INDIA, VARANASI: WALKING TOUR

 December 24, 2025

We arrived in Varanasi on a flight from Delhi at about noon. Compared to Delhi, Varanasi has a small airport, but it was still very interesting. I have no idea what this tree sculpture is all about, but I love the symbolism of trees, so I had to stop and look.

This next display is one I could decipher. The G20 Summit, an annual meeting of leaders from the world's largest economies, was held in Delhi in 2023. A branch of the G20, the G20 Culture Ministers' Meeting, was held in Varanasi.

So why were we in Varanasi, a city I hadn't heard of before Bob told me he wanted to go there?

Varanasi is a huge city on the Ganges River that is the main pilgrimage site for Hindus, much like Mecca is for Muslims. It is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities, and according to Hindu mythology, it was founded by Shiva, one of the three principal Hindu deities along with Vishnu and Brahma. One story is that Shiva brought the Ganges from heaven to earth in his hair. Another is that Vishnu pierced a hole in the universe from which the Ganges flowed to earth. Either way, this is a sacred spot for Hindus.

The modern city is about 32 square miles and houses 1.2 million actual residents, but in 2024, 11 million tourists came to the city, making it possibly the most crowded city in the world. Many of the tourists are not coming for sightseeing, but rather to die here and/or spread their loved one's ashes in the Ganges. Dying in this holy city is said to result in moksha, or release from the endless cycle of dying and rebirth. It is thought that about 32,000 corpses are cremated each year on the banks of the Ganges, after which their ashes are spread on the river. Other Hindus come here to bathe in or even drink from the river, which is said to have healing properties. 

But I am getting way ahead of myself. Our first stop was at our hotel, the Taj Ganges Varanasi. That's a pretty presumptuous name for a very normal-looking hotel.

Photo from Booking.com

It was Christmas Eve, and it was nice to see an actual nativity scene in the grass in front of the hotel entrance. The staircase and the windows on the Christmas tree, however, are a bit odd. It makes it look like a hobbit house.

At first I thought there was a Christmas tree in the lobby, but I think it was a stupa--a Buddhist shrine. However, there was ice cream! At last!

Bob had booked the "Varanasi Hidden Walking Tour" for the afternoon. Our guide was an American who married an Indian woman and has been living in Varanasi and other Indian cities for something like 20 years. It's nice to have a native, but it is also fun to have an outsider who has become an insider of sorts. He did a good job of seeing the city through our eyes.

Let's start with two random photos from the beginning of our walk that I think capture the wild craziness of Varanasi. First, is this just the best delivery service you've ever seen? Move over, GrubHub.

Something about the combination of the colorful motorcycles and that gray-toned street art really gets me.

Also, to get an idea of what the walk was like as far as the senses go, check out this video I took of about 20 seconds' worth of walking.

A few alleys in, we were stopped by a young boy who wanted to paint our foreheads. Our guide knew the kid and encouraged us to say yes. Now that I think about it, this "random meeting" was probably pre-arranged.

We found Chris's avatar painted on one of the alley walls.

Speaking of street art, Varanasi has a lot of it.

There seems to be a Hindu temple on about every block. The garlands of orange and yellow marigolds are a dead giveaway.

The labyrinthine streets are filled with cows scavenging for food. Cows are sacred, and the residents often leave food out for them. However, you don't want to meet a hungry cow in an alley as narrow as the one on the right. I don't think I would dare to walk these alleys myself. Expect the unexpected in Varanasi. 

Our guide told us that the Ganges is the source of drinking water for much of Varanasi. Ewww.  And in India, you can always count on something really beautiful, like this door frame, popping up in the midst of the squalor.

There is so much fresh food for sale. That is not what I expected in India. Where does this woman live? Did she grow this bounteous harvest herself?

Our guide bought some white radishes for us to try.

Here is another impossibly detailed door frame, and then just down the block is a door with this scary mélange of electrical fuse boxes.

And in the next version of "You'll Never Know What You'll See in the Varanasi Alleys," I give you a pet goat in a fitted shirt and a monkey hanging out among the elctrical wires.

Bob! Bob! Do you really think you should go through that door? No one can predict what alternate reality might be on the other side in India!

Our guide told us that sometimes street art like this is used to show people who are illiterate (these days that is 25% of the city's population) what is inside. Remind me not to get sick in Varanasi. This doctor looks like Grandpa in The Munsters.

These two murals were PSAs for the Corona virus vaccine push.

We were progressing fairly steadily uphill, and the alleys were opening up a little bit, which meant more animals. 

Believed to represent the earth and its bountiful resources, cows are revered as sacred animals in India. They are also econonically important for their milk, dung, and use for work in agriculture. The most common breed in Varanasi is the Sahiwal cow, known for its high milk production. Once a cow stops giving milk, they become a financial burdern on farmers and are turned loose to wander. According to a 2020 census, there are 5 million stray cattle in India as a whole.  Our guide said the city pays people of the lower caste to clean up after the wandering bovines, and during our two days in the city, we only saw one or two piles of cow dung. Apparently the cows develop a route they take every day and are fed at specific places. None of the cows we saw looked malnourished, and all were as placid as the three below.

By the way, our idiom "sacred cow" is derived from the Hindu reverence for cows. It refers to something that is so deeply ingrained that people are afraid to change it, even if it would make sense to do so. (E.g., "The teaching of handwriting in elementary school is a sacred cow for some teachers who refuse to give up teaching it, even though students do 95% of their writing on a keyboard these days.") 

Just beyond those three cows was the view spot our guide had been working towards.  From a fenced, paved area we had a pretty good view, albeit a smog-blurred scene, of the legendary Ganges River.

Some facts about the Ganges:

• It flows 1,569 miles from the Himalayas through India and Bangladesh, emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
• When it crosses into Bangladesh, its name is changed to the Padma River.
• It has the most populated river basin the the world--hundreds of millions of people rely on it.
• It is the most sacred river in the world to Hindus.
• It is threatened by severe pollution, and the levels of fecal bacteria from human waste in the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit. (It did not smell bad when we were there.)
• Around Varanasi, the river once had an average depth of 200 feet, but in some places, it is now only 33 feet deep.

We left the scenic viewpoint by walking down a very long flight of stairs leading towards the river.

We stopped at a tiny open-air shop in one of the alleys to try a local pudding-like dish scooped from a metal bowl and placed in a communal plastic cup. (*Don't think about it. Don't think about it.*) It was tasty. It cost very little money--less than the smallest rupee bill--and instead of pulling out almost worthless Indian coins, our guide paid for it via Google Pay on his cellphone. If that doesn't say something about the reach of technology, I don't know what does!

We emerged from the narrow, dark alley onto a busy street with regular shops with windows and displays. Many of them had Santa suits for adults and children for sale.

Back to the claustrophobic but sensory-rich alleys for another snack.

Our guide told us that this is the best food he has ever tasted anywhere in the whole world. It's called Makhan Malai or Malaiyo. It is made from fresh cream, sugar, cardamom, and rosewater and requires at least eight hours to make, including three hours of churning to make it very light and foamy. It can only be made in cool weather or it will melt. It was really good--maybe not the best thing I've ever tasted in the whole world, but maybe the best in India. It was very frothy, "like a cloud" according to our guide, but still fairly dense and rich. The taste is a little like sweetened condensed milk. 

It is served in disposable earthenware bowls, like paper bowls made of clay.

Our next stop was at The Ram Bhandar, whose  motto is "Eat Endlessly Delicious."

This was also a very popular place with a crowd outside and every seat inside taken. They are known for their Kachori, which is somewhat like a vegetarian pot pie or empanada. Flattened balls made of flour are filled with seasoned crushed beans or vegetables. Another popular dish is Aloo ki Sabzi, a spicy potato and tomato dish. They also have several other savory vegetarian dishes. At this point we weren't worrying at all about eating the food prepared in the open air in the crowded, dirty alleys. Our taste buds had overcome our good sense.

This is a Varanasi bakery, filled with different flavors of flatbreads and sweets.

Flavors of papada, a crunchy cracker-like snack, include garlic, chick pea, mint, and more.

Enough about food. It's time for some architecture. Our next stop was the Lion's Mansion, built by a businessman named Ramdas Shah in 1885. Behind that ridiculous array of electrical wires is a stunning carved wood gate, flanked on either side by mythological lion-bird statues.

Walking through the gate is like walking into another world. A large covered courtyard dimly lit by chandeliers is surrounded by what I presume to be bedrooms and other living spaces.

Upstairs, doors lead out onto a balcony that wraps around the upper level.

Each doorway on the back wall is topped with a photograph of who I am guessing is a descendant of Ramdas Shah. 

The seven doors lead into a very ornate garden room with a gaudy painting of beautiful women bathing with the gods.

And beyond THAT room is the equivalent of a private chapel in a castle--a small Hindu worship room that we were not allowed to enter (but we could see an altar and a hot pink and gold drape through the door). However, look at the exquisite craftsmanship on the columns and around the doors and windows.  I think the Muslims usually outdo the Hindus on architecture, but the Lion House made me rethink that assumption.

I love that they had a statue of a sacred cow and her calf--symbol of fertility and good health. I'll also throw in one more gorgeous door for good measure.

Our walking tour of Varanasi had come to an end and it was time to head to our hotel. This video shows us walking on a street that allows walkers, bikers, and rickshaws, but no cars. It's still insane. Note how Stan is holding onto Chris's purse strap. I'm not sure if he was trying to protect her or trying to keep from keep from getting separated in the crowd.

We loved our walking tour. It was especially fun to have done it after we did a similar tour in Old Delhi so that we could compare the two. Varanasi definitely felt more Hindu and more religious to me, maybe the biggest difference between the two cities.