Nikki Vargas
Nikki Vargas
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Sail Down the Ganges River in Varanasi

It’s the duality of Varanasi that charms travelers; the fact that along the banks of the Ganges River both life and death live side-by-side like friendly neighbors. The best way to experience Varanasi for the first time is by sailing down the ‘Mother Ganges’ (as it is affectionally called here) during sunset.

Underneath a pink-streaked sky, your boat will drift languidly past the open crematoriums of Varanasi for which this city is best known. It is believed in Hinduism that to be cremated and have one’s ashes spread in the Ganges, is to end the cycle of reincarnation and ascend to heaven. About 300 bodies are burned 24 hours a day in Varanasi. As your boat passes the cremations, you’ll spot various infernos with loved ones standing as silhouettes on the edge of the flame. It is a somber and dramatic display of death, that is quickly followed by a brilliant splash of life upriver at the nightly Aarti Festival.

The Aarti Festival is the contrast to the cremations; a nightly festival in which hundreds gather on the river bank to pray to the Ganges River and wish it goodnight. After the fire and smoke of death, the Aart Festival fills the night with light, music, and Sanskrit chanting as a reminder of life.

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