Sunrise Boat Ride, Assi to Manikarnikaगंगा नौका विहार
A rowing boat along the ghats at sunrise, the one thing in Varanasi everyone should do.
See what is open on your dateOpen in Google MapsWhereVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh
Purvanchal
Purvanchal
Best time to visit15 October to 15 March and 10 November to 30 November
Good seasonsPost-monsoon (October to November), Winter (December to February)
DifficultyEasy
Time needed2 hrs
Base and nearbyAssi Ghat, Varanasi Junction
Entry₹150-300 per seat in a shared boat · ₹1000-1500 for a private rowing boat
About Sunrise Boat Ride, Assi to Manikarnika
The single best thing to do in the city: an hour or two in a rowing boat from Assi north past the eighty-odd ghats to Manikarnika and back, setting off in the dark and watching the ghats fill with bathers as the sun comes up. Agree the price and route before you get in, and take a rowing boat rather than a motor launch, which is noisier and cannot hug the steps. Boats stop when the river is in flood, usually some weeks in August and September.
What to see and do
- Sunrise over the east bank sandbank
- Bathers and priests on the ghats seen from the water
- Manikarnika and Harishchandra cremation ghats from a distance
- Namo Ghat, the new promenade at the northern end
- Dev Deepawali evening rides, booked well ahead
Opening status, best time and closures here are estimates from usual seasons and past patterns, not live information. Confirm with the local authority before you go. Terms of use
More places in Varanasi
- Assi GhatVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Pilgrimage RoutesThe wide southern ghat where Varanasi starts its day with music and aarti before sunrise.
- Dashashwamedh Ghat & Ganga AartiVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Pilgrimage RoutesThe main ghat of Varanasi and its evening Ganga aarti, best watched from a boat.
- SarnathVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Pilgrimage RoutesWhere the Buddha gave his first sermon. Dhamek Stupa, Ashoka's pillar and a quiet deer park.
- BHU & Bharat Kala BhavanVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · MuseumsA vast green campus, a first-rate miniature painting museum (closed Sundays) and a temple open to all.
- Durga Kund TempleVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Temples & ShrinesThe red monkey temple of Rani Bhabani beside its tank, with Tulsi Manas Mandir two minutes away.
- Kaal Bhairav TempleVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Temples & ShrinesThe temple of the Kotwal of Kashi, whose leave you are said to need to stay in the city.
- Kabir Math, LahartaraVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Pilgrimage RoutesWhere Kabir was found as an infant, by tradition. Two quiet maths for the weaver-poet of Banaras.
- Kashi Vishwanath TempleVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh · Temples & ShrinesThe Jyotirlinga that Varanasi is built around, now reached by a wide corridor from the river.
All places in Varanasi · All places in Uttar Pradesh
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Jagah Pedia is a free travel guide by Santosh Pandey. Status, timings and closures are estimates from usual patterns, so confirm locally before you travel.