The Maha Kumbh Mela is a major Hindu festival held every 12 years in Prayagraj, India. It began on January 13, 2025, and will continue until February 26, 2025. This event is expected to attract around 400 million (40 crores) visitors,

Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj, is expected to be a one-of-a-kind cultural fest welcoming crores of pilgrims, as well as tourists to take their bath in sacred Ganges.

Over the coming 45 days, an estimated 400 million Hindus are expected to come together for Maha Kumbh Mela. The festival is held every 12 years but the "Maha" or grand Kumbh Mela takes place only every 144 years, "marking the 12th Kumbh Mela and a special celestial alignment of the sun, moon and Jupiter", said The Guardian.

While the Kumbh Mela festival is ordinarly held every three years, rotating between several holy cities on the banks of these rivers, the Maha Kumbh Mela occurs only once every 12 years. Maha means “great”, and the event attracts the most devotees because it is considered the most auspicious and holy in the cycle.

As the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 unfolds in Prayagraj, memories of my experience at Ujjain’s Simhasth Kumbh Mela in 2016 resurface. Battling scorching heat, I toured akhadas, met revered spiritual leaders,

Our country has many pilgrimage sites, and Prayagraj is one of them. Prayagraj is also called the king of pilgrimages. Every 12 years, the Kumbh Mela is held in Prayagraj, which holds special significance in Hinduism.