Bhonsale Ghat

Rising from the Ganga in a sweep of honey-coloured Mirzapur sandstone, Bhonsale Ghat is one of the most architecturally distinguished riverfronts in Varanasi. It was raised in 1780 by the Bhonsle rulers of Nagpur, the Maratha dynasty whose southern patronage reshaped Kashi's sacred skyline through the eighteenth century.

• The ghat is anchored by the Bhonsale Mahal, a fortress-like riverside palace whose facade is pierced by small, intricately carved stone windows and arched balconies.
• Here the muscular symmetry of Maratha building meets the delicacy of northern jharokha work, producing what historians of the ghats describe as a distinctly "fluidic" Maratha style.
• Once known as Nageshwar Ghat, it carries an older memory of serpent worship, and a coiled Naga image still nods to that lineage.
• What sets Bhonsale Ghat apart from its busier neighbours is its cluster of heritage temples.
• Three principal shrines stand along its terraces: the Lakshminarayan temple, dedicated to Vishnu and Lakshmi, and the paired Yameshwar and Yamaditya temples, linked in local belief to Yama and the Sun.
• Wedged between Ganga Mahal Ghat and Naya Ghat in the quieter northern stretch of the riverfront, it sees far fewer crowds than Dashashwamedh, which makes it a rewarding stop for travellers who want to read the ghats as living architecture rather than as a stage set.
• The stonework glows especially warm in the low light of dawn, when boats drift past and the palace windows catch the first sun.
• For vegetarian travellers, Bhonsale Ghat sits in one of the most comfortably meat-free corners of India.
• The old city lanes that climb behind it are overwhelmingly satvik and pure-vegetarian by tradition, and the temple culture here means eggless sweets, chaat and lassi are the everyday fare.
• A short walk toward Godowlia and the Chowk brings you to legendary pure-veg institutions such as Kashi Chat Bhandar and the fruit-laden Ksheer Sagar, so you can wander the ghats all morning and never worry about finding wholesome vegetarian food.
• Nothing here involves meat, fish, egg or alcohol; the register of the whole quarter is devotional and family-friendly. Bhonsale Ghat rewards slow attention.
• Approach it on foot along the riverfront promenade or from the water on a shared dawn boat, pause to trace the carved windows, step up to the small temples, and let the layered history of Maratha Kashi settle around you.
• It is free to visit, open through the day, and best experienced when the crowds are elsewhere.