Ghats & akhadas, explained
The five kinds of bathing place, what's on a typical ghat, the monastic orders — and where to find all of them in each city.
Ghats
Five kinds of bathing place
The word ghat covers very different structures across the four cities. Knowing which kind you're heading to tells you a lot about the experience.
| Type | What it is | Where you'll find it |
|---|---|---|
| Canal-side ghat | Stone steps into a diverted river channel, with chains against the current | Har Ki Pauri and most ghats in Haridwar |
| Riverbed kund | A stone tank built into the river's bed so the river flows through it | Ramkund, Nashik |
| Enclosed tank | A walled kund with steps on all sides, fed by the river's source | Kushavarta Kund, Trimbakeshwar |
| Stepped riverbank | Classic ghat steps on an open bank | Ram Ghat, Ujjain; Saraswati Ghat, Prayagraj |
| Temporary ghat | Sandbags, planks and barricades on a sandbank, built for the Mela | The floodplain at the Sangam, and overflow ghats in every city |
Anatomy of a ghat
What you'll find on a typical ghat
The steps
Worn stone steps leading down into the water — slippery when wet, and the place where crowds bunch up.
Chains and railings
On fast-flowing rivers, chains or railings mark the safe bathing area and give you something to hold.
Priests' platforms
Raised platforms and umbrellas where priests perform pujas and record family visits.
Changing points
On major ghats and during the Mela, screened changing areas are provided — often separately for women.
Aarti platform
At the principal ghats, a raised area from which the evening aarti is performed facing the river.
Worth knowing
Safety at the water
Bathe only at marked ghats, stay inside the chains or barricades, and take a quick dip rather than lingering. Lifeguards and boats are stationed at major ghats during the Mela.
Akhadas
The monastic orders of the Kumbh
An akhada is a monastic order of sadhus. Thirteen are formally recognised — seven Shaiva, three Vaishnava, two Udasin and one Nirmal — and every Kumbh is organised around their camps and their ceremonial bathing. For the Mela's duration, each akhada lives in its own camp (chhavni) with a flag, a shrine to its presiding deity, dhunis and a kitchen, and processes to the river on the principal bathing days.
Where those camps are, and where the akhadas bathe, differs sharply by city — all at one spot in Prayagraj and Haridwar, divided between two towns in Nashik. Our 13 Akhadas guide lists every order and where to find it in each city; for the Vaishnava camps in Nashik, see Sadhugram & Tapovan.
By city
Ghat and camp guides for every Kumbh city
Keep exploring
Continue exploring
The 13 akhadas
Every order, city by city.
Etiquette
How to visit ghats and camps respectfully.
The sacred rivers
The rivers behind the ghats.
Questions
Frequently asked
A place built for reaching a river — usually stone steps down to the water, used for bathing, rituals and ceremonies.
A ghat leads down to a river bank; a kund is a built tank of water. Ramkund in Nashik is a kund set into the riverbed, so the river flows through it.
A monastic order of sadhus. Thirteen are recognised, and each sets up its own camp at the Kumbh.
Often a chhavni. In Nashik, the area of Vaishnava camps at Tapovan is called Sadhugram.
Yes. All the principal ghats are active pilgrimage sites all year.