It is a magical cityscape that has dazzled visitors for centuries. For a stretch of about five kilometres an endless spread of stone steps flow down to the river and these are called ghats. Above the ghats are temples, mansions and palaces often built in red sand stone. From dawn the ghats are busy with people bathing, praying, washing clothes, sadhus meditating before burning fires, while vendors sit with mounds of flowers and empty bottles for pilgrims to collect gangajal. The priests called ghatias sit under their round reed umbrellas and offer to perform all the religious rituals of a good Hindu life, from the namkaran (naming ceremony) and mundane (first haircut) to the funeral rites of shraddha and pindadaan.

The best way to see the ghats is by boat. If one takes a boat and floats past these endless stretches of stone steps one gets an unforgettable panorama of a vibrantly colourful world teeming with life. One can see people from all across India, Tamilians in silk saris, Bengalis in dhotis and Rajasthanis in dusty turbans, all bathing, praying and performing puja. All gathered here with their deep faith in the forgiving and purifying power of a river, creating a wonderful portrait of our country.

There are eighty ghats and the first and southern most, Assi stands at the confluence of the Ganga and Assi rivers. Next to it is Tulsi ghat where the steps lead to the house where Tulsidas lived while composing the Ramcharit manas. The most famous and one that is always crowded is the Dasaswamedha ghat that leads to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Manikarnika and Harishchandra are cremation ghats and are always wreathed in smoke from the burning pyres. At night the fires can be seen down the river and it is said they have not died down in centuries.

Many of these ghats have been built by kings and queens, nobility and saints. Among them are Queen Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, Raja Man Singh of Amber, the religious teacher Anandmayee Ma, sects of Sadhus like the Mahanirvani akhara and Mir Ali a Muslim governor of the city. Also a ghat built by boatman and one named after Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first president. The five ghats that are believed to be the most sacred are Dasaswamedha, Assi, Adi Keshava, Panchganga and Manikarnika and these are visited by pilgrims in a religious yatra called Panchtirthi.

The best time to sit at these ghats is at dawn or at sunset watching the slow movement of the waters as a boat with giant sails floats past. Pick a quiet stretch of steps may be at Kedar or Manmandir Ghat as the sun rises over the river touching the ripples with shades of copper and silver and the sky deepens from grey to blue. Or at sunset watch the river reflect the orange rays of Surya and then as the sun dips past the horizon, as if at the turning of a switch, the waters will suddenly turn dark.