Ayush Singh

Let me be honest with you for a second. No travel guide — not this one, not any other — can truly prepare you for Varanasi. You can read every word, study every map, watch every YouTube vlog, and still nothing will soften the impact of that first moment when the autorickshaw turns a corner, the alley suddenly opens up, and the ghats stretch out before you. The Ganga. The smoke rising from Manikarnika. A hundred people bathing in the grey morning light. A priest mid-ritual. A flower seller...