My visit to Varanasi was immensely memorable. Varanasi, or Benaras or Kashi offers everything all at once. Makes you feel euphoric, sad, elated, devotional, and nostalgic for more. The best experience is the pre-sunrise boat ride on the Ganges. The ghats light up with the first rays of the Sun and the vibrant colors, the masses of people who gather, the cremations just a few feet away from the bathers, and the tourists trying to make sense of all this, is phenomenal!

The 3.00 am morning prayers and aarti at the holiest of holy hindu temples was mesmerizing. The Kashi Vishweshwar temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas dating back to 5,000 years. Aurangzeb and Mughal invaders destroyed the temple and later 200 years ago, a Maratha Queen Ahilyabai Holkar rebuilt the temple. Varanasi is known for being recorded as the single continuously occupied city for the past 8,000 years. No wonder it's lanes are about 6 feet wide and is crisscrossed so heavily that one can get lost in a matter of minutes.
Try walking to the temple, alone, at 3.00 am in the morning through these lanes. In pitch darkness, with soldiers at only the ends of the lanes.

Sarnath is about 10 minutes from Varanasi. Budha gave his first sermon to 5 monks after he received enlightenment. Visited by Japanese tourists and tibetan monks, the Stupa and it's surrounding monastery ruins are impressive.

In spite of warnings from people that Varanasi is where one can lose their shirt, and travelling alone, I was fortunate to meet really, really nice people. Lot's of fond memories of this amazing city.