Digpatia Ghat

Tucked into the tangle of Bangali Tola between Rana Mahal Ghat and the steep stone stairways of Chausatthi Ghat, Digpatia Ghat is one of Varanasi's quietest and most architecturally distinctive riverfronts.

• It forms the lower portion of Chausatthi Ghat and was built in 1830 by the king of Digapatiya, a princely line linked to the Champaran region of Bihar.
• What sets it apart from the busier ghats to the north and south is the stately mansion that rises directly from its steps: a two-storeyed palace built in an unmistakably Bengali idiom, with symmetrical porches flanking both sides and the deep verandahs and curved detailing that mark the domestic architecture of eastern India transplanted onto the banks of the Ganga.
• Today the building is home to the Sitaram Omkara Das Kashi Ashram, and its faded ochre facade remains a favourite subject for photographers drifting past in early-morning boats.
• Behind that facade the ghat guards a small trove of sacred art.
• The palace is said to hold a few extremely rare old images of the goddess Kali, of Shiva and of Ganesha, alongside an ancient Yogini shrine where pilgrims still take a ritual dip in the river before worship.
• The Yogini temple is the ghat's ceremonial heart, and it comes alive during special pujas held in the months of March and April, tied to the Chaitra new-moon observances that also draw crowds to the neighbouring Chausath Yogini temple just up the steps.
• Local tradition also remembers this stretch of riverbank as a place of learning: the great sixteenth-century Advaita scholar Madhusudan Sarasvati is associated with the ghat, lending it a scholarly aura that lingers beneath the devotional calm.
• Unlike the theatrical Dashashwamedh Ghat a short walk downstream, Digpatia rewards slow, unhurried visits.
• Come at first light to watch the sandstone glow gold as bathers descend the steps, boatmen coil their ropes and temple bells sound from the lanes behind; the ghat is free, open at all hours and rarely crowded, so it makes a peaceful pause on a longer ghat-to-ghat walk.
• The palace itself is an active ashram and a private residence, so admire its architecture from the steps or the river rather than expecting a guided interior tour, and keep a respectful distance from anyone at prayer at the Yogini shrine.
• For vegetarian travellers, this corner of the old city could hardly be easier: Bangali Tola and the surrounding Chowk lanes are overwhelmingly satvik and pure-vegetarian, and no meat, egg or alcohol intrudes on the classic Banarasi food trail.
• A two-minute walk into Kachori Gali brings you to the legendary Ksheer Sagar, where thick clay-pot lassis are layered with fresh fruit and malai; a little further toward Godowlia you will find Kashi Chat Bhandar for tangy tamatar and palak chaat, and Deena Chaat Bhandar for its famous chaat platters.
• Round off a morning with kachori-sabzi and hot jalebi at Ram Bhandar in Thatheri Bazaar, or a cooling glass of pure-vegetarian sweets near the temple lanes.
• Every one of these is a genuine pure-vegetarian institution, so you can eat your way along the ghats without a second thought.