Getting lost in the kaleidoscope of colours in Varanassi
Summary
Varanasi feels like a microcosm of India – nowhere else will you see such such a vibrant variety of cultures, religions and colours, yet this is also combined with the thronging masses of people all around you and the rubbish and pollution that comes with such numbers
I loved my time in Varanasi as I just headed off to get lost in amongst the lanes, wandered into incense-heavy temples and looked over the riverside ghats as people washed themselves for ritual, or just washed themselves. I can also understand though why some might find it a bit oppressive. Either way, it feels like one of the must do experiences of this wonderful country
Some simple tips:
- Get lost in the small alley ways – its all part of the experience and you’ll no doubt find some cool temples and views of the Ganges that aren’t in the standard tourist route
- Try to avoid taking a standard tourist tour of the Ghats. Instead, find one of the guys with his own boat near the water and get him to take you out. It just avoids being crammed into a boat with 40 other fellow tourists
- Its India, so be ready for people near-constantly nagging you to sell you something, but it is probably a bit worse in Varanasi and it is a tourist hotspot where people tend to have spent a lot to visit
highlights
#1 Looking from the water at the Ghats - Varanasi's most famous spectacle
#2 Getting lost in amongst the winding narrow alley ways that cross-cross all through Varanasi and give you that wonderful experience of, just for a moment, being lost in the whole atmosphere of the place
#3 Seeing some of the funeral rituals at the Burning Ghats, often with many happening at once
#4 Jumping in a tuk tuk or just walking through the mayhem of the narrow streets
#5 Sunrise views across the Ganges
#6 Cows - lots of them, basically everywhere
#7 Getting in amongst the washing, praying and generally people hanging out by the Ghats
#8 Finding that random guy who has a boat, more than prepared to take you out and letting you enjoy the experience not in a crammed tourist boat like this one :)
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Narrow Windy Street Experiences
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone