Manikarnika Ghat

Manikarnika Ghat is Varanasi's primary cremation ground, considered by Hindus to be among the most sacred places to die and be cremated. Funeral pyres burn continuously day and night along its stone terraces, and the ghat's atmosphere is one of solemn ritual rather than mourning. The layered activity — boat traffic on the river, piles of sandalwood, priests conducting rites — makes this one of the most visually intense and spiritually charged locations on the Ganges.