Varanasi rises from the western banks of the sacred Ganges River, its ancient stone ghats descending like giant steps into the holy waters. This eternal city, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements, pulses with spiritual energy as Hindu pilgrims perform dawn rituals and cremation ceremonies along its riverfront. Narrow labyrinthine alleys wind between temples and shrines, while the evening air fills with the hypnotic sounds of bells and chanted prayers during the nightly Ganga aarti ceremony.
