Manikarnika Ghat

Manikarnika Ghat, one of the oldest and most sacred in Varanasi. Manikarnika is main burning ghat and one of most auspicious places that a Hindu can be cremated. Bodies are handled by outcasts known as doms, and they are carried through alleyways of old city to the holy Ganges on a bamboo stretcher swathed in cloth. The corpse is doused in Ganga prior to cremation. You will see huge piles of firewood stack along the top of the ghat, each log carefully weighted on giant scales so that the price of cremation can be calculated. There are no problems watching cremations, since at Manikarnika death is simply business as usual, but don't take photos and keep your camera well hidden