India: Varanasi – Exploring the Ghats
Varanasi is the religious heart of India. Sitting along the Ganges River, it is the holiest city in Hinduism and Jainism, and also where Buddha founded Buddhism in 568 BC. Most of the action happens along the ghats – series of very steep steps (over 70-100 vertical feet) leading down from the city and into the river, and extending for mile. There are a total of 84, ghats, with about two dozen major ones – all used for religious ceremonies of bathing in the Ganges, while 2 ghats are used for cremation ceremonies (more on this later). Walking along the ghats is one of the ways of exploring them and immerse in the culture – temples everywhere, people going about the religious bathing, beyond bizarre naked holy men parading, cows and goats escaping into the river in the midday heat, and endless ghat steps as far as the eyes can see.
