The Sangam, Prayagraj, India: travel story

Crowds of pilgrims on the riverbank at night, with the lights of the Kumbh camps stretching along the water — The riverbank on the eve of Mauni Amavasya

A cable-stayed bridge over the Yamuna, lit up in purple and pink at night — A Yamuna bridge, lit up for the Kumbh

Inside a camp tent with a straw floor and blankets, in the morning — Morning in the camp tent

The Maha Kumbh of 2025 ran for 45 days, from 13 January to 26 February, at the Sangam, where the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati are said to meet. The Uttar Pradesh government counted more than 660 million visits, more than the population of any country except India and China.

I arrived on 28 January, the evening before Mauni Amavasya, the biggest bathing day of the festival. After dark the riverbank was packed with pilgrims sitting on the sand under the floodlights, and the camps glowed for kilometres along the water. I spent the night in a camp tent with a straw floor.

Don't miss

The ghats on the eve of a bathing day
The tent city along the river
The bridges lit up at night