På gång i Varanasi (Benares), India under året

Mest folk — Makar Sankranti, Winter break i India

• Festival

  Makar Sankranti

  13–16 janReligiös högtidTrångt

  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. Källa ↗

Pågår fortfarande: Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (vanligtvis)), Winter fog (15 dec – 31 jan (vanligtvis))

Mycket folk — Mahashivratri, skollov i 2 av marknaderna som fyller platsen

• Festival

  Mahashivratri

  10 feb – 15 mar · vanligtvisReligiös högtidTrångt

  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. Källa ↗

• Festival

  Holi

  25 feb – 20 mar · vanligtvisReligiös högtidStängningarRisk

  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. Källa ↗

Pågår fortfarande: Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (vanligtvis))

Mycket folk — Mahashivratri, skollov i 2 av marknaderna som fyller platsen

Inget nytt börjar i mars.

Pågår fortfarande: Mahashivratri (10 feb – 15 mar (vanligtvis)), Holi (25 feb – 20 mar (vanligtvis))

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

• Säsong

  Plains summer

  15 apr – 20 jun · vanligtvisExtrem värme

  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 · vanligtvisReligiös högtidTrångt

  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. Källa ↗

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

Inget nytt börjar i maj.

Pågår fortfarande: Plains summer (15 apr – 20 jun (vanligtvis)), Buddha Purnima at Sarnath (25 apr – 25 maj (vanligtvis))

Mycket folk — Summer vacation (north & east) i India, skollov i 2 av marknaderna som fyller platsen

Inget nytt börjar i juni.

Pågår fortfarande: Plains summer (15 apr – 20 jun (vanligtvis))

Lugnt — skollov i 5 av marknaderna som fyller platsen, en av dess sämsta vädermånader

• Risk

  Ghats under water

  25 jul – 15 sep · vanligtvisÖversvämningssäsongStängningar

  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. Källa ↗

Lugnt — skollov i 4 av marknaderna som fyller platsen, en av dess sämsta vädermånader

Inget nytt börjar i augusti.

Pågår fortfarande: Ghats under water (25 jul – 15 sep (vanligtvis))

Mellansäsong — skollov i 3 av marknaderna som fyller platsen, en helt vanlig månad

• Festival

  Ramnagar Ramlila

  5 sep – 15 okt · vanligtvisReligiös högtid

  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. Källa ↗

Pågår fortfarande: Ghats under water (25 jul – 15 sep (vanligtvis))

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

• Festival

  Chhath Puja

  24 okt – 22 nov · vanligtvisReligiös högtidTrångt

  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. Källa ↗

• Risk

  Post-Diwali smog

  25 okt – 10 feb · vanligtvisVintersmog

  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. Källa ↗

Pågår fortfarande: Ramnagar Ramlila (5 sep – 15 okt (vanligtvis))

Mest folk — Chhath Puja, Dev Deepawali

• Festival

  Dev Deepawali

  24 novDiwaliTrångtBoka tidigt

  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. Källa ↗

Pågår fortfarande: Chhath Puja (24 okt – 22 nov (vanligtvis)), Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (vanligtvis))

Mycket folk — Winter break i India, skollov i 4 av marknaderna som fyller platsen

• Risk

  Winter fog

  15 dec – 31 jan · vanligtvisDimsäsongStängningar

  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. Källa ↗

Pågår fortfarande: Post-Diwali smog (25 okt – 10 feb (vanligtvis))