Cremation Ghats, Kathmandu

Cremation Ghats are located along the banks of the sacred Bagmati River near the Pashupatinath Temple.

The Cremation Ghats are used for funeral rites. They are known as the city's most important ghats in Kathmandu. Visitors are welcome to sit by the river and watch while the last rites are performed.

Funerals for Nepali citizens take place on the southern side of the temple. Their bodies are first cleansed with sacred camphor and wrapped in shrouds. They are then laid out on the riverbank.

There are six elevated platforms for open cremation. The body is placed on one of these and then cremated on a wooden pyre. The process takes about three to four hours.

Cremations have been taking place at these cremation ghats for hundreds of years. The belief is that a Hindu who is cremated at Pashupatinath Temple is destined to be reborn human in the next life.