Banarasi Life’ comes crowded with Heritage Walk
Allowing visitors to go on heritage walks through the temple town is the unique plan with which the state tourism department of Varanasi has come up. This innovative new way of exploring Varanasi dubbed with the ‘Circle of life’ walk will open doors for visitors to get drenched in Banarasi way of life. In all, between Assi Ghat and Dal Mandi, the walk will cover 16 key attractions.
By a team of tourism officials and representatives from the International Centre for sustainable Cities, the decision to introduce a heritage walk was arrived upon, who deliberated on the merits of the decision –the contingent also chalked out a route map and worked out the logistics. According to Sameeha Sheth, who is acting as a consultant on the project and is a heritage walk specialist, people are always on the lookout for some fresh experiences which they can now get in Varanasi; the temple town has so many sites with intriguing stories woven around them, that visitors will go back home with wonderful memories.
She went on to add that the heritage walk apart from connecting all the establishments that have been established along the holy river Ganga will weave together all unique tangible and intangible assets of Varanasi, places that romanticize its colourful history. The walk covering a distance of 4 km will allow the participants to get a first-hand experience of the different rituals and expressions that are such an integral part of Varanasi and practiced in places like ghats, temples, maths, and many other cultural hotspots.
As per Amrit Abhijat, the director general of UP Tourism each year more than 160 lakhs tourists –out of which 6.5 lakhs are foreigners –visit the temple town. Normally what happens that those visitors who have their own perception of Varanasi, don’t always get a real feel of the world’s oldest city and return home dissatisfied, but now with the heritage walk in place, visitors will not miss a heartbeat as these walks showcases the best that is on offer.
The areas along the route have been brushed up; in expectation of the heritage walk, the department is already collaborating with the local municipal corporation and administration to smooth things out and give the final touches. As part of the augmentation process some of the steps undertaken by the department include raising signage, putting up waste bins, installing lights, creating public toilets and parking spaces, setting up ticket information kiosks and providing drinking water facilities. Along the route in addition to these works, photo-points will be created and landscaping will be done.
CIRCLE OF LIFE:
- In Varanasi, which is the second most-visited tourist destination in UP second to Agram, State tourism department comes up with heritage walk for visitors.
- For the walk the proposed name is ‘Circle of life’ and will give visitors a taste of Banarasi way of life through its history, culture and rituals.
- There are three private heritage trails at the moment that are in operation.
- To explore Varanasi the usual private tours aren’t the best means and they also cost a bomb.
- On mid-May guides and volunteer training programs for the heritage walk will commence while walk kicks off in July.