maha kumbh mela 2013 - 6 photos

Photos taken at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 festival near Allahabad (India).

Kumbh Mela is the largest human gathering on Earth, taking place during 3 months once every 12 years, with more than 50 million Hindu pilgrims coming to pray and bath in the Ganges river at the Sangam, confluence of the Holy Ganga (Ganges) and the Holy Yamuna rivers.

Maha Kumbh Mela is a larger Kumbh Mela that happens only once every 144 years. 2013 was the year of the Maha Kumbh Mela, a once in a lifetime event.

Kumbh Mela occupies about 56 Square Kilometers (22 Square Miles) of sandy ground in the Ganges floodplain. The "permanent" population is 5 to 10 Million Hindu devotees housed in thousands of temporary Ashrams and tent camps, with an estimated at least 50 Million more pilgrims coming for the ritual baths during the 3 months period of the event. By some estimate, more than 100 Million pilgrims attended the 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela.

The Kumbh Mela infrastructure is provided by the Indian government, and includes taps of drinking water, pit toilets, street lighting, streets paved with metal plates, and very helpful Police and emergency services.

For more info about Kumbh Mela, read en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela.