As said by Hilaire Belloc, “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment”.
Indian travel is popular with its religious tourist destinations to attract visitors from any parts of this globe and Varanasi is one favorite among them. It also holds a special place in my heart because of its rich cultural and religious heritage, top food delicacies as well as the multitude of tourist destinations and pilgrimages. However the basic thing which has made me attracted to this place for time and again is its simplicity which surrounds the people and its culture. It is known for its divine attraction in simplicity that not only people but God also have felt the attraction in choosing this place to live among people.
- River GangesDirk Hartung / Travel Photos / CC BY-NC-SA
Situated on the banks of River Ganges, this holy place includes several attractions at a single to ensure a complete religious visit for all the tourists visiting this place. From River Ghats to evening Aarti (ritual of worship), from religious temples to tourist spots, this place connects the heart of people from several races across the globe.
During my first visit, we (me and my family) have liked almost everything it has to surprise and attract its visitors. From several centuries, this place is famous for its religious temples, ghats, and pilgrimages. Varanasi is also referred as God’s own country and several such stories are also prevalent among the locals and devotees of this place. Believing several spiritual and fictional stories, these popular bathing ghats at Varanasi is ready to attract tourists with the religious richness of Indian culture.
Quick Varanasi information:
Name: Varanasi
Address: Utter Pradesh, India
Google Map Location: 25.283196° N, 82.960167° E
Devotion: Hinduism
Attraction: River Ganges, Shiva Temple
Quick Varanasi safari with tourist attractions:
River Fronts:
1) Dashashwamedha Ghat: Dashashwamedha means “ten horse sacrifices”. It refers to the religious incident of sacrifices, which is performed by the God Brahma in order to test the spirituality of King Devodasa. It is said that Goddess Parvati and her lord Shiva was pretty sure enough that Devodasa will fail the bet but he (Devodasa) tried his best to end up well with his sacrifices. It is the most celebrated ghat in the world.
2) Asi Ghat to Kedara Ghat: It is the southernmost ghat of Varanasi, which displays the confluence of the Ganges and Asi. Pilgrims visit this place to worship the lord Shivalingam under the famous people tree. Pandas sitting in wooden platforms under bamboo umbrellas, monkeys eating bananas, numerous devotees are highly sighted with this place.
Several other ghats are there such as like
a) Chausathi ghat
b) Manikarnika Ghat
c) Chauki Ghat
d) Panchganga Ghat
e) Adi Keshva Ghat
f) Scindia Ghat
g) Vishwanatha Khanda
h) Kashi Vishwanath Temple (known as Golden temple)
Travel by Railways:
Indian Railways—Poorva Express (via Gaya) and Varanasi Express, Punjab Mail (via)
Travel by Airways:
Indian Airlines: Ph.: 2502529 / Air India: Ph .no: 2502547.
Top 5 multi-cuisine restaurants:
To taste the delicacies of Varanasi, you can simply visit these food joints:
1) Berger King, Nadeshar
2) Amrapali, Hotel Clarks
3) Ashiyana Resturant, Clark Road
4) Kerala Café, Bhelupur Chauraha
5) Mc Donald, IP mall, Cantt.
Tourist Hotels:
Being a highly visited religious place in India, this place is punctual with several of the tourist lodges, governmental tourist offices, tourist information counters and many more. Here are some of them:
1) Bihar State Tourist Office, Telefax : 2223821
2) UP Government Tourist Information Counter, Cantt. Ph : 2506670
3) Government of India Tourist Office, Government of India Tourist Office, Varanasi, Ph : 2501784
Emergency Information:
Hospitals
1) Sir Sundar Lal Hospital B.H.U. Ph :0542-2369169
2) Ram Krishna Mission Hospital, Ph : 0542- 2451727
3) Hindu Seva Sadan, Chowk, Ph: 0542- 2400988, 2400356
4) Apollo clinic , Mehmoorganj Ph – 2360682
5) Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, Kabir Chaura. Ph:0542- 2214720, 2214723
Best vacation time:
Normal time: Feb.-Mar. or Oct.-Nov. is the best time to visit Varanasi just because of the pleasantness it provides with temperature.
Offbeat time: Core summer and winter time are never recommended time to visit Varanasi. As this time is ready to make you experience scorching heat or tremendous snowy winter.
Author Bio: Soma Dutta is a content developer and writing on tour travel operators & famous travel destinations is her sphere. In this piece, she is sharing her experience in the trip to Varanasi- the residence of God. Visit to know more about several such tour packages with a single click at vinayakatours.com.
There are so many beautiful and interesting places to visit in India, it is a wonderful country no doubt. thank you for all the useful information in hotels, restaurants and specially for the emergency numbers you listed on the post, it is something I always look for before I travel, you never know when something will happen.
Wow..you have given lot of information, its very helpful to find best hotels and exact place, thanks nice to read it.
I’m glad to have found this information. I have friends who suggested Varanasi and I had never really heard too much feedback on it.
Varanasi is such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, so far, I’ve only had the chance to see it on pictures. I’d really like to actually visit Varanasi one day.