Kumbh Mela is a grand and one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather to take bathe in a holy river. It is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings which are held after every third year at one of the four places including Ujjain, Haridwar, Allahabad and Nasik. Hence, the Kumbh Mela is organized at any one of the places in rotation every twelfth year. Moreover, half Kumbh Mela is organized at only two destination including Haridwar and Allahabad. The holy rivers at these places where the pilgrims take the holy dip are the Ganges (Ganga in Haridwar), the sangam (confluence) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and Saraswati at Allahabad, Shipra at Ujjain and the Godawari at Nasik. Tourists visit these places and take the holy dip at the above mentioned rivers so that they can wash away all the sins and attain nirvana.
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Kumb Mela includes the word Kumbh which means pot or pitcher and Mela means festival or fair. Kumbh Mela altogether means festival of pot. Moreover, this festival specifically relates to the pot o nectar in Hindu Mythology. It is believed that the drop of nectar have fallen at the four places where Kumbh is organized including Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik and Allahabad.
This largest religious gathering of the world has also been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Sadhus and other holy men are also an integral part of the Mela. Tourists and pilgrim visit this grand gathering to listen these men in order to gain spiritual enlightenment. Below is the list of various types of Sadhus.
Nagas: These are the naked sadhus who smear their whole bodies with ash and have long hair. Moreover, constant exposure to different weather conditions makes them resistant to extreme temperatures.
Kalpvasis: These are the sadhus which remain by the river side and devote most of their time in meditation, bathing numerous times in a day and performing rituals.
Parivajakas: These are the people who have taken a vow of silence.
Urdhwavahurs: These are the ones who have emaciated their bodies from rigid spiritual practices.
Shirshasinse: They remain in the standing position and sleep with their heads resting on a vertical pole and meditate with standing on their heads.
Akharas are basically the meeting place of the religious groups, it is the place where the sadhus carry out religious rituals and practices at the time of Kumbh Mela. It is said that these saints are the followers of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu and hence there are Shaivite Akharas which is dedicated to Shiva and Vaishnavite Akharas dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
The main and most important ritual at Kumbh Mela is the holy bath. Hindus believe that taking the holy dip in the sacred river on the auspicious day of new moon will help them and their ancestors to wash off the sins and hence ending the cycle of rebirth.
Kumbh Mela is going to be held in Allahabad in the year 2019 in the month of January & February when the Jupiter is in Aries or Taurus and Sun and Moon are in Capricorn in the month of Magha.
| Date (2019) | Day | Event |
| 15th January | Tuesday | Makar Sankranti (1St shahi Snan) |
| 21st January | Monday | Paush Purnima |
| 4th February | Monday | Mauni Amavasya (Main Royal Bath 2nd Shahi Snan) |
| 10th February | Sunday | Basant Panchami (3rd shahi Snan) |
| 19th February | Tuesday | Maghi Poornima |
| 4th March | Monday | Maha Shivratri |
The world’s largest event ‘Kumbh Mela’ is scheduled in Allahabad in the year 2019. This event will start from 14th January 2019 to 4th March 2019. Allahabad being one of the famous Indian cities is well connected with all the major cities of India through different modes including Road, Rail and Air.
The city of Allahabad is well connected with other major cities of India with road transport. Allahabad has multiple bus stands in the city which offers decent regional road connectivity as well as interstate links. Tourists travelling from popular cities of India can book online bus tickets to Allahabad from EaseMyTrip to make their journey smooth and easy. Moreover, tourists can also use other modes including taxis, auto rickshaws and e-rickshaws to travel within the city.
| City | Distance |
| Agra | 431 KM |
| Kanpur | 191 KM |
| Ayodhya | 156 KM |
| Mumbai | 1162 KM |
| Lucknow | 183 KM |
| Kolkata | 732 KM |
| Chennai | 1385 KM |
| Patna | 330 KM |
| Trivandrum | 1954 KM |
| Delhi | 582 KM |
| Udaipur | 829 KM |
| Varanasi | 112 KM |
| Jaipur | 628 KM |
| Gorakhpur | 212 KM |
| Mathura | 476 KM |
| Haridwar | 621 KM |
| Chitrakoot | 104 KM |
| Vindhyachal | 71 KM |
Allahabad is the headquarters of India’s North Central Railway Zone. This city houses 8 railway stations within the city and all of them have good connectivity with cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Patna, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jaipur etc. Moreover, to reach Allahabad during the Kumbh Mela railways make small halt stations for the convenience of the pilgrims.
Allahabad has its very own domestic airport which is known as Bamrauli Air Force Base which is nestled 12 kilometers from the city center. However, the airport serves to very limited cities but at the time of Kumbh Mela the connectivity gets improved. There are other airports too which are situated close to Allahabad; including Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport (Varanasi, 150 kilometers) and Amausi International Airport (Lucknow, 200 kilometers). Both of these airports are well connected with other major cities of India, so tourists planning to visit Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in the year 2019 can opt to travel by these airports. Book cheap flight tickets at EaseMyTrip to reach Kumbh Mela comfortably.
Allahabad being one of the developed Indian cities has various accommodation options which include innumerable deluxe hotels, heritage hotels, budget hotels, guest houses, dharamshalas and camps which offer a comforting stay to the travelers. However, camps are the best accommodation option during the Kumbh Mela. Below is the list of hotels, resorts and camps which one can book for Allahabad Maha Kumbh Mela.
