Walk the ghats of Varanasi
Varanasi lines the Ganges with stone steps, the ghats, running for kilometres along the river, with a maze of lanes behind. FOG keeps the map dark until you walk it, and the ghats make one of the most remarkable lines on any map.
The ghats
Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and one of the holiest in Hinduism. Along the west bank of the Ganges, dozens of ghats, stone steps leading down to the water, run for several kilometres from Assi Ghat in the south.
Dashashwamedh Ghat holds the evening aarti ceremony with lamps and chanting. Manikarnika Ghat is the main cremation ghat, where fires burn day and night. Walk with respect, and do not photograph the cremations.
The lanes
Behind the ghats, the old city is a dense maze of narrow lanes, the galis, too narrow for cars, full of shrines, shops, cows and sweet stalls. The Kashi Vishwanath temple is in the middle of it.
Walk the full line of the ghats from Assi northward, then turn into the lanes. A dawn boat ride shows the ghats from the water.
Coverage
The ghats draw a long bright line along the river, and the lanes fill in a dense tangle behind it. GPS can wander in the narrowest lanes.
Summers are very hot; winter is the best time, with misty mornings.
How FOG keeps score here
FOG starts with the whole world under fog. Every place you physically walk clears a circle of roughly 120 metres around you, and that ground stays clear for good. It keeps working with the app closed and the screen off once you allow background location, so the walk to dinner counts as much as the planned loop.
There is no account, no sign-up and no cloud. The trail lives on your phone and nowhere else, and you can export a GPX backup whenever you like. Exploring is free; one purchase of FOG Unlimited adds the higher ranks, all five character paths and history import, with no subscription.
Questions people actually ask
How long is the walk along the ghats?
Several kilometres along the Ganges, from Assi Ghat northward.
Where is the evening aarti in Varanasi?
At Dashashwamedh Ghat, every evening.
Is my location uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no account and no cloud. The map is stored only on your phone, and you can export a GPX backup yourself.
Start with a dark map.
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