Dandi Ghat

Set on the southern crescent of Varanasi's riverfront, between Shivala/Gularia Ghat to the south and Hanuman Ghat to the north, Dandi Ghat is one of the city's gentler, more meditative stretches of the Ganga.

• It takes its name from the Dandi Swamis — Shaivite renunciants of the Dashanami order who carry a single wooden staff, the danda or 'dharma-danda', as the emblem of a life surrendered to discipline and Dharma.
• The ghat was built in 1821 by Lalluji Agrawal, a wealthy Banaras merchant, together with Babu Sagaramal, expressly for the comfort of these monks; the Uttar Pradesh government renovated and restructured the stone steps in 1958.
• A telling detail rewards the observant visitor: small holes were bored into the sandstone treads so that a Dandi Swami could plant his staff upright while bathing, never letting it touch the ground or leave his side.
• Behind the steps sits a math (monastery) linked to the Sharada Peeth tradition of Dwaraka, where ochre-robed ascetics still reside, alongside a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and an akhara — a traditional earthen wrestling arena where young pehelwans train at first light.
• Because it is neither a bathing-fair magnet like Dashashwamedh nor a cremation ghat, Dandi Ghat stays calmer and noticeably cleaner than its famous neighbours.
• Mornings here belong to the quiet choreography of Kashi: sadhus in silent meditation, devotees offering water to the rising sun, wrestlers churning red mud, and the occasional yogi holding an impossible asana against the pink river light.
• It is a place to slow down and simply watch, rather than to be swept along.
• The best way to experience Dandi Ghat is from the water at sunrise, when a rowing boat glides past the whole southern arc and the steps glow amber; or on foot along the connected ghat promenade, pausing to sit on the upper terraces.
• The stretch is well suited to travellers who want the soul of the ghats without the crush — early risers, photographers, and anyone drawn to the ascetic, philosophical current that runs beneath Varanasi's more spectacular rituals.
• For vegetarian travellers, this corner of Kashi could hardly be easier.
• Varanasi's old city is overwhelmingly satvik, and the lanes climbing up from the southern ghats through Shivala, Sonarpura and Assi are lined with pure-vegetarian kitchens where onion and garlic are often absent too.
• Within a short walk or cycle-rickshaw ride you can have a plate of Banarasi tamatar chaat and kachori-sabzi, a clay cup of thick malai lassi, filter coffee and crisp dosas, or the city's beloved pure-vegetarian sweets crushed with almonds and rose.
• Nothing here compromises a meat-free, alcohol-free diet — if anything, the challenge is choosing between so many spotless, generations-old sweet shops and chaat counters.