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The Stargazer's Steps

Man Mandir Ghat

Rajput PalaceJantar MantarRiver Views
Best SeasonOctober – March
ObservatoryOpen daylight hours
Famed For18th-c. stone astronomy
AccessSteps & boat landing
The Story

Man Mandir Ghat - The Stargazer's Steps

Astronomy and architecture meet above the river at Man Mandir.

Built by the Rajput king Man Singh of Amber around 1600, the honey-stone palace here is one of the oldest surviving structures on the riverfront, its windows and balconies carved in fine Rajasthani style.
“Stone instruments still chart the heavens above the holy river.”
Atop it sits the Jantar Mantar - one of five masonry observatories commissioned by Maharaja Jai Singh II - its great instruments still tracing the path of the sun and stars above the Ganges.
What to Experience

Moments to Seek Out

The rituals, sights and quiet corners that make this ghat unforgettable.

Jantar Mantar

Climb to the rooftop observatory and its monumental stone instruments.

Rajput Façade

Admire the carved balconies of one of Kashi's oldest palaces.

Panoramic Deck

Sweeping views along the great northern curve of the ghats.

In Pictures

A Closer Look

Man Mandir Ghat
Man Mandir Ghat
Man Mandir Ghat
Man Mandir Ghat
Man Mandir Ghat
Your Journey Awaits

Sail the Sacred Ghats

Let a Cholan river specialist compose a private varanasi sailing - the ghats, the aarti and the dawn, entirely on your own time.

Explore the Fleet +91 431 4226100
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Palace on the Ganges
Commissioned by Bengal and Bihar nobility in the early 1900s, the palace at Darbhanga Ghat has been lovingly restored into one of India's most atmospheric heritage hotels, complete with a century-old hand-operated lift.
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When the Scindia royal family rebuilt this ghat in the 19th century, the sheer weight of the marble caused a riverside Shiva temple to subside, leaving it partly submerged and gently tilted - an image now emblematic of the Varanasi waterfront.
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Believed to be the ghat where Lord Brahma performed the Dasa-Ashwamedha sacrifice, this is the beating heart of Kashi's riverfront. By day it hums with pilgrims, priests and flower-sellers; by dusk it becomes a stage for the most elaborate Ganga Aarti in all of India.
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