The ghatsGhatA flight of steps leading down to a river or tank, used for bathing, worship and cremation.Read in the glossary are eighty-odd stone stairways running some six kilometres along the western bank of the Ganges, and they are the entire argument for Varanasi. Because the river bends north here, the bank faces east — so at sunrise the light comes straight up the water at the whole city at once.
Every function of life is on those steps simultaneously: bathing, laundry, prayer, shaving, wrestling, tea, and at Manikarnika and Harishchandra, cremation that has continued without interruption for centuries. Nothing is arranged for visitors and nothing is concealed from them.
Visiting Well
- Take the dawn boat. From the water you see the full bank at once; from the lanes above you see a crowd.
- Dashashwamedh Ghat holds the evening Ganga Aarti — observing it by boat is both a better view and less intrusive than the bank.
- Do not photograph the cremation ghats. It is prohibited in places and offensive everywhere; a guide will tell you plainly where to lower the camera.
How Elevated India Arranges It
We put you on the water twice — once at first light for the length of the bank, once after dark for the aartiAartiA Hindu act of worship in which lamps of flame are circled before a deity or a sacred river, accompanied by bells, conch and chant.Read in the glossary — with a guide who knows which families own which ghat and can read what you are looking at.
Questions, Answered
What is the best time to see the ghats in Varanasi?
Dawn, from a boat. The bank faces east, so sunrise lights the entire waterfront at once. The evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat is the second essential hour.
Can you take photographs at the Varanasi ghats?
Generally yes, with discretion — but not at the cremation ghats such as Manikarnika, where photography is restricted and widely considered offensive. Follow your guide's direction.
Journeys That Take You There
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Explore the destination guide: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh ↗