Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in Hinduism. Bathing there in the Ganges washes away all your sins. Dying there liberates you from the cycle of birth and death. Nearby is Sarnath, a place Buddha went after enlightenment. Many monasteries and monuments were built, ruins of which remain today.

One of many ghats (areas of river shore) on the Ganges in Varanasi. This is a bathing ghat. The Ganges is extremely dirty -- 60,000 people bathe in it daily, and 30 sewers continuously discharge into it.

Sunrise over the Ganges.

This looks like a ghat which is part of someone's house, with a little Ganesha shrine.

The Ghat of Pisa.

Saris drying along the river.

Kali shrine on the street.

The streets of Varanasi.

In Sarnath, the Buddhist temple walls have a beautiful mural detailing the life of Buddha. Here he refuses to yield to various temptations, which are quite inclusive.

Here are the ruins of monuments and a monastery in Sarnath.

There are some large pillars in the Sarnath ruins. This one has some very old lettering on it.

A large stupa at Sarnath.

Jainendra Rai, our guide to Varanasi and Sarnath, an archaeology grad student who knows everything about Hinduism and Buddhism, and has a job guiding tourists.

As is always the case, after the tours we were taken to a local craft facility, in this case a silk shop. They had some ancient punch-card-based looms. They also had some very pretty bedspreads.

On to India: Darjeeling