by the ...

... very much alive and just praying while floating at pace down the river.  Phew! Next stop on the boat trip was Dasaswamedh ghat, from where the main river worship ceremony takes place at sunset every evening. It was beautiful to watch:  5 men ...

... were left on the opposite bank of the river for vultures to eat. Attended the daily ganga aarti ceremony at the Dasaswamedh Ghat. I wasn't moved by it. The young Brahmans who were facing the river were spinning incense, flowers, feathers and fire ...

... i came back, the three of us went for a walk along the ghats. There is a Puja ceremony that happens everynight at the Dasaswamedh Ghat. It wasn't starting till 6:30 so we went for a walk to the cremation ghat. It's so strange yet powerful. People crowd ...

... be blessed by a baba in orange robes and with three white lines on his forehead. He was seated on a platform at Dasaswamedh Ghat, the busiest ghat, and it was the second time he had seen me walking by and vigourously gestured me over. I gave in, knowing ...

... backs of people doing laundry or fishing. In the evening we hire a boat to watch the ganga aarti ceremony at Dasaswamedh Ghat. Five young priests holding flaming lamps and blowing conch shells. Our boatman has a mullet. All the boats tie ...

... had visited since the seventies so there was massive hype. We relaxed during the day and as dusk fell we settled on Dasaswamedh Ghat to watch the nightly ganga aarti ceremony. On the other side of the ghat the PM and various worthies were watching the ...

... to shout chaps. It was still earlyish, and we felt guilty about returning to the Bubble so soon. We formulated a plan to head to Dasaswamedh Ghat in order to take in the show they perform on a nightly basis. During our hour long wait, I took off my ...

... candle onto the river for our lost loved ones along with the locals who were doing the same. The boat took us up to Dasaswamedh Ghat which is the main cremation Ghat. We had previous seen the riverside cremations in Nepal but this was much busier and of ...