Manikarnika Ghat

One of the most unique aspects of the city of Varanasi is that the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat are located in the city itself and in the vicinity of some of Varanasi’s most sacred temples. Piles of firewood line the shore and the fires continually burn as a stream of dead bodies, each wrapped in cloth, is carried through the lanes on makeshift stretchers. It was said that Lord Shiva gave Lord Vishnu a boon, that whoever dies in Kashi would be liberated from the endless cycle of birth and death and his soul would be set free.