Varanasi Remembrances

Arrive Varanasi and you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check-in. As a religious capital of Hinduism, Varanasi is the oldest living city in India as well as one of the world’s most ancient cities. Later this evening take a rickshaw ride through the streets of Varanasi to the ghats of the River Ganges to witness the Pooja ceremony of Ganga Aarti (a prayer ceremony).

Varanasi Remembrances

We have an early morning start today to commence our cruise on the River Ganges to view the ghats at sunrise when they are abuzz with activity. The devotees perform their ablutions in the river or offer prayers to the rising sun. As we cruise along the river we will have an ideal vantage point to view these activities. Later this morning we commence on a brief sightseeing tour of Varanasi. We start by visiting some of the important temples like Bharat Mata Mandir, a unique temple inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi, which interestingly houses one of the most perfect relief maps of India and is dedicated to Mother India. Another is the Durga Temple dedicated to Goddess Durga, consort of Lord Shiva. Afterwards we drive through the largest residential university of Asia, Banaras Hindu University, founded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya where we visit the new Vishwanath Temple in the university campus. This afternoon we drive to visit the Buddhist sites at Sarnath. It is the fabled place where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon to his disciples expounding the principles of Buddhism. The ruins here date back to as far as the 3rd Century BC.

Breakfast at hotel. Later transfer to airport/railway station in time to board your flight/train for onward journey.