Assi Ghat, Ghat in Varanasi, India

Assi Ghat is a set of stone steps leading down to the river at the point where the Ganges and Assi rivers meet, marking the southern edge of Varanasi's sacred zone.

Assi Ghat is named for the Assi river, which meets the Ganges here; the Kashi Khanda calls this confluence sacred and places the Sangameshwar Mahadev temple beside it, and the ghat counts among Kashi's five tirthas. Hindus believe it was here that the poet-saint Tulsidas left for his heavenly abode. The ghat was later renovated and refitted for modern tourism.

The name comes from the Assi river, now the Assi nala, which meets the Ganges here; a legend says Durga dropped her sword (asi) at Durga Kund, creating the river. The confluence is held especially sacred, and the ghat is one of Kashi's five tirthas, with the Sangameshwar Mahadev temple nearby. Since 2014 the free Subah-e-Banaras morning programme has offered Vedic chanting, yoga and morning ragas.

The steps are easy to reach on foot, and you will find food stalls and small shops scattered along the riverbank area. It is best to come in the early hours of the day when there are fewer crowds.

The ghat is the setting of Kashinath Singh's Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi, adapted in 2018 into the Bollywood film Mohalla Assi starring Sunny Deol and directed by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi. Scenes from Raanjhanaa (2013) and Masaan (2015) were also shot here, the latter at the ghat's Vatika Cafe.