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Varanasi
Varanasi is truly a city like no other. It's the most important city in the Hindu religion and is associated with pilgrimage, death, and mourning. The city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the planet with roots back over 2500 years ago. This city is confronting and shows you a completely different side of humanity that many people in the west will never be able to see or understand. My understanding is that if your ashes are cremated and put into the holy waters of the Ganges that it breaks the reincarnation cycle which is the most sought after ending in the Hindu religion. As such many elder people come here with hopes that they too can have this ending of life. Many people are on the streets begging for money as the cremation rituals aren't free. Cremations are performed in the open all along the river basically all throughout the day. The ceremonies use flames that have been continuously burning for over a thousand years. This flame is brought from a little storage house (for lack of better name) where it has been burning for centuries with torches. Walking through the city's winding alleys feels like going back 1000 years in time. Varanasi is truly one of the most unique places I've ever been to and if you like adventure tourism or are interested in spirituality it doesn't get much better than this. Aside from this the city has a large muslim population interestingly enough. The city has a syncretic tradition of Muslim artisanship that underpins its tourism. Here are some of my recommendations for what to see and eat while in Varanasi.
Any trip to Varanasi will involve taking a walk along the Ganges river and seeing all the ancient Ghats. Some of the most well known ghats to stop by are Desaswamedh Ghat, Assi Ghat and Manikarnika Ghat. Along this stretch you'll see people bathing and people washing clothes in the river, you'll see the cremation ceremonies and plenty of sadhus which are religious ascetic people. As it's a place that brings people from all over India you'll see a great diversity of people here too. At night time some of the Ghats light up with nice colours and you can enjoy a hot tea while exploring this fascinating area. Also in the evening you can go see my next recommendation: The Ganga Aarti Ceremony. Walking along the Ganges and the sights of this area are truly an eye opening experience and is surely different from anywhere you've been before (even than other places in India).
Ganga Aarti is perhaps the most important event related to the holy river. It's a ceremony that happens every evening from 7pm till 8pm along the banks of the Ganges at the Dashashwamedh Ghat. It involves the chanting of hymns, fire, flower, and more. The idea is to show gratitude and respect to the river, and ask for its blessings as in the Hindu religion the river is holy. The ceremony is very powerful and uplifting. I still get goosebumps to this day when I think about that experience. I believe a contribution of a few rupees is appreciated but don't believe it's mandatory.
Another great activity to see the area is taking a boat ride down the Ganges. My hostel at the time offered sunrise boat tours and I'm sure it's not difficult to find a private boat tour in Varanasi. Many of them leave as early as 5 30 so you can witness the sunrise along the river. From here you'll get a far out view at the extensive ghat area and will see the huge amounts of activities and traffic in the area. You'll see cremation ceremonies, people bathing in the water, many others boating and different ceremonies or events.
I found that in Varanasi particularly there wasn't as much meat offered. Perhaps this is because of its status as a holy Hindu city. Many hindu people are vegeterian. There were many delicious vegetarion options in the city like paneer curries, lentil thalis with daal and other vegetable curries and even grilled cheese and tomato soup. There are restaurants hidden throughout the area of the ghats down little alleys. There are many great options. Along the south part of the main area near the Assi Ghat there is a road called Nagwa Rd with nicer restaurants that have a view of the river from the hillside. They are nice places to go to enjoy the view. On the streets you'll find plenty of chai tea vendors where for about 12 cents USD you can get a small glass of delicious hot tea.
