15 Travel Pictures That'll Make You Fall In Love With Banaras

After watching movies like Masaan and Raanjhanaa, I have always wanted to visit the aesthetically beautiful city of Banaras on the lands of Uttar Pradesh. Banaras, now known as Varanasi is synonymous with all things Indian. This mystical city will make you fall in love with itself and you won't feel like coming back from there. While a lot of people head to the mountains or the beaches for a vacation, it's almost never they want to put Banaras on their travel bucket list. Probably because it is not one of the typical holiday places in India but if you ask me, Banaras is not just a city, it's an experience. Here are 15 pictures that'll convince you to visit this city for your next vacation.

#1

Varanasi || Kashi || Banaras. 1)#Varanasi is the spiritual capital of ?? India. Shri Ramcharitmanas was composed by Goswami Tulsidas (c.1532¨C1623) in this holy city. 2)Varanasi originates from the names of the two rivers: ? Varuna, still flowing in Varanasi, and Asi, a small stream near Assi Ghat. 3)The earliest known archaeological evidence suggests that settlement around Varanasi in the Ganga valley began in the 11th or 12th century BC, placing it among the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. 4)Varanasi was also home to Parshva, the 2??3??rd #Jain Tirthankara and the earliest Tirthankara accepted as a historical figure in the 8th century BC. 5)The celebrated ?? Chinese traveler Xuanzang, who visited the city around 635 AD, attested that the city was a centre of religious and artistic activities, and that it extended for about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) along the western ?? bank of the Ganges. 6)Hiuen Tsiang also visited Varanasi in the 7th century; he named it "Polonisse" and wrote that the city had some 30 temples ? with about 30 monks. 7)In ancient times, Varanasi was connected by a road starting from #Taxila ?? & ending at Pataliputra during the Mauryan ?? Empire. 8) In 1194, the city succumbed to Turkish Muslim rule under Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who ordered the destruction of some one thousand temples in the city. 9)In the #Rigveda, ? the city is referred to as K¨¡?¨© or #Kashi, the luminous city as an eminent seat of learning. The name K¨¡?¨© is also mentioned in the Skanda Purana. In one verse, #LordShiva says, "The three worlds form one city of mine, and K¨¡?¨© is my royal palace therein." ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?????? . ??#India ?? #mahadev_shiv_shambo ? #banaras #Ganga #GangaAarti #Ganges #GangaArti #india #Indian #ShivaTemple #LordShivaTemple #HinduTemple #TemplesOfIndia #HarHarMahadev #OmNamahShivaya #OM #Bholenath #JaiBholenath #Hindu #Hinduism #Mantra #Chakra #Yoga #Yogi .

A post shared by pareek (@lord.shiva_) on Mar 26, 2018 at 8:28pm PDT

#2

One directional...!!! #photographers_of_india #_woi #MaiBhiSadakChap #indianphotography #unitedindia #indiaclicks #maharashtra_desha #mypixeldiary #insta_maharashtra #yourshot_india #indiapictures #oph #desi_diaries #_hpics #instamarathilover #instagram #_soi #dslrofficial #instaindians_ #natgeoyourshot #storiesofindia

A post shared by Gaara Photography (@sushil_dhaigude) on Mar 30, 2018 at 5:34am PDT

#3

The prayer...!!! @photographers.of.india #photographers_of_india #_woi #MaiBhiSadakChap #indianphotography #unitedindia #indiaclicks #mypixeldiary #yourshot_india #indiapictures #oph #desi_diaries #_hpics #instamarathilover #instagram #_soi #dslrofficial #instaindians_ #natgeoyourshot #storiesofindia #varanasi #nikon #india

A post shared by Gaara Photography (@sushil_dhaigude) on Mar 4, 2018 at 10:59pm PST

#4

A post shared by WAYNE?? (@travelingtaka) on Mar 5, 2018 at 6:01am PST

#5

Har Har Mahadev #_soi #incredibleindia #banaras

A post shared by Navin Sharma (@navinsharma26) on Mar 3, 2018 at 7:33am PST

#6

A post shared by soumeshpandey (@camerawalebhaiya) on Apr 3, 2018 at 5:35am PDT

#7

. ?? ??? ????? ????, ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? . . . Divine Ganga Aarti ? at Varanasi . . . . . . #varanasi #banaras #ilovevaranasi #incredibleindia #ghat #ganga #arti #gangaarti #like4like #igerworldwide #hindu #awesome #divine #uttarpradesh #uttarpradeshtourism #india #picoftheday #photography #gangas #beautiful #trip #streets_vision #burndiary #storyofthestreet #creativeimagemagazine #magnumphotos

A post shared by Sonal Garg (@sonal_garg_photography) on Mar 9, 2018 at 6:04am PST

#8

Regrann from @banarasiya - The old walls of Varanasi . . Repost from @ilya_kuznetsoff sir. Do have a look at his awesome gallery. . . Hashtag #banarasiya or #ilovevaranasi to get featured . . #sunrise #ganga #arti #ghat #ganges #varanasi #kashi #banaras #streets #vsco #photowalk #photoride #kashi #instagram #followus #like4like #photographer #photography #instapic #instagram #instagood #vsco #india #hindu #hinduism #insta2good #photooftheday #igtravel #india_gram #igerworldwide . Use #yespatna to get featured

A post shared by P A T N A -"The Capital City"? (@yespatna) on Apr 17, 2018 at 8:53pm PDT

#9

A post shared by banaras_dairy (@banaras_dairy) on Apr 17, 2018 at 4:38pm PDT

#10

Meera & Gauri Kathak Dancers Banaras Gharana Varanasi. Pandit Ravi Shankar Mishra. #kathak #indianclassicaldance #dance #indiandance #indiandancing #indiandancer #kathakdance #kathakdancer #banaras #banarasgharana #kashi #varanasi #meerakathakdancer #Gaurikathakdancer #ravishankarmishra

A post shared by Frederic Martin Duchamp (@fredericmartinduchamp) on Apr 17, 2018 at 9:57am PDT

#11

Inside the travel ¡® Two pairs enjoying the view on the bank of holy Ganges... #banaras #igramming_india #iamatraveler #igramming_india #storiesofindia #_woi #_soi #traveler #travelgram #india_gram #incredibleindia #indiatravelgram #bbctravel #lonelyplanetindia #lensculture #lensculturestreets #street_photo_club #streetphotography #streetphotography_bw #streetphotographyindia #streetphotographymagazine #bnw_life #bnw_of_our_world #bnw_mood

A post shared by Traveller,Google Photographer (@ashokphotography4u) on Apr 17, 2018 at 9:29am PDT

#12

The cool evening breeze carried the ringing of bells and the chanting of a thousand voices in the pure ganga aarti!! It is soo mesmerising to say the least ! The flames in night view look amazing ! You would suddenly feel the the different vibration and energy once you put your feet in the river ! you_will_feel_ghato_ki_hai_shaan_banaras @satvikmahendra_banarsi @arpitaojha_06 #varanasi #varanasidiaries #varanasiindia #banaras #yourclicks_india #yourshot_india #i_hobbygraphy #maibhisadakchap #storiesofup #storiesofindia #travelindia #indiaphotography #photographersofindia #photographyblogger #indialove #travelersnotebook #india_clicks #incredibleindia #varanasiguru #almostsocial #_ip #oph #streetsofindia #indianpictures #indiaclickindia #natgeoshot #natgeotravellerindia #yourquote #natgeoyourshot #streetsofindia #indiatravelgram

A post shared by Satvik Mahendra| Varanasi? (@my_aim_photography) on Apr 17, 2018 at 7:59am PDT

#13

Presents F E A T U R E S Picture by ? @camerawalebhaiya ? Feature selected by ? @anirban.bhadra ? CONGRATS ON YOUR FEATURE!!!! Always tag #india_undiscovered Follow @bengal_undiscovered . . #_soi #culture #globalshotz #wanderlust #travel #street #dslrofficial #natgeotraveller #nikonasia #iamnikon #yourshotphotographer #thephotosociety #everydayindia #lonelyplanetindia #nakedplanet #magnumphotos #lonelyplanet #beautifuldestinations #welivetoexplore #passionpassport #ig_great_shots #moodygrams #worldbestgram #ourplanetdaily #visualsoflife #inspiroindia #INDIAGRAM

A post shared by India Undiscovered (@india_undiscovered) on Apr 18, 2018 at 12:07am PDT