Evening Aarti ceremony

No visit to Varanasi is complete without taking in the iconic Aarti ceremony. As dusk falls you will be taken into the heart of Varanasi to visit the Ghats, which line the banks of the sacred Ganges. Your guide will walk you in and around the ghats and the hectic streets which lead back from the waterfront. The walking tour will culminate at Dashashwamedh Ghat – the busiest, and most vibrant of all – in time for the mesmerising Aarti ceremony. Held every evening in this spot, the Aarti is a devotional ritual which uses fire an offering to the Maa Ganga, goddess of the most holy river in India. Watch as lamps are lit and circled by pandits (Hindu priests), accompanied by lively dance and songs of devotion. The priests believe that through their devotion the lamps will acquire the power of the goddess, and the ritual ends as they cup their hands over the flames, raise their palms to their foreheads, and absorb the purification and blessing of the goddess.