LIFE ON THE EDGEOF GANGA TOUR

Life on the River Ganga
Life and death exist side by side, played out on the ghats alongside one of India's most holy rivers. 

Life is evident everywhere: local kids playing a game of cricket; holy men covered in ash; boat men touting for a fare; washing being beaten on the banks of the river and laid out to dry; the faithful making offerings of flowers and candles; people bathing; men sitting around an open fire cooking lunch; friends swimming; toddlers playing in open doorways; goats looking for shade; fishing and tourist boats plying the waters; and meandering cows searching for food scraps. 

Death lives there too. The "burning ghats" are funeral pyres where bodies are publicly burned on the banks of the Ganga. The dead are carried on stretchers in the blazing sun atop car roofs, or in the arms of family members; smoke rises from the pyres; incense scents the air; bodies are doused in the holy Ganga water; corpses burn and bones crack; a leg becomes loose and hangs beyond the reach of the flames; remnant bones are thrown into the river; and unsunken remains of the deceased float by. 

Varanasi is a peculiar place. The holy River Ganga (Ganges)

Sunrise on the Ganga
flows through Varanasi, making it one India's most holy cities. Hindus believe that bathing in the river offers atonement for their sins and helps attain salvation. People come from far afield to die in Varanasi and have their bodies committed to the holy river, believing that doing so will ensure that they reach nirvana and escape the cycle of rebirth. 

For a holy river it doesn't seem to be accorded much respect. It is highly polluted with industrial and human waste. Nearly one billion litres of untreated raw sewage is discharged into the river every day; ash and remnant bones from the pyres are thrown into the river; and unburnt human and livestock corpses float along the surface of the Ganga. But still people come here to swim, bathe in, and drink the holy river water, and the government seems reluctant to clean up the river. 

Life  On The Edge of Ganga  Tour Transport (train /road /boat )
Itinerary ( 7 Days & 7 Nights)
Day -1  board for night train prayag raj express  at 09:25
Day 2  arrival at allahbad jn  at 06:45 after breakfast  head to sitamarhi According to Indian mythology, Sitamarhi has got immense significance, because it was here that Lord Rama’s wife Maa Sitaji was abandoned, gave birth to Luv & Kush and descended into the lap of Mother Earth forever. The only existing Valmiki Ashram on the banks of the river Ganges is located here. Sitamarhi thus carries deep religious values and significance and is considered a holy ‘Teerth’ like Prayagraj & Kashi. Today, here stands a magnificent and beautiful Shree Sita Samahit Temple visited by thousands of pilgrims everyday with deep faith and reveranice. 

Since ancient times, India has been the fountainhead and torch-bearer of knowledge and learning. The exalted teachings enshrined in the Vedas are universally appealing and benefit the entire humanity. Apart from these, we have the two great Epics –‘The Ramayana’ written by Maharishi Valmiki, and ‘The Mahabharata’ written by Maharishi Ved Vyas. In the Ramayana, Maharishi Valimiki has given a detailed account of Lord Rama and his consort Maa Sita. He very delicately defined the nobility of Maa Sita and her sincerity, devotion and sacrifice which made her an ideal woman. Sitaji’s life is full of pathos, agony and suffering. In the entire mythology of India, no other woman has excelled Sitaji in her purity, love and sacrifice. In Maharishi Valmiki’s Ramayana, a place near Allahabad called Sitamarhi is where Sitaji is said to have descended into the lap of Mother Earth forever. This sacred spot is very near to Valmikiji’s Ashram on the banks of holy Ganges. At this place, one feels vibrations of peace & bliss along with the feeling that there exist the blessings of Maa Sita. 

Once the place was visited by Swami Jitendranand Tirth and he had desired that a very magnificent memorial to Sitaji be built here. The Sita Samahit temple stands exactly on the mound where Bhagwati Sitaji descended into Mother Earth. This was built with the kind help of Shri. Satya Narain Prakash Punj, promoter of Punj Lloyd Limited, New Delhi who was inspired by his mother. Within the campus of the main temple there exists temples of Maa Sita & Lord Shiva. There also stands 108 ft. high statue of Ram Bhakt Hanuman installed on an artificial rock of 20 ft. Under this hillock there is a cave having small temple of Hanumanji. 

Sitamarhi is a historical place of immense significance and is being visited by large number of pilgrims with great faith and devotion. It is one of the five ‘Teerths’ (holy places) in Poorvanchal which are Prayagraj, Sitamarhi,Sarnath. Vindhyavasini & Kashiraj, all can be visited within 3 days. Overnight at hotel 
Day -3 morning breakfast at hotel leave for mirzapur  by boat overnight  at mirzapur.
Day -4 after breakfast head to Varanasi with a stopover at chunar for lassi .Evening prayer at Assi ghat  banaras The land of Varanasi (Kashi) has been the ultimate pilgrimage spot for Hindus for ages. Often referred to as Benares, Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world. These few lines by Mark Twain say it all: "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together". Hindus believe that one who is graced to die on the land of Varanasi would attain salvation and freedom from the cycle of birth and re-birth. Abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati, the origins of Varanasi are yet unknown. Ganges in Varanasi is believed to have the power to wash away the sins of mortals.
Day-5 city sight seeing
Day-6 day at leisure rest  night train to Delhi
Day -7 dropping at the hotels
Tour ends