Varanasi (24 images)

Varanasi, also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras, or Kashi or Kasi, is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, dating back thousands of years and contemporaneous with the Sumer civilisation. The city is called Kasi, 'the luminous', in the Rigveda. It is often also referred to as "city of temples and learning".