Det sker i Varanasi (Benares), India året igennem

Tætpakket — Makar Sankranti, Winter break i India

• Festival

  Makar Sankranti

  13.–16. jan.Religiøs højtidTætpakket

  Kites over the old city all day and a dawn dip at the ghats on 14 January, the day the sun turns north. Sesame sweets from every stall, and the one bright morning inside the fog weeks. Kilde ↗

Stadig i gang: Post-Diwali smog (25. okt. – 10. feb. (normalt)), Winter fog (15. dec. – 31. jan. (normalt))

Travlt — Mahashivratri, skoleferie på 2 af de markeder, der fylder stedet

• Festival

  Mahashivratri

  10. feb. – 15. mar. · normaltReligiøs højtidTætpakket

  The night of the city's own god. Queues at the Kashi Vishwanath temple run for hours and continue all night, and the lanes of the old town are impassable from the afternoon before. Kilde ↗

• Festival

  Holi

  25. feb. – 20. mar. · normaltReligiøs højtidLukningerRisiko

  Taken harder here than almost anywhere, and largely impossible to sit out. The ghats and the old town are unusable for most of the day, boats stop running, and shops stay shut into the afternoon. Kilde ↗

Stadig i gang: Post-Diwali smog (25. okt. – 10. feb. (normalt))

Travlt — Mahashivratri, skoleferie på 2 af de markeder, der fylder stedet

Intet nyt begynder i marts.

Stadig i gang: Mahashivratri (10. feb. – 15. mar. (normalt)), Holi (25. feb. – 20. mar. (normalt))

Tætpakket — Buddha Purnima at Sarnath, Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) i India

• Sæson

  Plains summer

  15. apr. – 20. jun. · normaltEkstrem varme

  The Gangetic plain at its worst: the ghats are empty between ten and five and the stone is too hot to sit on. Sunrise boats and evening aarti still work, and nothing in between does.

• Festival

  Buddha Purnima at Sarnath

  25. apr. – 25. maj · normaltReligiøs højtidTætpakket

  Sarnath, where the first sermon was given, takes a procession and pilgrims from across Asia on the May full moon. It is ten kilometres out of town and the one reason to leave the river in that heat. Kilde ↗

Tætpakket — Buddha Purnima at Sarnath, Summer vacation (north & east) i India

Intet nyt begynder i maj.

Stadig i gang: Plains summer (15. apr. – 20. jun. (normalt)), Buddha Purnima at Sarnath (25. apr. – 25. maj (normalt))

Travlt — Summer vacation (north & east) i India, skoleferie på 2 af de markeder, der fylder stedet

Intet nyt begynder i juni.

Stadig i gang: Plains summer (15. apr. – 20. jun. (normalt))

Stille — skoleferie på 5 af de markeder, der fylder stedet, en af stedets værste måneder vejrmæssigt

• Risiko

  Ghats under water

  25. jul. – 15. sep. · normaltOversvømmelsessæsonLukninger

  In most monsoons the Ganga rises over the lower ghats, the boats are grounded by order, and the evening aarti moves to higher ground. Cremations at Manikarnika shift up the steps into the lanes. Kilde ↗

Stille — skoleferie på 4 af de markeder, der fylder stedet, en af stedets værste måneder vejrmæssigt

Intet nyt begynder i august.

Stadig i gang: Ghats under water (25. jul. – 15. sep. (normalt))

Skuldersæson — skoleferie på 3 af de markeder, der fylder stedet, en helt almindelig måned

• Festival

  Ramnagar Ramlila

  5. sep. – 15. okt. · normaltReligiøs højtid

  A month of nightly open-air Ramlila staged across Ramnagar on the far bank, unamplified and lit by lanterns, with the audience walking between locations. It has run under the maharaja's patronage for two centuries. Kilde ↗

Stadig i gang: Ghats under water (25. jul. – 15. sep. (normalt))

Tætpakket — Chhath Puja, Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) i India

• Festival

  Chhath Puja

  24. okt. – 22. nov. · normaltReligiøs højtidTætpakket

  Four days of fasting for the sun god in Kartik, and the one festival that fills the ghats twice in a day: at sunset, then again before dawn, families standing waist-deep in the river with their offerings. Assi and Dashashwamedh take the biggest crowds. Kilde ↗

• Risiko

  Post-Diwali smog

  25. okt. – 10. feb. · normaltVintersmog

  Stubble burning upwind, firecrackers and a cold air trap put the plains under a brown haze from Diwali onward. The fog weeks that follow hold it down rather than clear it. Kilde ↗

Stadig i gang: Ramnagar Ramlila (5. sep. – 15. okt. (normalt))

Tætpakket — Chhath Puja, Dev Deepawali

• Festival

  Dev Deepawali

  24. nov.DiwaliTætpakketBook tidligt

  On Kartik Purnima, a fortnight after Diwali, every step of every ghat is set with oil lamps and the whole river front is lit at once. The single busiest night of the Varanasi year; boats are booked months ahead. Kilde ↗

Stadig i gang: Chhath Puja (24. okt. – 22. nov. (normalt)), Post-Diwali smog (25. okt. – 10. feb. (normalt))

Travlt — Winter break i India, skoleferie på 4 af de markeder, der fylder stedet

• Risiko

  Winter fog

  15. dec. – 31. jan. · normaltTågesæsonLukninger

  Dense plains fog settles over the river for weeks and takes the flights and the trains with it, with delays measured in hours rather than minutes. The sunrise boat is a matter of luck. Kilde ↗

Stadig i gang: Post-Diwali smog (25. okt. – 10. feb. (normalt))