Varanasi: Uttar serenity

There are no frills and no niceties when it comes to Varanasi, one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities, but, as Sinead Mooney found out, its link with the Ganges makes it special

WINDING through the narrow, dark alleys of the city of Varanasi, you have to give yourself over to being lost — you have no choice. Maps exist but are useless. In a way, that is the best way to approach the entire experience that is Varanasi, also known as Benares or Kashi (City of Life) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities and also one of the most intense. It is dominated by the Ganges. Now, as rivers go, the Ganges isn’t that impressive. But there is something about it that makes it inexplicably special. Perhaps it’s because you know that for so many people this is where all of life begins and ends, and to die here is to be liberated from the otherwise endless cycle of birth and death.

Varanasi, though, is all about the ghats — the 80 or so sets of stone steps that lead down to the river’s edge. The best way to spend your day is to perch high up on the steps or sip milky chai in one of the rooftop cafés and just sit and stare.