From Delhi : One Day Sightseeing Tour Varanas

Delhi to the Ganges and back before midnight

A 4am pickup, a 5:30 flight, and you are on the river by quarter to eight — which is the only way to get Varanasi's sunrise without giving up two travel days.

It is a long fourteen hours and it covers the things that matter.

07:45 — the sunrise boat

The centre of the day. A rowed boat along the ghats as the whole waterfront turns to face the rising sun: thousands of people bathing, washing clothes, praying, doing yoga on the steps, priests under palm-leaf umbrellas, buffalo in the shallows.

From the water the ghats read as one continuous stone facade, which is exactly how they were built to be seen — the palaces above them were put up by maharajas from all over India who wanted a house on this river.

Manikarnika's cremation fires have burned without interruption for centuries, because Hindus hold that dying in Varanasi ends the cycle of rebirth. No photography there. That is absolute, and your guide will tell you exactly where the line falls.

Kashi Vishwanath

The Shiva temple at the heart of the old city, one of the twelve jyotirlinga and among the most visited religious sites in India. Security is heavy: no phones, no bags, no electronics. Leave everything in the car.

The lanes around it are too narrow for any vehicle and are the oldest continuously inhabited part of the city.

Sarnath

Ten kilometres out, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. The Dhamek Stupa, and in the museum the Ashokan lion capital — the original of the emblem on every Indian banknote and passport.

The evening aarti

At Dashashwamedh Ghat: tiered brass lamps, bells, conch shells and incense, performed by priests moving in exact unison before thousands on the steps and in boats.

Then the airport, and Delhi by night.

Included

Return flight, private air-conditioned car, licensed guide, and the boat.

Practical

Fourteen hours with a 4am start. Modest dress for the temples; shoes come off repeatedly.