Life on the Ganga: Varanasi, India

Varanasi, also known as Banaras or Kashi, is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. Located by the sacred river Ganges (or Ganga in Hindi), Varanasi is one of Hinduism’s seven holy cities and is said to sit atop the trident of the god Shiva. So sacred is Varanasi that death and cremation in the city is said to ensure moksha — liberation from the cycles of reincarnation.