Travel Guide To India (Part 3): Varanasi

Sunday, August 25, 2013

In part three of my video travel guide to India I travel to Varanasi, one of the holiest cities in the Hindu religion. In this video I visit the famous ghats, or steps, which lead into the Ganges River, the holy river where visitors and locals come every day to wash themselves and perform religious ceremonies.

It is on the banks of the Ganges where thousands of bodies are burned every year. Having your body burned and its ashes spread here is considered to be one of the holiest places in the world to do so in the Hindu religion.

After exploring the riverfront, I stop by a local music shop to play tabla with a local sitar player. Though I was a drummer in a past life, the tabla are a completely different style of playing than I was used to — you’ve been warned.

I finish up by taking a morning boat ride in the Ganges river. The colors you see on the river and on the buildings towering above are spectacular as the sun rises in the morning, and it was one of my most memorable experiences of the entire trip.

• Travel Guide to India: Part One (Calcutta)

• Travel Guide to India: Part Two (Bodhgaya)

[TheExpeditioner YouTube Channel]

By Matt Stabile

About the Author

Matt Stabile is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Expeditioner. The Expeditioner began in 2008 and is headquartered in New York City. You can read his writings, watch his travel videos or contact him at any time at TheExpeditioner.com. (@TheExpeditioner)