Hinduism, in all its myriad forms, is what you'll see here; from the pious, fatalistic devotion of ardent Hindus to new-age, fly-by-night faiths followed by foreigners who form a sizeable part of the city's population.
Early mornings here can be magical, with the sun's golden light reflecting on the holy Ganga; the hundreds of multicoloured boats, the sadhus in saffron and the devout looking heavenward, waist deep in water.
Plus there are alleys to explore, slapdash classical music concerts to attend and ghats to sit and contemplate life on. Mark Twain said that Varanasi is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them combined. Don't take his word for it, find out for yourself.
(Varanasi is 775 km from Delhi. Take NH2 via Agra, Kanpur and Allahabad. The road is good, except for some ouch! stretches near Etawah and before Varanasi. The Taj Ganges (Ph: 0542 2345100) and Hotel Vaibhav (Ph: 0542 2345056) are good places to stay.
