Varanasi is the holiest of the sacred cities of India, which rises between the Varana and Asi rivers. The ancient name is Kashi, which refers to an ancient herb that is said to have been born in this land, but is also known as Benares or Banaras, a name received during the English imperialist period.
Two souls coexist in Varanasi: the intense and frenetic one, typical of an Indian city, but also the spiritual one, in which life and death coexist, the culmination of Hindu spirituality.
“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” – Mark Twain, writer.