Kumbh Mela (Festival of the Sacred Pitcher) is a cycle of Hindu pilgrimage in India and one of the largest religious events on earth. Every 4 to 12 years, millions of Hindus visit the four cities of Prayagraj, Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar along the Ganges River and bathe in especially holy stretches in order to wash away their sins.

According to Hindu myths, the gods once fought a battle over the kumbh (pitcher), which contained the nectar of immortality. During the fight, four drops of the nectar spilled onto the earth and fell on the ground of Prayagraj, Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

At each of the cities a massive mela (fair) is held during the event and millions of Hindus, including naked saddhus, nagas and Hindu monks, as well as other Hindu holy men, arrive there from all over India. For India's Hindus, the four cities in the Kumbh Mela are among the seven most sacred places on the pilgrimage circuit.

In Haridwar ('Gateway to the Gods'), millions gather in the sacred area where the Ganges River leaves the mountains and enters the plains, while in Prayagraj the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna, as well as the mythical River of Enlightenment, known as sangam, is the holiest spot. The Allahabad Kumbh Mela is the largest of all melas, with over 660 million pilgrims visiting.

The Kumbh Mela lasts between 1 and 3 months and the Amavasya day attracts the largest crowds.

Date	Location
1974	Haridwar
1975
1976
1977	Prayagraj
1978
1979
1980	Haridear, Nashik-Trimbak and Ujjain
1981
1982
1983
1984	Prayagraj
1985
1986	Haridwar
1987
1988
1989	Prayagraj
1990
1991
1992	Haridear, Nashik-Trimbak and Ujjain
1993
1994
1995	Prayagraj
1996
1997
1998	Haridwar
1999
2000
2001	Prayagraj
2002
2003	Nashik-Trimbak
2004	Haridear and Ujjain
2005
2006
2007	Prayagraj
2008
2009
2010	Haridwar
2011
2012
2013	Prayagraj
2014
2015	Nashik-Trimbak
2016	Haridwar and Ujjain
2017
2018
2019	Prayagraj
2020
2021	Haridwar
2022
2023
2024
2025	Prayagraj
2026
2027	Haridwar and Nashik-Trimbak
2028	Ujjain