Varanasi Ganga Aarti

River Ganges is considered as a holy demigod, which ran through heaven. A king penanced for several years to bring River Ganges from heaven to earth. This river is said to wash out all the sins of living and death.
"Ganga Aarti is a ceremony to thank and praise the river".

• Details about Ganges Aarti

  A group of young saints dressed up with silky saffron and white robes conduct this ceremony. Each pandit or saint takes up a specific spot in the Ghat and start the ritual by offering flowers to the river. The ritual includes many oil lamps like snake hood lamp which are waved in a synced motion. Conch shells are blown during the ceremony too. Yak tail fans and peacock feather fans are also waved during the ceremony. The priests end the ceremony by pouring a bowl of water into the river. Upon which, the devotees let go of small oil lamps with flowers on a leaf to float on the river.

  "Thousands of devotees gather to watch this Aarti and by the end of the Ganga aarti ceremony, you can find thousands of small oil lamps floating on the river that would look like numerous stars on the water".

• Location of Ganga Aarti

  The ceremony takes place in Dasashwamedh Ghat, which is located very close to the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple.

• Ganga Aarti Timing

  Rain or shine, the ceremony is conducted on every evening during sunset :
  
  

  Season	Start time	End time	Duration
  Summer	7 pm	7:45 pm	45 minutes
  Winter	6 pm	6:45 pm	45 minutes

  
  

  "The Ganga Aarti starts exactly at the sunset time. The starting time of the ceremony changes with sunset time. If you want to enjoy the ceremony from a good spot, you ought to reach the ghats by 5 in the evening".

• Special occasion

  The ceremony happens 365 days in a year. The best of all is the Aarti that is conducted during Kartik Purnima. During this festival, people decorate their houses and ghats with numerous small earthen oil lamps and the river will also have thousands of lamps floating on it. The place will be at its peak picturesque effect.
  "Kartik Purnima takes place in October or November".

• Cost / Entry Fee

  No entrance fee for watching the ceremony. People are welcomed to give any donation if desired. If you are planning to watch the ceremony from the river, you need to hire a boat. Boat Ride will be costly during this ceremony.

• Type of travelers

  Photo enthusiast, culture lover and pilgrims will be entertained during this ceremony. Due to crowd, handling children might be tough.