Stone steps built by Maratha kings and queens run down into the Ganges, and every morning people use them the way their great-grandparents did, to bathe, wash laundry or simply sit and talk. In the lanes behind the ghats, weavers still work gold thread into Banarasi saris, and music teachers pass on the old Benares style of tabla.
Beyond the river, the Banaras Hindu University campus opens into wide green avenues, and Sarnath, where the Buddha first taught, is a short ride northeast. Summers are hot and dry, the monsoon arrives in July, and winter mornings often begin in fog over the water. A Local Friend walks beside you through the maze of lanes, letting you choose the turns.
