Anandamayi Ghat

Anandamayi Ghat is one of the quieter, more contemplative stretches of Varanasi's great riverfront, set in the southern Bhadaini–Shivala reach of the Ganga between Janaki Ghat and Vaccharaja (Vachchhraj) Ghat, a short walk upstream from the famous Assi Ghat.

• For most of its history the ghat was known as Imalia (Imaliya) Ghat, taking its name from a tamarind (imli) tree; the stone-faced upper embankment was made pucca around 1942 by Rai Baldeo Sahai, and the lower steps were consolidated in 1945 with support from the nationalist philanthropist Shiv Prasad Gupt.
• Its present name and gentle, ashram-like atmosphere date from 1944, when the revered Bengali mystic Anandamayi Ma purchased the ghat and raised a riverside ashram upon its heights.
• Anandamayi Ma (born Nirmala Sundari, 1896–1982) was one of twentieth-century India's most beloved spiritual figures, revered by devotees across the country and counted among the followers who sought her darshan was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• Above the ghat she built the Shree Shree Anandamayi Ashram, which houses a temple to Annapurna and Shiva and a large hall used for yajna (sacred fire rites), and the adjoining Anandamayi Kanyapith, a residential school where girls receive both spiritual and general education.
• The whitewashed ashram buildings, their turrets catching the first light off the water, give this ghat a calm, cloistered feeling quite distinct from the crowded ceremonial ghats further north.
• Mornings bring soft chanting, bathers descending the steps, and boatmen drifting past on the slow current.
• Because it sits away from the tourist crush of Dashashwamedh and Manikarnika, Anandamayi Ghat rewards travellers who want to experience the Ganga's spiritual rhythm without the crowds.
• Come at dawn for a sunrise boat ride that glides along this southern crescent, or simply sit on the steps and watch the river town wake.
• The ghat is free and open at all hours; the ashram above keeps its own darshan timings and, as a working religious institution, asks visitors to dress modestly and enter with quiet respect.
• For vegetarian travellers, this corner of Varanasi is especially easy and comforting: the whole city is a stronghold of pure-vegetarian, satvik cooking, and the ashram ethos here reinforces that gentle, meat-free sensibility.
• Within a short auto or cycle-rickshaw ride you will find trustworthy pure-veg kitchens such as Ksheer Sagar in nearby Sonarpura for milk sweets and thalis, and the legendary chaat and kachori houses of Godowlia and the old lanes.
• One local caution worth remembering: some lassi and thandai stalls near the ghats serve bhang (a cannabis preparation), so always ask specifically for a plain, bhang-free lassi or a simple milk-based drink and stick to clearly pure-vegetarian, family-run establishments.