Hva som skjer i Varanasi (Benares), India gjennom året

Toppsesong — Makar Sankranti, Winter break i India

• Festival

  Makar Sankranti

  13.–16. janReligiøs høytidMye folk

  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 ↗

Fortsatt på gang: Post-Diwali smog (25. okt – 10. feb (vanligvis)), Winter fog (15. des – 31. jan (vanligvis))

Travelt — Mahashivratri, skoleferie i 2 av markedene som fyller stedet

• Festival

  Mahashivratri

  10. feb – 15. mar · vanligvisReligiøs høytidMye folk

  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 · vanligvisReligiøs høytidStengningerRisiko

  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 ↗

Fortsatt på gang: Post-Diwali smog (25. okt – 10. feb (vanligvis))

Travelt — Mahashivratri, skoleferie i 2 av markedene som fyller stedet

Ingenting nytt starter i mars.

Fortsatt på gang: Mahashivratri (10. feb – 15. mar (vanligvis)), Holi (25. feb – 20. mar (vanligvis))

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

• Sesong

  Plains summer

  15. apr – 20. jun · vanligvisEkstrem 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. mai · vanligvisReligiøs høytidMye folk

  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 ↗

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

Ingenting nytt starter i mai.

Fortsatt på gang: Plains summer (15. apr – 20. jun (vanligvis)), Buddha Purnima at Sarnath (25. apr – 25. mai (vanligvis))

Travelt — Summer vacation (north & east) i India, skoleferie i 2 av markedene som fyller stedet

Ingenting nytt starter i juni.

Fortsatt på gang: Plains summer (15. apr – 20. jun (vanligvis))

Rolig — skoleferie i 5 av markedene som fyller stedet, en av de dårligste månedene værmessig

• Fare

  Ghats under water

  25. jul – 15. sep · vanligvisFlomsesongStengninger

  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 ↗

Rolig — skoleferie i 4 av markedene som fyller stedet, en av de dårligste månedene værmessig

Ingenting nytt starter i august.

Fortsatt på gang: Ghats under water (25. jul – 15. sep (vanligvis))

Skuldersesong — skoleferie i 3 av markedene som fyller stedet, en helt vanlig måned

• Festival

  Ramnagar Ramlila

  5. sep – 15. okt · vanligvisReligiøs høytid

  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 ↗

Fortsatt på gang: Ghats under water (25. jul – 15. sep (vanligvis))

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

• Festival

  Chhath Puja

  24. okt – 22. nov · vanligvisReligiøs høytidMye folk

  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 ↗

• Fare

  Post-Diwali smog

  25. okt – 10. feb · vanligvisVintersmog

  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 ↗

Fortsatt på gang: Ramnagar Ramlila (5. sep – 15. okt (vanligvis))

Toppsesong — Chhath Puja, Dev Deepawali

• Festival

  Dev Deepawali

  24. novDiwaliMye folkBestill tidlig

  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 ↗

Fortsatt på gang: Chhath Puja (24. okt – 22. nov (vanligvis)), Post-Diwali smog (25. okt – 10. feb (vanligvis))

Travelt — Winter break i India, skoleferie i 4 av markedene som fyller stedet

• Fare

  Winter fog

  15. des – 31. jan · vanligvisTåkesesongStengninger

  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 ↗

Fortsatt på gang: Post-Diwali smog (25. okt – 10. feb (vanligvis))