Varanasi

Varanasi (Banaras, Kashi) is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities — settled before 1000 BCE and described by Mark Twain as "older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend." For travellers, the city is defined by its 84 ghats — stone staircases descending into the Ganges river — most famously Dashashwamedh Ghat (the venue of the spectacular evening Ganga Aarti ceremony at 6:45 PM), Manikarnika Ghat (the eternal cremation ground), and Assi Ghat (sunrise yoga and morning aarti). The Kashi Vishwanath temple (rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai in 1780) is the city's spiritual heart; the new Vishwanath Corridor (2021) makes it accessible to all visitors. Beyond the ghats, the city offers Sarnath (10 km north — where Buddha gave his first sermon in 528 BCE; a UNESCO-listed Buddhist heritage zone), the Banaras Hindu University campus, and the silk-weaving lanes of Chowk. For vegetarian travellers, Varanasi is one of India's strictest pure-veg cities — the entire old city operates on satvik (pure-vegetarian, no onion-no garlic) Hindu cooking traditions. Try the legendary kachori-sabzi at Ram Bhandar, malaiyo (winter foam dessert) at Madho Lal in Thatheri Bazar, and the famous banarasi thali at Kashi Chat Bhandar. October to March is the comfortable window; April-June heat exceeds 45°C.