Brace yourself. You're about to enter one of the most blindingly colourful, unrelentingly chaotic and unapologetically indiscreet places on earth.

Previously known as Kashi (City of Life) and Benares, this is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and is considered as one of Hinduism's seven holy cities. Pilgrims come here to the ghats lining the River Ganges to wash away a lifetime of sins in the sacred waters or to cremate loved ones. Here the most intimate rituals of life and death take place in public, and the sights, sounds, and smells can be overwhelming.

The old city of Varanasi is situated along the western bank of the Ganges and extends back from the riverbank ghats in amaze of alleys too narrow for traffic. You can walk all the way along the ghats, apart from during and immediately after the monsoon, when the river level is too high.

Most visitors agree Varanasi a magical place, but it's not for the faint-hearted. Varanasi is unique, and a walk along the ghats or a boat ride on the river will live long in the memory.