Ganga Aarti in Varanasi - Is it really an exceptional experience or an over-hyped activity to do in Kashi of India?

With lot of travel (personal & business) in last 5 months, we are lagging behind in sharing some of these experiences. We were in Benaras during Mahindra Kabira Festival, which happens in the month of November every year. During the same trip, we also took out time to walk around the beautiful city of Kashi and one of the most talked experiences of Varanasi is Ganga Aarti, which takes place on different ghats during morning as well as evening. Through this blogpost, we want to share these Ganga Aarti experiences on different ghats and will also share some recommendations.

Ganga Aarti is a magnificent, religious and spiritual ceremony which is performed every evening along the Ghats of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. This was first time we were witnessing Ganga Aarti and I must tell you that you need to be there much before time to grab a suitable seat to enjoy this ceremony well.

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Ganga Aarti is a celebration of the sacredness and purity of the Ganges. Thousands of people from all over the world come to Varanasi for fulfilling their spiritual and religious desires. Attending Ganga Aarti is one of the special events nobody wants to miss in Benaras.

There is no entry ticket fees for watching Ganga Aarti but if you want to grab a chair on rooftop of certain buildings around the ghat or want to sit on the boats to watch the Aarti, you will need to pay what those local vendors ask at that point. Typical, a seat on boat will cost you 100 rs per person and I am not sure about the chairs installed on roof-tops.

Ganga Aarti is a mesmerizing display of lights, music, and prayers, creating an atmosphere of peace and serenity along the Ghats. The sight of hundreds of glowing oil-lamps floating on the river, accompanied by the chanting of mantras and the beating of drums, is an experience which is very hard to describe in words.

Before attending Ganga Aarti in Varanasi, I always thought that this one of those over-hyped things but I certainly found it special with few things which I truly hated. I also want to make sure that my readers understand some of the challenges you may face when you visit Dashashwamedh ghat for Ganga Aarti. Every evening thousands of people start coming to the ghat for Aarti and it's recommended to reach early to grab relatively best spot. But be aware that at times police will ask you to vacate some of the special places to ensure only VIPs enjoy the best view. Places like hexagonal platforms in front of the ghat are places where police will put chairs for VIPs. and they may do it when Aarti was about to start, so they will ask you to move. At that point, you will struggle to find a spot. The only spots will boats parked in Ganges. btw, these boats can offer fantastic views of the Aarti but they charge for it and that's the capitalistic part of Kashi. So be prepared and decide between the choices you have.

Ganga Aarti is performed by a group of priests who use traditional Hindu instruments and chant prayers to honor the river. The ceremony is an important part of Hinduism and is believed to purify the mind, body, and soul of those who participate.

Apart from Dashashwamedh Ghat Ganga Aarti, Assi Ghat's morning aaarti is quite popular. Morning timing of the Ganga Aarti at Assi Ghat is 5-5:30am. And remember that you need to reach much early to grab a decent place to witness this religious ceremony better.

When I was there at the ghat of Ganga Aarti, I also noticed a few multi-storey boats parked across the ghat to offer brilliant views of the Aarti. It might be worth to explore options to book ticket with such boats which bring you to the same height as that of the Dashashwamedh Ghat. As photographer, that can be a great place but you will need better power telephoto lens and you will lose of the option to move around the main Aarti area.

Evening Ganga Aarti at Dhashashwamedh happens between 6pm to 7pm, but it's highly recommended to check locally when you are in Varanasi town. I have heard that timing also changes, depending upon different days, events and seasons. I couldn't reliably gather all those details so rely on local information on the days you are visiting Benaras in India.

How a photographer should operate at Dashashwamedh Ghat during Ganga Aarti to make best of the time & event?

Before answering that I want to express that I was not able to make best of it because of multiple reasons which are not worth disclosing, but here I want to help photographers with some information which may be helpful for them :

1. Try to find a place below the ghat as you will have high platform where Aarti happens and lighting is best in this direction.

2. Be prepared to move around when Aarti is happening as you may want to try photographs from different angles and perspectives.

3. It's a long ceremony so you will have enough to move around.

4. Please be aware that all priests do each activity in all 4 directions, so even if you don't move, you will get to experience all activities during Ganga Aarti.

5. I will highly recommend to go to a location which is parallel to the line their priests make on the ghat for Ganga Aarti rituals. Lighting and perspective is too good, comparatively.

6. You may want to use a telephoto lens which can shoot well in low light, given you may not be able to go close to the Ganga Aarti area. Apart from that it will be even better if you carry another camera body with extra-wide lens on it to capture the brilliant ambiance of the place. I was using phone camera for wide angle shots but nothing much came out of that due to low light.

Above photograph shows one of the hindu priests offering respect to Ganges by moving this lamp in clockwise direction. This stand has multiple lamps lit through ghee.

Above photograph shows the view wherein all priests are doing the same activity during Ganga Aarti in Varanasi. This is how it's done at Dashashwamedh ghat and all of them are in sync. There is constant music in the background.

Above photograph shows the setup done for each priest before Aarti. During Ganga Aarti they use each element put on this stage and do that in sync.

Above photograph shows the beginning of the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, wherein all priests come together and do chanting. After this ritual they move the decks closeby and start the elaborate part of Ganga Aarti will all the elements placed for them.

These priests also help doing pooja for VIPs or maybe for people who pre-book private Ganga aarti before the ceremony starts. Above photograph shows one of the priests who came down to offer prayers on behalf of the family and it's done close of the Ganges water. The prayers are concluded by sprinkling ganga water on to the family members.

We have had fulfilling experiene of Ganga Aarti and we wish to visit Varanasi again for this beautiful Aarti. As a photograph the first experience was just to learn about the setup and know how it happens. So if you are in Varanasi for multiple days, I will recommend to go there every evening. Going to Assi ghat in early morning was a challenge for us.

Ganga Aarti is certainly a celebration of India's rich cultural and spiritual heritage. I highly recommend experiencing the Ganga Aarti for anyone seeking to immerse themselves in the local culture and spirituality of Varanasi. It may not be a convnient thing to do in Varanasi, but worth putting efforts to experience it once. If you want to keep it easy, just book a boat and have it parked in front of the ghat.

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