Varanasi 2011

The City Previously Known as Benares, Varanasi abuts the Holy Ganga (Ganges) river, in which pilgirms bathe to wash away their sins. They wash other things too - clothes, sheets and water buffalo. Many Hindus arrange to die and be cremated in Varanasi, where their ashes are committed to the river, allowing them to obtain Moksha and escape the cycle of rebirth.