Varanasi, officially so revived after 1947, but still widely known as
Banaras or
Benares, and in ancient times as
Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. The city has a syncretic tradition of Muslim artisanship that underpins its tourism. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres (430 mi) to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi, 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of the state capital, Lucknow, and 121 kilometres (75 mi) east of Allahabad, another Hindu pilgrimage site.