Sant Ravidas Ghat, Varanasi: The Cruise and Boat Gateway to the Ganga Aarti

ॐEssential info at a glance

ॐSant Ravidas Ghat timings and the best time to visit

As a public riverfront the ghat is open around the clock and free. It is broad, modern and peaceful, less about grand ceremony and more about the river itself, and it is prized as the gateway from which cruises and boats set out. The finest times are sunrise and sunset, when the light on the Ganga is beautiful and the air is cool.

ॐSant Ravidas: the saint of equality

The ghat is named for one of the most beloved and important saints India has ever produced, Sant Ravidas, also called Guru Ravidas, a poet-saint of the Bhakti movement who lived here in Varanasi around the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Born into a family of leather workers, a community placed low in the social order of his day, Ravidas rose by the sheer power of his devotion and his wisdom to become a revered guru, and his message rang out across the centuries: that all people are equal before the divine, that devotion knows no caste, and that love and dignity belong to everyone. It is believed that he meditated here on the banks of the Ganga, and the ghat honours that memory.

His verses are so treasured that they are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, and he is the central, revered figure of the Ravidassia community, honoured by millions in India and across the world as a saint of equality and a symbol of human dignity. His birth anniversary, Ravidas Jayanti, on the full moon of Magh, is celebrated with great devotion. To stand on this ghat is to stand where a message of equality was born that still moves millions.

ॐThe ghat and the Smarak Park

Sant Ravidas Ghat is the southernmost of the great ghats and one of the largest, with broad, open steps and plenty of room, a spacious, modern and peaceful counterpoint to the crowded old-city ghats. Beside it lies the Sant Ravidas Smarak Park, a well-kept memorial park with a statue of the saint, a green and restful place to sit, reflect and enjoy the river, open through the week but closed on Saturdays, with a small entry fee. Together the broad ghat and the quiet park make this a favourite spot for a calm sunrise or sunset by the Ganga, away from the bustle.

ॐThe cruise and boat gateway of Varanasi

What Sant Ravidas Ghat is best known for today is boats. Its broad, easy steps and open space make it the main boarding point for the river cruises and private boats of Varanasi, and this is where most visitors begin their journey on the Ganga. From here you can step aboard the large luxury cruise or hire a private boat, and glide up the sacred river, past the eighty-four ghats, to the very heart of the city.

ॐSee the Ganga aarti from the water

Here is the real magic of boarding at Sant Ravidas Ghat: you can sail down the river to watch the grand, world-famous Ganga aartis at Dashashwamedh Ghat and Assi Ghat from the water. There is no finer or more peaceful way to witness the great ceremony than from a boat, out on the Ganga, facing the lamplit steps, away from the crush of the crowd, with the whole spectacle laid out before you and reflected in the river. We arrange exactly this, a cruise or a private boat that sets out from here in the evening and gives you a front-row seat on the water for the aarti.

ॐDo not confuse it with the Birthplace Temple

It is important to know that Sant Ravidas Ghat is not the same as the famous Guru Ravidas Birthplace Temple, and travellers often mix the two up. The birthplace temple, the Shri Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan Mandir, stands at Seer Govardhanpur, near the back gate of Banaras Hindu University, about a thirteen-minute drive from the ghat. It marks the very spot where the saint was born, and it is a magnificent gold-domed shrine, so richly gilded that it is called the second Golden Temple of Kashi, and it is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the world for the Ravidassia community, drawing enormous crowds, above all at Ravidas Jayanti. It is generally open from about 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

So the two are quite distinct: the ghat by the river where the saint meditated and where the boats board, and the golden birthplace temple a short drive away. Many visitors like to see both, and we can arrange that.

ॐA ghat of equality and the open river, in my own words

By Rajeev Sharma, Varanasi local

Sant Ravidas Ghat is where I so often begin a traveller's time on the Ganga, because this is where the boats set out. I tell my guests whose ghat this is, the great Sant Ravidas, born here in Kashi, who taught that every human being is equal before God, whose words are sung even in the Sikh scripture; and I find that people are moved to begin their river journey from a place that stands for such a message. It is broad and calm here, with the lovely Smarak Park beside it, a good place to watch the sun rise.

Then we board. My favourite thing to arrange is an evening boat from here down to Dashashwamedh, so my guests can watch the grand aarti from the water, which is far more beautiful and peaceful than standing in the crowd. And I always make the point clearly, that this ghat is not the golden Birthplace Temple, which is a short drive away at Seer Govardhanpur, so people are not confused; and if they wish, I take them to see that magnificent gold-domed shrine too. It is a ghat I love, for what it stands for and for the doorway to the river that it is.

In more than forty years of guiding, this is the ghat from which I have launched more happy journeys on the Ganga than any other.

ॐWhat to see and do

• Board a cruise or a private boat here and glide up the Ganga past the eighty-four ghats.
• Sail down in the evening to watch the grand Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh or Assi from the water.
• Enjoy a calm sunrise or sunset on the broad steps and in the Sant Ravidas Smarak Park.
• Learn the story of Sant Ravidas, the saint of equality, whose ghat this is.
• Combine it with a visit to the gold-domed Birthplace Temple at Seer Govardhanpur.

ॐHow to reach Sant Ravidas Ghat

The ghat is at Dumraon Colony, near Lanka, at the southern end of the riverfront just below Assi Ghat, close to Banaras Hindu University. Being modern and spacious, it is easy to reach by road, which is part of why the boats board here.

It is easy to drive to and to board a boat from, and simple to pair with Assi and the southern sights. We arrange the boat, the timing and a guide.

ॐBest time to visit and how to plan it

• Pair it with Assi Ghat, Tulsi Ghat and the southern ghats, and with the Birthplace Temple nearby.
• Allow time for the boat: an hour or more for a cruise or an aarti sail.

For the ghats and a cruise planned together, see our Varanasi tour packages.

ॐAccessibility for elderly and mobility limited visitors

• The ghat is broad, modern and spacious, with easier access than the steep old-city ghats, and it is a comfortable place to board a boat.
• The Smarak Park has seating and green space for a restful visit.
• A cruise or a private boat with comfortable seating is a gentle, wonderful way to see the river and the aarti.
• We arrange the right boat and help with boarding for a relaxed visit.

ॐNearby sites to combine with your visit

Sant Ravidas sits at the southern end of the riverfront, near the other southern ghats and BHU.

For the grand evening aarti and a boat ride, see our Varanasi tour packages.

ॐPractical tips

ॐOur cruises, boats and aarti-from-the-water experiences

We are a Varanasi based operator, a unit of Experience My India, with more than forty years of guiding travellers across Kashi, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj. The ghat is free, so what we arrange is the journey on the river: a luxury cruise or a private boat from Sant Ravidas Ghat, an evening sail to watch the grand Ganga aarti from the water, a calm sunrise cruise past the ghats, and, if you wish, a guided visit to the gold-domed Birthplace Temple as well.

Inclusions and exclusions are stated up front, with any taxes and conditions, and no charge appears later that was not named. See all our Varanasi tour packages for the full range.

Experience My India is a travel operator, not a temple or government body. Our private boats and services are ours; the luxury cruise and any tickets are third-party services we can arrange, priced separately. Ghat access is free and public.