Varanasi

Three dawns between Assi and Manikarnika

Varanasi takes three dawns to absorb: watch the dawn rituals at Assi Ghat and row north past the ghats on day one, returning to Dashashwamedh for the evening Ganga Aarti; see the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, Manikarnika and Sarnath on day two; and take a second dawn boat and cross to Ramnagar Fort on day three.

Day one. Be at Assi Ghat before sunrise for the morning rituals, then take a rowing boat north past Tulsi, Harishchandra and Kedar ghats. Breakfast near Assi, then walk the riverside path towards Dashashwamedh, stopping at Man Mandir Ghat for Jai Singh's observatory. Rest in the heat of the day. Come back to Dashashwamedh an hour before dark and find a step or a boat for the Ganga Aarti.

Day two. Go into the lanes behind Vishwanath Gali early, while the shops are opening, and follow them to the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor (non-Hindus can usually view from the outer areas; check on the day). Walk on to Manikarnika and watch the cremation ghat from a respectful distance. After lunch, take an auto to Sarnath for the Dhamek Stupa, the excavated monastery ruins and the archaeological museum with the Lion Capital.

Day three. A second dawn boat, this time from Dashashwamedh south, sees the light from the other direction. Spend the morning in the silk and handloom quarters, then cross to Ramnagar Fort on the east bank in the afternoon before a last evening by the river.

Kachori mornings, dum aloo and a final paan

Breakfast in the old city is kachori sabzi, puffed fried bread with a spiced potato curry, eaten standing at stalls around Godowlia and the lanes behind the ghats, followed by a hot jalebi. Mid-morning is for lassi in a clay cup, thick enough to need a spoon and often topped with malai.

Banarasi cooking leans on asafoetida, ginger, cloves and dried fenugreek. Banarasi dum aloo is the dish to order: potatoes stuffed and simmered in a gravy sweetened with jaggery and sharpened with fennel and chilli, unlike the version served elsewhere in India. Street aloo chaat and tamatar chaat are sold from evening carts near Dashashwamedh. In winter look for malaiyyo, a saffron milk froth set by the night dew and sold only in the cold months.

The meal ends with Banarasi paan, a betel leaf parcel with sweet fillings or tobacco. Ask for meetha (sweet) if you want the tobacco-free one, and put the whole thing in your mouth at once. Food in the city is largely vegetarian, and many ghat-side places serve no alcohol; coffee is often instant, so tea is the safer order.

Dev Deepawali, fog and the monsoon river

Visit Varanasi between November and February, when highs run from 22 to 29°C, though foggy December and January dawns delay trains. April and May reach 39 to 40°C, and July to September bring 225 to 285 mm of rain a month, flooding the riverside path. Dev Deepawali, on the Kartik full moon in November, lights every ghat.

The climate dictates the calendar. From November to February highs sit between 22C and 29C, with lows of 9-15C; December and January dawns are foggy, which is beautiful from a boat but delays trains. By April the average high reaches 39C and May hits 40C. Rain arrives in late June, and July to September brings 225-285 mm a month; the river climbs the ghat steps and the riverside path is cut in places.

The biggest night of the year is Dev Deepawali, on the full moon of Kartik, usually in November, about two weeks after Diwali, when oil lamps line the ghats from end to end. Book boats and rooms early. The full moon itself is also the most popular bathing day of the year.

Maha Shivaratri, in February or March, fills the Shiva temples, and Holi in March is loud and very messy in the lanes. Chhath, a few days after Diwali, sees families make offerings to the setting and rising sun at the river. For a wider loop, Varanasi pairs well with Kolkata by overnight train, or with Agra and Delhi to the west.