Varanasi- The city before history!

Boarded from Howrah Station at 6:00 a.m. and took a cab for Varanasi which took only 30 minutes to reach the city.

It's where I checked in to the Hotel. There are many hotels to choose as this is the city centre of Kashi and it's also near to the Kashi Viswanath temple.

After some morning tea and snacks I headed towards the this ghat which is a 10 min walk form Godowlia to have the sacred bath in the Ganges. The ghats are very well maintained here for the tourists.

P. S. For safety just carry the most essential things to the ghats. Try to avoid taking the valuable items while going for bath.

Returning from the ghat after having bath to the hotel and changing I headed toward the Kashi Viswanath temple. There it took almost 30 minutes to enter the main temple as there was a queue at the entrance. Here you cannot carry your electronic gadgets for which you have to avail those lockers present at the shops outside the entrance.

After completing the darshan I enjoyed some street food as breakfast.

After having the breakfast, I visited the local temples near Kashi Viswanath and then returned to the hotel as the climate was getting very hot outside.

Escaping the hot weather inside the hotel and having the lunch, I went explore the ghats of Varanasi at the afternoon. I started from Dashashwamed ghat and explored till the Assi Ghat on foot. It was an amazing experience to have a walk beside the river bank.

When I reached Assi ghat it was almost dusk. So I booked a private motor boat to enjoy the ganga arti from there. The boat first took me to the Manikarika ghat and from there it came to Dashashwamed ghat and anchored from where you can get the perfect view for the evening arti. The boat ride is almost 45 min ride on the Ganges.

Returning from the ghats, I took a autorikshaw from Godowila to reach the mandir. The main entrance of the kaal vairaibha mandir is very clingy as you have to go through the narrow galis of Varanasi. It's a must visit place for the holy pilgrims, as it is said that if you don't visit this place then your Varanasi tour is incomplete.

Then I enjoyed some Kesar rabri(speciality of Varanasi) while heading back to the hotel.

Woke up in the morning at 5:00 a.m. to witness the sunrise from the ghats of Varanasi. Went to the ghats and also took some dips into the holy Ganges and returned to the hotel.

Cab was scheduled at 8:00 a.m. for the city tour. After taking necessary precautions such as cap, sunscreen and cotton clothes to protect myself from the heat, I boarded the cab.

First location after leaving was Sarnath. It's a Buddhist temple where Lord Buddha once resides. It's a serene and peaceful place with lots of greenery vand wildlife sanctuary.

Next location was Ramnagar Fort which was on the other bank of Varanasi. This fort has lots of heritage and artifact's. It has a museum containing many medival as well as British period artifact. The view from the fort is also mesmerizing.

It took nearly 2-3 hrs to explore the fort. Then my next location was Banaras Hindu University. This is one of the most eminent University of India. It is also a tourist attraction because of the campus and the atmosphere.

My cab driver dropped me at Manikarnika Ghats as my trip ended. So I decided to have a walk along the ghats of Varanasi from Manikarnika Ghat towards the Alamgir Mosque. It's a Mughal era mosque situated on the banks of river Ganges. It was built by Aurangzeb. The architecture is very beautiful over here.