Allahabad

Festive Celebrations

Undoubtedly one of the most celebrated festivals is the Kumbh Mela, held once in 12 years. This Allahabad sees devotees and tourists arriving in thousands to offer their prayers and wash off their sins. Held on the banks of Sangam River, millions of devotees take the holy dip in the Ganges and attend the sacred fair. Celebrated once in 6 years, the Ardha Kumbh Mela or half Kumbh Mela also witnesses devotees arriving in lakhs and looking to wash off their sins by offering prayers to their Gods.

Magh Mela is the annual religious event or the great bathing festival, a smaller version of the gigantic Kumbh Mela, held from mid-January to mid-February. Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, are filled with travellers who stay in the temporary township that comes up on its banks and offer prayers to the holy river. The Maha Shivaratri festival is celebrated in honour of one of the most venerated Gods, Lord Shiva. Offerings of berries and bel-patta are made and the shivalinga is bathed in honey and milk and worshipped.