Maha Kumbh Mela (Once Every 12 Years)

What: The biggest human gath­er­ing in the world, the ancient Indi­an Hin­du Maha Kumbh Mela attracts over 150 mil­lion peo­ple to the meet­ing point of the three sacred Hin­du rivers; the gan­ga, the yam­nua and the Saras­vati – which is known as the Sangam – to dis­cuss faith, hear Sad­hus preach, per­form rit­u­als and  bath in the sacred icy cold waters of the holy rivers in the hope of sal­va­tion.

Last­ing a full month, the Maha Kumb Mela takes place once every 12 years (with dif­fer­ing Kumbh Mela’s tak­ing place at 3 year inter­vals) and accord­ing to leg­ends is the result of the god Vish­nu spilling nec­tar onto the earth, with it being not­ed both for the atten­dance of devout reli­gious lead­ers who flock from the hills of India to attend and, as a result of the atten­dance, the con­struc­tion of the tent­ed town that hous­es the mil­lions of reli­gious atten­dees who attend the fes­ti­val – all seek­ing enlight­en­ment, sal­va­tion and seek­ing to prac­tice and embrace their faith.

When: The full maha kumbh mela is cel­e­brat­ed over the course of a month every 12 years, with the next event sched­uled for 2025 in Jan­u­ary / Feb­ru­ary. There is also a half kumbh mela which is cel­e­brat­ed over 6 years with the next event due in 2021 and addi­tion­al kumbh mela’s which take place every three years based on the tim­ing of astro­log­i­cal and reli­gious events – for the exact dates of the upcom­ing kumbh mela’s vis­it [http://www.uptourism.gov.in/]

Where: The fes­ti­val takes place on the Sangam which is the meet­ing points of the three sacred rivers of the gan­ga, Yamu­na and Saras­vati – locat­ed in the Harid­war region of India.

Giv­en the mil­lions of atten­dees the infra­struc­ture of the town has under­gone numer­ous upgrades and you can expect to find the tent city, com­plete with meet and greet places, hos­pi­tals and dis­plays on the banks of the rivers.

Tick­ets: There are no direct tick­ets required to attend maha kumbh mela – instead you can expect to pay to stay in the tent­ed city which is your best bet for accom­mo­da­tion. It’s rec­om­mend­ed espe­cial­ly if trav­el­ling alone or if in a group of females to con­sid­er employ­ing a guide to assist you in the tent city, for which tick­et­ing infor­ma­tion is avail­able  [http://www.uptourism.gov.in/] although recent addi­tions to the fes­ti­val have seen increased secu­ri­ty and police pres­ence.

Dura­tion: The full maha kumbh mela lasts for just over a month and you can expect each day to begin with a dip in the icy cold riv­er and a bless­ing. With the excep­tion of the holy day of maha kumbh mela which nor­mal­ly occurs in the last week of the fes­ti­val and see’s an upsurge in atten­dees, there is no defined struc­ture or timetable to the event instead it’s encour­aged to spend a few days in the tent­ed city and lis­ten to the preach­es and immerse your­self in the faith and reli­gious per­for­mances on dis­play.

Need to Know: Stam­pedes have been known to occur dur­ing the fes­ti­val, result­ing in mass death – so it’s advised to be cau­tious and despite the high atten­dance avoid over­ly crowd­ed parts of the fes­ti­val if pos­si­ble.

It’s also advised to bring your own food and to bring med­i­cine if par­tic­i­pat­ing in the roy­al bath cer­e­mo­ny and to be wary of your pos­ses­sions when attend­ing the fes­ti­val.

More Infor­ma­tion: For infor­ma­tion on the exact dates of the maha kumbh mela and to get infor­ma­tion on the tent­ed city and how to make a reser­va­tion vitis the offi­cial tourist site of  uttar Pradesh at: [http://www.uptourism.gov.in/]