India – a land of diverse Culture & Heritage, Rituals and beliefs, of stories and facts, of beautiful hidden alleys and colorful markets, such a city that is inculcated with all these features is Varanasi – referred by many as Kashi Vishwanath Ki Nagri. Ruled by Mughals and Kings in the past, this Oldest city of India is now a hub of saints and sages and has a beautiful amalgamation of our religious past and a modern future.
Considering the city has a stature of being the Oldest City of India, it is even one of the continuously inhabited cities of the world. Starting from the Aryan rule, in the middle Ganges Valley, Varanasi was a seat of Aryan religion and philosophy and was also a commercial and industrial center famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture. Varanasi is still a center of various religious, educational and artistic activities. The city has the finest river frontage in India with miles of Ghats or steps for religious bathing, an array of shrines and temples and various other beautiful palaces.
Among the various temples of the city, the most venerated are those of the Shiva Temple called the Vishvanatha Temple. The Sankatmochan Temple dedicated to the Monkey-God, Lord Hanuman is another revered temple of the city. The Durga Temple is famous for swarms of monkeys that inhabit the large trees near it. Being the Cultural Capital of India, the city has hundreds of other temples registered on its name may it be the modern temples of Tulasi Manas and Vishvanatha in Banaras Hindu University or the temples built by the Maha Bodhi Society by the Chinese, Burmese, and Tibetan Buddhists – they have a number of it.
Being the center of Hindu learning, Kashi is also a city of saints or the learned scholars that run countless such schools for the continuation of traditional learning.
The art of the city is also very famous as it is known to be the hub of the Silk market where material or fabrics are adorned with beautiful embroidery of gold and silver threadwork. Especially the sarees of such work are world-famous and are patently called Banarasi Sarees. Other things for which the city is well known are the wooden toys, bangles made of glass, ivory work and brassware are also patents to the city.
Banaras goes synonymous with one thing which is the world-famous Ganga Aarti done at the river Ganges – a place which is believed to be the epicenter of Supreme Divinity. The popular ritual of every evening is attended by numerous people and saints of the city. Even the world-travelers never miss a chance to witness the divine showers happening here. This happens at one of the Ghats of the city. Having around 88 ghats in the entire city most of which are popular for bathing and Puja ceremony while two ghats are exclusively used for cremation rites. There are various legends and mythologies related to these ghats. Morning boat ride on the Ganges across the ghats is a popular visitor attraction.
As per Google, a big part of World Tourism today is interested to know the place and the city, so they travel frequently to this city. Being the era of internet, the world today is a click away but what if one wants to explore the city completely like knowing about its history, the facts and stories related to it, best places to visit, the food to eat – certain things that makes a city different from others and makes one’s journey to a place worth traveling. This could be made possible by taking a dynamic and realistic tour of the city. So we at City On Pedals have taken a leap from Amritsar and Jaipur and have reached Varanasi with our expert tour guides to tell the World-travelers the know-how of the place. Given the limited sources and time, we want our guests to explore the city differently with our experience and takes back the fond memories.
It is said, “Nothing about a city is easy to forget, one just needs the right way to explore it.” So our aim is always to enhance the experience of our guests as one can forget the things but not the experience. So get-set-go for a stroll to the streets of Varanasi through the Ghats, along the river Ganges and get yourself ready to listen to the stories of birth and death from the ancient diaries of saints and sages through our exclusive tours to the city – Varanasi Heritage Walking Tours and Varanasi Street Food Walking Tour. Let’s relive the history again.