Why Varanasi and the Ganges are special
India's Ganges River is sacred to Hindus and flows by their holiest city, Varanasi (formerly Banaras).
Varanasi is principally known to travelers for its ghats (stone steps leading directly into the water). It has about 100 of these riverbank stairways.

Ritual bathing ghats
Most ghats are used for ritual bathing. Hindu pilgrims, while standing waist high in the water, pray to cleanse their souls as they face the rising sun.
Dasaswamedh is the tourist's favorite ritual bathing ghat because of its picturesque backdrop of old temples, palaces and pavilions (see photo).

Cremation ghats
Varanasi also has cremation ghats becauseHindus believe that those who die and are cremated in Varanasi go directly to heaven, bypassing the lengthy reincarnation process. First the dead are burned on riverside pyres, then their ashes are scattered on the sacred Ganges River.

Best ghat visiting time
Being at the ghats (especially the ritual bathing variety) is glorious at the crack of dawn. Most worshipers prefer that time because the surroundings mystically glow with the reflected golden-red hues of the low-lying sun. Photographers do, too, for the same reason.

What leading travel books say about Varanasi
Dawn at Varanasi is a fabulous sight.
India
Insight Guides

The ghats on the Ganges River are the main attraction for visitors to Varanasi.
India
Passport Books