Rishikesh or Varanasi?

Neither city is a place to swim. Rishikesh at least has white sand banks along the Ganges and river beaches by the rafting camps near Shivpuri, where the cold green water is lovely to sit beside, though the current rules out a proper swim.

Varanasi offers less. The river there is badly polluted as well as fast, so it is for watching pilgrims bathe rather than getting in yourself, and only a few of the larger hotels have a pool.

Both towns are vegetarian and largely alcohol-free, but Varanasi gives a food lover more to go looking for. The lanes around Godowlia and the Chowk serve kachori for breakfast, tamatar chaat, lassi in clay cups, malaiyo at dawn in winter and paan rolled to order.

Rishikesh feeds you well and cheaply with thalis and dhaba dal. Its Tapovan cafés, though, lean towards smoothie bowls, pizza and Israeli plates for the yoga crowd, and the menus start to blur after a few days.

Varanasi is one of the great sights of India. More than eighty ghats line the curve of the river, cremations burn at Manikarnika, the maze of the old city leads to Kashi Vishwanath and Ramnagar Fort stands across the water. Daily ritual on that scale can fill several days.

Rishikesh's sights are gentler and fewer. The painted temples of Swarg Ashram, the tiers of Tera Manzil, the evening aarti at Triveni Ghat and the overgrown ashram where the Beatles stayed all have atmosphere, but two or three days are enough to see them.

Varanasi has a little more life after dark, though in both holy towns the evening is built around the riverside aarti and an early night rather than drinks. In Rishikesh no alcohol is sold and there are no bars at all. An evening means a long dinner on a café terrace above the Ganges or a candlelit chant session, and most people are asleep in good time for dawn yoga.

Varanasi keeps similar hours, but a drink is possible from a licensed shop or at a bar in one of the larger hotels in the cantonment. The cafés along Assi Ghat stay sociable into the evening over chai and music. Nothing runs late, though.

Rishikesh is the outdoors town of the pair. It sits where the Ganges leaves the Himalayan foothills, with forested Shivalik ridges on both banks, rapids upstream for rafting and waterfall walks such as Neer Garh. Rajaji National Park, home to elephants and the occasional tiger, is right next door.

Varanasi lies on the flat, farmed Gangetic plain. Being outdoors there means a dawn boat along the ghats or a walk on the sandbank opposite. The nearest real scenery, the Vindhya hills and the waterfalls of Chandraprabha, is about two hours away.

Rishikesh has more within a day's reach. Haridwar, under an hour away, holds a far larger aarti. Dehradun has the Forest Research Institute and the Mindrolling monastery, and Mussoorie and Devprayag take you up into the hills.

The best outing from Varanasi is Sarnath, half an hour away, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. Chunar Fort and the fifteenth-century mosques of Jaunpur come next, but after them the list runs out quickly.

Neither town is easy with children, but Rishikesh works for families with teenagers. Rafting, ziplines and jeep safaris give them plenty to do, and the vegetarian food is gentle. Small children will still struggle with the cold river, the steep lanes and the macaques that snatch food.

Varanasi is harder at any age, with cremations in plain view, crowded lanes with open drains and extreme summer heat. Families who go usually keep the stay short: a dawn boat ride, a trip to Sarnath and a hotel away from the ghats.

You see both towns mostly on foot beside the river, and neither has a metro. Rishikesh is easier to manage. Footbridges and riverside paths link Tapovan, Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula, and shared vikrams run along the main road, though the slopes are steep and trips out of town need a taxi.

In Varanasi the walk along the ghats from Assi to Raj Ghat is a pleasure. Away from the river, though, the old city's lanes are a maze and traffic in the newer city is heavy and loud, so you use rickshaws and autos, agreeing the fare first.

Varanasi has one thing worth travelling for: Banarasi silk, bought from the weaving workshops or the silk houses of Godowlia. Brass ritual ware, painted wooden toys and musical instruments are sold alongside it. Touts steer buyers to particular shops, so it pays to choose your own.

Rishikesh sells a narrower range tied to yoga: cotton clothes for practice, malas, singing bowls, incense and books on philosophy. Much of it repeats from one stall to the next.

Both are among the cheapest places you can travel. Guesthouses, chai and local transport cost little, and the evening aarti is free in each. The difference is where the money goes. In Rishikesh it is rafting, teacher trainings and riverside retreats. In Varanasi it is palace hotels on the ghats, private boats and the temptation of silk.

Varanasi is one of the homes of Hindustani classical music, with its own gharanas and festivals such as the all-night Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh and the Dhrupad Mela on Tulsi Ghat. Add small recitals in music schools and the month-long Ramlila at Ramnagar, and there is real performance to seek out.

Music in Rishikesh is devotional and informal. There is kirtan in ashrams and cafés, drumming at the aarti and the occasional sitar recital, but no concert hall or season to plan a trip around.

Rishikesh is built for this. Ashrams run daily classes, silent retreats and teacher trainings, Ayurvedic clinics offer oil massage and detox programmes, and the International Yoga Festival comes round each spring. The bridges and main road are noisy, but the ashram gardens and the quieter stretches upriver are truly calm.

Varanasi has yoga and massage around Assi Ghat, and a quiet boat at dawn can be restful. The city as a whole, though, is loud, crowded and intense, and few people leave it feeling rested.