Where do the boats leave from?

Assi Ghat for most rides, and we confirm the exact step the day before. On festival days the administration can move the boarding point, and we tell you 48 hours ahead.

Is a boat ride safe for children and older people?

Yes. Boarding is from a stable step, the water is calm at dawn and in the evening, and life jackets are aboard. Tell us in advance and the boatman will seat you near the exit.

Rowing boat or motor boat?

Rowing for the dawn ride — it is quiet and the pace suits the light. Motor for groups, for the aarti when the current runs, and whenever you want to cover more of the ghat line in the same hour.

Do boats run in the monsoon?

Not always. When the Ganga is in flood the district administration suspends boating entirely, sometimes for weeks. We say so when you ask rather than when you arrive.

Boat rides in Varanasi

Every boat on the Ganga at Varanasi leaves from a step, not a jetty. You walk down the ghat, the boatman steadies it, and you push off. These are the rides we run, what each one costs, and what time to be there.

Sunrise boat ride on the Ganga
Ninety minutes from Assi to Manikarnika and back, pushing off twenty minutes before sunrise. ₹1,200 for a private boat for up to six.
₹1,200per boat1 hr 30 min
The Ganga Aarti from a boat
Board at Assi an hour before sunset, drift past the ghats as the lamps are lit, and watch the Dashashwamedh aarti from the water. ₹1,800 per boat.
₹1,800per boat2 hours
Dev Deepawali from the water
Tuesday 24 November 2026. A reserved seat on our lit motor boat for the one night the whole ghat line is laid with lamps. ₹3,999 per person.
₹3,999per person3 hours
A private bajra on the Ganga
The whole boat to yourselves, at an hour you choose, with tea on board. ₹4,500 for up to eight for two hours.
₹4,500per boat2 hours

The river runs north here, which is why Varanasi is built facing it and why the light at dawn falls along the whole ghat line at once. Boats work the stretch between Assi in the south and Panchganga in the north — about six kilometres, eighty-four ghats, and roughly ninety minutes of rowing end to end.

Rowing or motor. A rowing boat is quiet and slow and is the right choice at dawn. A motor boat covers the same water faster, holds position better against the current, and is easier for a larger group or for anyone who does not want a long walk down the steps.

What never changes. Life jackets are on board. Boarding is from the ghat steps, so wear something you can walk in. And on festival nights the river police decide where boats may go, which is the one thing nobody in Varanasi can promise you in advance.

Common questions

Where do the boats leave from?: Assi Ghat for most rides, and we confirm the exact step the day before. On festival days the administration can move the boarding point, and we tell you 48 hours ahead.
Is a boat ride safe for children and older people?: Yes. Boarding is from a stable step, the water is calm at dawn and in the evening, and life jackets are aboard. Tell us in advance and the boatman will seat you near the exit.
Rowing boat or motor boat?: Rowing for the dawn ride — it is quiet and the pace suits the light. Motor for groups, for the aarti when the current runs, and whenever you want to cover more of the ghat line in the same hour.
Do boats run in the monsoon?: Not always. When the Ganga is in flood the district administration suspends boating entirely, sometimes for weeks. We say so when you ask rather than when you arrive.