Varanasi, India.

Also known as Banaras or Kashi, Varanasi is the oldest city in India and one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. Buddha gave his first sermon here in the 5th century B.C.

The heart of Varanasi is the Ganges River, or as our tour guide calls her, “Goddess Ganges.” We took a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges and spotted Hindu bathing in her water. Hindus believe by dying in Varanasi one can achieve moksha, or the liberation of the cycle of death and rebirth.

Lord Shiva, destroyer of evil, in charge of birth and death is said to live in Varanasi. Every evening a Hindu ceremony called an aarti is conducted by Brahmin priests. Varanasi is the city of lights, the city of death. Thousands of bodies are burned every year on pyres called ghats along on the Ganges. During COVID, they ran out of firewood due to the demand.

Limbless beggars, sacred cows, essential oils, fake holy men, smoke, flowers, rituals, swindlers, a spiritual epicenter with history you can hardly fathom.

Sarnath, where Buddha delivered his first sermon after enlightenment

Holy cow

Banks of the Ganges

Aarti conch calls

Preparing for the aarti

Aarti smoke

Aarti bells

Sunrise on the Ganges

Aarti crowds

Temple monkeys and cotton candy