Ganga Aarti in Varanasi — A Complete Guide

A Dance of Light & Devotion on the Holy Ganges

The Sacred Ceremony

Six divine stages of devotion unfold each evening on the sacred ghats

The Three Aartis of Varanasi

Best Viewing Spots

History & Tradition

Essential Visitor Tips

Did You Know?

Ganga Aarti timings by season (updated September 2026)

The aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat starts at sunset, so the clock time moves through the year. Use this as a planning guide and confirm with your hotel on the day, because the priests adjust by ten or fifteen minutes with the actual sunset:

• April to September (summer and monsoon): around 6:45 PM to 7:00 PM, lasting about 45 minutes.
• October to March (autumn and winter): around 5:45 PM to 6:00 PM. From late October the ghat is cool and the light fades early, so arrive by 5:00 PM for a central spot.
• Subah-e-Banaras at Assi Ghat: the morning aarti begins around 5:00 AM in summer and closer to 6:00 AM in winter, followed by Vedic chanting, yoga and a classical music recital. It finishes as the sun clears the far bank.
• Assi Ghat evening aarti: roughly the same time as Dashashwamedh, smaller and easier to see up close.

The ceremony is never cancelled. In 2026, as in most years, the late-monsoon flood pushed the Ganga over the lower steps in August and September, and the aarti simply moved to the upper platforms and the rooftop of the adjoining building. If you visit in the last weeks of September, expect the venue to be higher up the ghat than usual and the crowd more compressed; by early October the river normally recedes and the ceremony returns to its regular seven platforms at the water's edge. Our Kashi aarti timings page keeps a month-by-month table for all the major ghats.

Festival-season aartis in 2026: when to plan for crowds

The autumn festival calendar turns the ordinary evening aarti into something much larger, and dates matter for booking:

• Sharadiya Navratri, 11 to 19 October 2026, and Vijayadashami on 20 October: extra devotional programmes are added around the aarti and the Durga pandals in the lanes behind the ghat draw local crowds after dark. See our Navratri 2026 guide.
• Diwali, 8 November 2026: the ghat is decorated with lamps and the aarti draws a bigger than usual crowd, though nothing like Dev Deepawali.
• Dev Deepawali, 24 November 2026 (Kartik Purnima): the biggest aarti of the year. Lakhs of diyas are lit along all 84 ghats, the number of priests is expanded, there is a fireworks and laser show, and the district administration issues crowd-control routes. Rooftop seats, boats and hotels near the ghat are booked out weeks in advance, and most visitors take a boat between Assi and Panchganga rather than trying to reach the Dashashwamedh steps at all. Read the full plan on our Dev Deepawali 2026 page.
• Ganga Mahotsav: a five-day cultural festival of classical music and dance on the ghats in the run-up to Dev Deepawali, with performances that start after the evening aarti.

How to reach Dashashwamedh Ghat for the aarti

Private vehicles cannot drive to the ghat. The nearest point for cars, taxis and autos is Godowlia crossing, from where it is a ten-minute walk down Dashashwamedh Road through the bazaar. The multi-level parking at Godowlia is the safest place to leave a car; on festival evenings the police often close the road to traffic well before Godowlia, so allow extra time. E-rickshaws from the cantonment railway station take about 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic, and from Assi Ghat about 20 minutes.

Since the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor opened, the temple's Ganga-facing gate is only a few minutes' walk from the aarti platforms, so a late-afternoon darshan followed by the aarti is the most popular combination. Go to the temple first; the aarti crowd builds from about an hour before sunset and it is hard to leave the ghat once the ceremony begins.

Where to watch: ghat steps, boat or rooftop

• The steps (free): the closest and most atmospheric view, but you must arrive 60 to 90 minutes early on a normal evening and earlier at weekends. Sit in the central block facing the platforms; the sides see mostly the backs of the priests.
• From a boat: the classic photograph, with the lamps reflected in the water. A shared rowboat costs roughly Rs 100 to 300 per person for the aarti, a private boat Rs 800 to 2,000 depending on size and your negotiation, and more on festival nights. Boats moor in tight rows, so board early to be in the front line; our boat ride guide explains how the routes work.
• Rooftops and balconies: several buildings on either side of the ghat, including cafes and small hotels, sell seats with a raised view. Expect Rs 200 to 500 per person outside festivals, much more during Dev Deepawali. The Ganga Seva Nidhi trust that runs the aarti also has a small enclosure near the platforms for donors.

Understanding what you are watching

The aarti is a sequence of offerings made to the river, treated as the goddess Ganga. Each of the seven priests performs the same movements in unison: conch shells are blown to open the ceremony, incense is offered, then the tiered brass lamps, and finally camphor, flowers and a yak-tail fan, all circled in clockwise patterns while the hymns "Om Jai Gange Mata" and "Ganga Stuti" are sung. The crowd joins in on the refrains, and small leaf boats carrying a flower and a lit wick are floated on the water. Buying one of these from a child on the steps (usually Rs 10 to 20) and floating it after the ceremony is the simplest way to take part respectfully.

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