Maha Kumbh 2025 in numbers: Fascinating facts, figures and astrological timing

Pilgrims will come from across India and beyond to take part in elaborate rituals, prayers and religious processions with elephants, as well as horse-back parades and chariots.

Organisers say the scale of preparations for the Kumbh Mela is akin to setting up a country from scratch.

Here’s a breakdown of some fascinating facts about this massive religious gathering:

Largest peaceful gathering: It holds the distinction of being the largest peaceful gathering of people on Earth.

Visitor expectation: Around 400 million visitors are expected to attend over the festival’s 45-day period.

Duration: The festival began on January 13 and will continue for 45 days.

Astrological significance: The timing of the festival is determined by planetary alignments, particularly focusing on the positions of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.

Frequency: The Mahakumbh festival is celebrated once every 12 years.

Size of festival grounds: The festival grounds cover an area of 40 square kilometres.

Budget: The event has a budget of approximately $2 billion.

Temporary district: The festival area has been declared a temporary district with 25 sectors, each with its own district commissioner and administration.

Transportation: To accommodate the influx of pilgrims, there are 13,000 trains and 250 flights available from all over India.

Infrastructure: There is continuous availability of electricity and water 24/7.

Accommodation: A complete “tent city” has been set up to house the pilgrims, which will be dismantled after the festival.

Parking: There are 100 parking lots capable of accommodating 500,000 cars.

Healthcare: A central hospital with 190 beds and served by 125 ambulances is operational during the festival.

Security: There are 50,000 police personnel and 56 police stations deployed for security.

Surveillance: The festival grounds are monitored by 1000 AI-enabled cameras for traffic updates and 30,000 CCTV cameras with facial recognition software.

Cultural Programmes: The festival features a variety of religious and cultural entertainment programmes, including performances by celebrated artists such as recitals, poetry sessions, classical singers, dancers, musicians, and writers.

Bathing facilities: A 12km long bathing guard has been constructed for pilgrims to take holy baths, requiring 700,000 cubic meters of sand dredging.

Community kitchens: Around 150,000 toilets have been built along with community kitchens that can each feed up to 50,000 people at a time.

Key dates: Bathing takes place every day, but on the most auspicious dates, it is known as Shahi Snan, or “royal bath”.

Ceremonies include the visually spectacular “aarti”, when vast numbers of priests perform rituals holding flickering lamps.

Devotees also float a sea of twinkling “diya” prayer lamps, crafted from baked flour, that glow from burning mustard oil or clarified butter.

Key dates include January 13, the start of the mela that coincides with the full moon.

One of the most popular days is January 29, Mauni Amavasya, when celestial alignments are said to be ideal for purifying waters.

Celebrations culminate on February 26, Maha Shivaratri, the final holy bathing day