Geography of Varanasi

As for the physical geography of Varanasi,

Varanasi is located on the Western bank of the Ganges river in Northern India. The Indian state is Uttar Pradesh. In Varanasi the sacred Ganges makes a moon-like turn and flows to the North, while usually most rivers in northern hemisphere are destined South.

If we count from Delhi, Varanasi is 780 km to the South-East of the capital.

If you drive a car, or rather, hire a driver, the road to Varanasi will take more than 16 hours. You will have to ride creepy Indian roads, which are unlit at night and remain in dire condition for the last 50 years. As one school of Indian driving puts it, local "roads" are not meant to commute from here to there, it’s the road themselves that run from here to there.

You can also take some time to enjoy the countryside and hire an auto rickshaw, this is one of the most extraordinary ways to travel – it will take you a couple of days. I personally have not heard of any foreigner, who found the courage to make such a journey.

The most common way to get to Varanasi is taking a train (13 to 17 hour-long trip) or book air tickets (1.5 hours flight). The train tickets cost around Rs1 000 ($ 25), flight – from Rs 2 000 to Rs 10 000 ($46-250) depending on the season and the time of booking. The cheapest tickets are booked about 2 months before the flight.

After you have landed in Varanasi, you will need a taxi to reach the city – the price tag is around Rs 550 ($13). The ride will take about 1.5 hours depending on traffic situation, which is totally unpredictable.

As for the mystical geography of the city,

Varanasi is considered to be the center of space and time, located above the Earth. The locals believe that the city rests on the Shiva’s trident, between Heaven and Earth.

The common belief is that it’s not very easy to reach the city. The molecules of your destiny would tuck in such a way that would hinder your trip plans. But at the same time whenever you decide to come to Varanasi, the sheer determination to accomplish that makes your karma a bit better. And it will drastically improve onwards should you enter the city, see the Ganges and bathe in it.

And if you have come to Varanasi for however a short trip, you will probably tilt towards visiting it again and again. One of the names of the city is Avimukta – a never forsaken city, maybe that is the reason why a lot of people do come back.