Wat er het hele jaar speelt in Varanasi (Benares), India

Topdrukte — Makar Sankranti, Winter break in India

• Festival

  Makar Sankranti

  13–16 janReligieus feestDruk

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (meestal)), Winter fog (15 dec – 31 jan (meestal))

Druk — Mahashivratri, schoolvakanties in 2 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Festival

  Mahashivratri

  10 feb – 15 mrt · meestalReligieus feestDruk

  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. Bron ↗

• Festival

  Holi

  25 feb – 20 mrt · meestalReligieus feestSluitingenRisico

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (meestal))

Druk — Mahashivratri, schoolvakanties in 2 van de markten die de plek vullen

In maart begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Mahashivratri (10 feb – 15 mrt (meestal)), Holi (25 feb – 20 mrt (meestal))

Topdrukte — Buddha Purnima at Sarnath, Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) in India

• Seizoen

  Plains summer

  15 apr – 20 jun · meestalExtreme hitte

  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 mei · meestalReligieus feestDruk

  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. Bron ↗

Topdrukte — Buddha Purnima at Sarnath, Summer vacation (north & east) in India

In mei begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Plains summer (15 apr – 20 jun (meestal)), Buddha Purnima at Sarnath (25 apr – 25 mei (meestal))

Druk — Summer vacation (north & east) in India, schoolvakanties in 2 van de markten die de plek vullen

In juni begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Plains summer (15 apr – 20 jun (meestal))

Rustig — schoolvakanties in 5 van de markten die de plek vullen, een van de slechtste maanden qua weer

• Risico

  Ghats under water

  25 jul – 15 sep · meestalOverstromingsseizoenSluitingen

  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. Bron ↗

Rustig — schoolvakanties in 4 van de markten die de plek vullen, een van de slechtste maanden qua weer

In augustus begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Ghats under water (25 jul – 15 sep (meestal))

Tussenseizoen — schoolvakanties in 3 van de markten die de plek vullen, een gewone maand

• Festival

  Ramnagar Ramlila

  5 sep – 15 okt · meestalReligieus feest

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Ghats under water (25 jul – 15 sep (meestal))

Topdrukte — Chhath Puja, Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) in India

• Festival

  Chhath Puja

  24 okt – 22 nov · meestalReligieus feestDruk

  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. Bron ↗

• Risico

  Post-Diwali smog

  25 okt – 10 feb · meestalWintersmog

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Ramnagar Ramlila (5 sep – 15 okt (meestal))

Topdrukte — Chhath Puja, Dev Deepawali

• Festival

  Dev Deepawali

  24 novDiwaliDrukBoek vroeg

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Chhath Puja (24 okt – 22 nov (meestal)), Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (meestal))

Druk — Winter break in India, schoolvakanties in 4 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Risico

  Winter fog

  15 dec – 31 jan · meestalMistseizoenSluitingen

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (meestal))