5am Pickup in the early morning, you'll leave for a 2-hour boat ride on the Ganges to see the bathing Ghats (or steps from a river bank) & cremation sites. Sunrise on the riverfront, as seen from a boat, can be a spiritually uplifting sight. After breakfast, you'll tour Sarnath, a very important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists, because this is where the Buddha preached his first sermon after achieving enlightenment. Sarnath's temples and the accompanying archaeological museum are full of Buddhist art and treasures. After lunch, you'll visit the Bharat Mata temple which has a huge relief map of India carved into marble. After that, you'll visit Durga Temple, Tulsi Manas Mandir, and have an evening rickshaw (tricycle) ride passing through the busy streets and bazaars of Varanasi. En evening arrive at the holy river Ganges, where you can witness the traditional ceremonies amidst hundreds of lighted candles and flower offerings.