The Holy City Varanasi

History of Varanasi

Varanasi, the holy city, is the spiritual and religious capital of India. It is also known by two other names – Benaras and Kashi (the city of lights). Hindu Mythology believes that Shiva & Parvati created Varanasi. It is here that they stood at the beginning of time. The holiest river Ganges flows though here. Hindus believe that if one dies in Varanasi, he achieves moksha (liberation from cycle of death and re-birth). This tour is suitable for people who do not have much time at hand. However it is suggested that you arrive by noon on first day and leave by afternoon the next day. Varanasi is well connected by train and air from major cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Cochin.

Location of the Kashi It is located in the North India in the middle valley of Gange, in the east part of the UP state and around 320 kilometres southeast to the Lucknow. It is situated about 797 km towards southeast of the New Delhi, 121 km towards east of Allahabad and 63 km towards south of Jaunpur. It is considered that people make a panch koshi parikrama between the Varuna and Assi ghat (a five mile, 8.3 km distance) which ended at the Sakshi Vinayak Temple.

India's current prime minister, Narendra Modi, is a Varanasi Member of Parliament (MP), so it has been getting some extra attention of late, with new projects, roadworks and a general – and much-needed – sprucing up.

Varanasi Tourism

Places to visit

Varanasi is known as the City of Lord Shiva because it is considered as the city was created by the Hindu diety Lord Shiva before thousands of years. Varanasi city has become one of the most crowded destinations for pilgrims in India. There is a general belief that the Varanasi city stands on the “Trishool” (Trident) of Lord Shiva.

Ghats: Varanasi city has a lot of ghats with their religious values as it is located at the bank of the river Gange. Ghats are the most peaceful and eye-catching place to visit. People generally enjoy visiting the ghats by sitting in a boat and see ghats one by one. Ghats are the important places of ritual beliefs where people carry out ritual ablutions. Around 84 ghats at the bank of the river Ganga are welcoming the city and increase its value of attraction. Some of the most important ghats of religious importance are Assi Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat, Manikarnika Ghat, Tulsi Ghat, Panchganga Ghat, Harishchandra Ghat, etc.

Temples:

• Kashi Vishwanath Temple: It is the temple of the Lord Shiva Lingam which is made up of the gold and looks very dazzling. It can be visited in any season but the monsoon season has religious importance. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated here with lots of courage and joy.
• Sankat Mochan Temple: This is the temple of the Lord Hanuman which is crowded by the hundreds of monkeys. People read Hanuman Chalisa daily in front of the statue of the Lord Hanuman.

Things to Do in Varanasi

Bathe: Having bath at the ghats of the Gange in Varanasi has its variety of ritual beliefs and religious importance. A large crowd of the people takes bath and makes a dip in the Holy Gange water daily at the ghat.

Boat rides: Boat riding is the amazing event which tourists must try particularly at sunrise and sunset. It can be started from the Dashashwamedh Ghat and end up with the Manikarnika Ghat by seeing the cremation process. Have the real joy of the nature thorough boats riding in the early morning which make us feel in our soul a deep silence, overwhelming cool climate and come close to the Supreme power. Some time the hotel, where you stay, arrange a free of charge boat rides for you for the limited time.

Street and Ghats Walk: Walking in the morning at the street and ghats are also the great things to try while tour to Varanasi. Roads are clean and empty which makes walking so easy, comfort and enjoyable.

Best Time to Visit

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Nearby places of interest

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How to reach Varanasi

Varanasi is the easily reachable city by all the means and well connected by all the cities through the airplane, train, bus and car.

By Train: It is the easiest means to reach to the Varanasi from any city such as Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, etc. Almost all the trains of Northern Eastern Railway (NER) pass through the Mughal Sarai Junction that is just 17 kilometer from the Varanasi Junction. However Varanasi Junction itself is a huge station and almost all major trains go to Varanasi Junction.

By Bus: Buses are also the convenient means of traveling to the Varanasi from the nearest city. You can choose buses of the state government or private buses.

By Air The city has an International Airport which makes the traveling through the plane very convenient. Some of the special flights are Indian Airlines, Jet Airways/JetLite and SpiceJet which provides best transport services.