The Evening boat tour consists of a visit to all the Ghats. The guide gives you all the details of each ghat , and some short stories. After this you get a seat on top of a bigger boat to view the Ganga Arti, which is FABULOUS. It is of 45 minutes.Very memorable indeed. Cannot forget the person who blew the conch for around 3 minutes or more.

It was advertised as “private” and it wasn’t. Tour “guide” was inexperienced.Not worth for the price

Kashi or Varanasi, as it is known, a city that is uniquely, a one-of-a-kind mystery and a saga to many a visitor, whether it is a spiritual yogi on his path to know the ultimate truth, or just about another curious traveller that wants to know the sanctity of the place. Time and space, otherwise known as the Brahmand, have had their special significance here. And so is the belief of many a spiritual seeker, who is on the path to know Life’s Extent, and to experience the possibility of a merger of the Atma (the soul) with the Paramatma (the super consciousness). So then, is there really the presence of an amalgamation of the microcosm with the macrocosm, and if so, is there a mystic way to experience this, a question that lies deep within every spiritual seeker that visits Varanasi…… To every true seeker that visits kashi or Varanasi, the city not only grips them with a sense of ancientness like none other, but also reminds one of how so very ephemeral life really is – yes, ephemeral, transient, and short-lived! May be it is also right to say that, one begins to ponder on the more deeper aspects of his existence, or of his birth, and death, and the existence of the soul and possibly of its journey through the many lifetimes, through which it evolves, and thus also causing human civilization to evolve as a whole. So, what then makes kashi or Varanasi so ancient? Could it be the many old cobble-stoned narrow alleys, or may be its crowded streets, or probably the many old temples that dot the city, or could it possibly be the time immemorial ritualistic traditions that are still in vogue, or may be its age old traditional crafts…..one wonders, if all of these factors contribute to its earning, its justified title as one of the “oldest living cities” on the planet. Like the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome…..so also at kashi, every narrow alley or “gully” leads to the banks of the holy river Ganges. And what strikes the beholder is the stark beauty of its architecture, so much so that the gullies descend down a flight of steps to the rivers’ bank. It sure has been a well conceived plan, so thoroughly perfect in its architectural grandeur, to have conceived these Ghats, that in a way form the very essence of kashi. Some of the famous ghats are the Assi ghat, the last ghat and named after the Assi river of Varanasi and the Varuna ghat, named after the Varuna river, both tributaries of the Ganges. And thus the etymology of the name “Varanasi”. The Dashashwameda ghat, legend has it that it is known for the great sacrifice of ten horses done by Lord Brahma, in His potential yagna, done to appease Lord Shiva! The Tulsi ghat, the Shivala ghat, the Harischandra ghat, the kedar ghat, and the famous Manikarnika ghat. It is also much believed by the Hindus that since kashi is one of the favorite places of Lord Shiva, it is a place where when one meets his final moment, his soul attains moksha or is liberated. And so as the tradition goes, even today, the dead are cremated at the Harischandra ghat and the Manikarnika ghat, and in the old traditional way of lighting a pyre. As the story goes, it is said that, there are always burning pyres at the Manikarnika ghat, as Lord Shiva was enraged after Goddess Parvati lost her earring here and so there is ever a flame that burns here …… These ghats serve as bathing quays for many a pilgrim, that wishes to have his traditional “holy dip” in the Ganges, in the hope of getting rid of their accumulated sins of all their past lifetimes. Even until this day, these bathing ghats on the banks of the Holy river Ganges, serve for many a devout Hindu, to perform his morning prayers while chanting the mantras, standing in the river knee deep, as the rising sun rays bathe and cleanse his body, mind and soul. Legend holds it that, once there was a fight between the two mighty, holy rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, as to who would flow into kashi. And at Triveni Sangam, where there is a confluence of the three Holy rivers of Ganga, Yamuna and the Saraswathi, it was Saraswathi that decided that Ganga would flow into kashi, but would adopt the colors of the river Yamuna, otherwise known as the green river. Thus, the Ganges, which otherwise is a white river almost until the Triveni Sangam, adopts the shade of green after that point. A must-visit list of some of the most famous temples of kashi are the following – starting from the kashi Viswanath temple, the Kasi Visalakshi temple, the Annapoorna temple, the Durga temple, the Kalabhairav temple, the Sankat Mochan temple, the Tulsi Manas Mandir, the Mrityunjay temple, the Gowri-kedareshwar temple, and the Birla Mandir, just to name a few….. Varanasi is also famous for its famous silk known as “Benares Silk”, that is woven into sarees and fabrics, that are almost a must-have addition to any Indian woman’s wardrobe collection. So also is it rich tradition of weaving, and the thread work with their traditional motifs. Another delight of Varanasi is the “Paan”, a sweet and tangy condiment, that is made from a special variety of betel leaves and betel nuts. Also, kashi is famous for its rich cow’s milk, and hence its dairy products of curd, or sweet cream, and dairy sweetmeats made out of such rich milk. So much to the old and ancient city’s rich heritage and culture. Thus, whether you are a practicing Hindu with utmost faith in Hinduism or just a backpack traveller, Varanasi or kasha, could most definitely be a must-see stopover place on your travelogues……..visit to experience the ancientness of the city, its spiritual history, and its much-deserved place in the annals of human civilization for its own subtle and yet beautiful reasons…..

This is the way to see the essentials of Varanasi. The guide was super informing and very helpful. Also when the trip was finished he helped us getting information.

Highly recommend the full day tour of Chandigarh! Ask for tour guide Sanjeev. Out of my many experiences booking on Viator, Sanjeev is the best guide ever. He’s knowledgeable, friendly, a scholar and a researcher, and customized our tour based on weather and our interests. His car is also quite big and spacious and made for a very comfortable ride. Thank you Sanjeev!

an experience of a lifetime. Rahul the guide was really professional and very nice, I would happily recommend him for all my friends

We had a great time on this tour of Jaipur by night taking in the sights and sounds. Ali led us confidently and gave good insights into the history of The Pink City.

These guys are absolute cheaters. I booked the trip on 08/21 for 6 family members using my US credit card and US phone number and I got a confirmation that my ride was booked and I was supposed to meet my guide at 5:30 pm on 08/23. I went to the meeting point as my ticket stated. Not finding anyone there, I called the local operator. He told me that the trip has been moved to earlier in the day since authorities were not allowing boat trips at 5:30!!! I was told that they were frantically trying to call me even when I received no phone call. They also told me that they sent me emails and never got a response. The truth is that I received 5 emails from 2:52 pm to 2:54 pm and at that time I was visiting a temple with no access to my phone. When I requested a refund in the evening, they flatly refused. So they allow you to book a trip even when the trip is not possible because the authorities do not allow boat trips after 4 pm. Even if i was able to take a boat ride earlier in the day as the operator wanted me to, it was not possible to watch evening arti which is the main attraction of the boat ride. They are marketing one thing, and trying to sell you something else, a book definition of scam. Stay away!!!

Fantastic. After darshan and abhishek at Kashi Vishwanath baba one can go to Kashi chaat bhandaar to witness the crowd creating kachra on the road or go in the opposite direction to witness the most beautiful spectacle of Aarti at the Ghat with chanting of mantras. The view is breathtaking from the boats floating on the river. Out of the world experience.

It was a great experience for me. I highly recommend you to contact Ms. Anita for tour guide. She is like a tour planner and planned all our trip in less than any other plans that too within our budget. So, great trip. You can drop a mail to connect with her - srisaicomputer07@gmail.com

Very impressive experience of ceremony at ganga. The guide, Rahul was very kind and provided informative session with us. Must try this extra ordinal experience!

I had a great visite with Rahul Singh from Varanasi , he did a great tour and he explained everything very good! he took the time to show everything possible ! thank you so much for your kindness, best regards

Very good experience. Rahul, the guide, was very helpful explaining me everything about the spiritualism of the ceremony. We spoke also about a lot of other aspects of Indian culture. I do enjoyed that experience, I highly recommend it.

After a long day of travel we arrived in Varanasi with little sleep and a bit of hesitation to go on a tour at night. However, we are so glad we went! Rahul Singh met us at a very easy to find spot, and right away we could tell that he was super enthusiastic about his hometown of Varanasi and everything it stood for. He gave us a great explanation of the Ghats and temples and then we went for a boat ride along the Ganges river to see the city from the water and watch the Arti (sp) night ceremony. It may have been one of the most amazing experiences we have witnessed before. The sights, sounds, colors and everything else was almost other worldly. After we wrapped up the boat portion of our tour Rahul then brought us around town and showed us some other equally fascinating sights. We absolutely loved every minute of this and we couldn’t recommend him enough. Should you find yourself in Varanasi we highly recommend reaching out to him. You will not be disappointed. Oh, and he suggested seeing the morning sunrise ceremony as well. It was also fantastic! Highly highly worth getting up early for.

I had a great time with Rahul. He was very patient and very knowledgeable of the city. He went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and safe. We are Australian Foreigners. Would recommend to anyone. Cannot wait to visit the city again someday.