The Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh opens with flag hoisting at Ramkund on Saturday 31 October 2026 and formally runs to 24 July 2028, but its crowds come in seven weeks of 2027: the Amrit Snans on Monday 2 August, Tuesday 31 August, and Saturday 11 September at Nashik with Sunday 12 September at Trimbakeshwar. We forecast the last as the heaviest: two weekend snan days inside Ganeshotsav.
The Kumbh Mela Commissioner plans for 8-10 crore visitors to Nashik and about 4 crore to Trimbakeshwar over the Kumbh, and about 1.5 crore in Nashik and 75 lakh in Trimbakeshwar on a single Amrit Snan day. (Free Press Journal, Sep 2026)
1st Amrit Snan
Mon 2 Aug 2027
Nashik and Trimbakeshwar
A Monday (Somvati Amavasya): expect the weekend before to fill up too. It is also the day of a total solar eclipse elsewhere in the world: from Nashik only partial, roughly a quarter of the sun covered in the late afternoon, but watch for notices on bathing and temple timings.
2nd Amrit Snan
Tue 31 Aug 2027
Nashik and Trimbakeshwar
A Tuesday, the 2nd Amrit Snan, also called the Mahakumbh Snan. We expect a weekday snan to draw fewer day-trippers from Mumbai and Pune than a weekend one.
3rd Amrit Snan · forecast heaviest
Sat 11 and Sun 12 Sep 2027
Nashik · Trimbakeshwar
Saturday at Nashik, then Sunday 12 Sep at Trimbakeshwar: two consecutive weekend snan days, inside Ganeshotsav (4-14 Sep 2027), when Mumbai's roads already carry the festival traffic.
Our forecast of the extra crowd at places near Nashik, from lodging overflow and weekend escapes. It fades with distance and is gone by about 100 km.
One email before the Amrit Snans, with the dates as the administration confirms them and where it will be quiet.
The dates are the organisers', as reported by the outlets linked on this page. The crowd forecast is ours: an event of this size adds up to 30 points to a place's crowd score, in full on an Amrit Snan day and at 40% on the other days of the crowd window, falling off in a straight line with distance until it reaches nothing at 100 km. The same numbers feed the crowd calendar of every place listed above. It is a forecast, not a headcount, and the administration's traffic and bathing orders, when they are issued, come first.
The Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh formally runs from Saturday 31 October 2026 to Monday 24 July 2028. The main bathing days, the Amrit Snans, are Mon 2 Aug 2027, Tue 31 Aug 2027, Sat 11 and Sun 12 Sep 2027.
1st Amrit Snan: Monday 2 August 2027. 2nd Amrit Snan: Tuesday 31 August 2027. 3rd Amrit Snan: Saturday 11 September 2027 and Sunday 12 September 2027 (Nashik, then Trimbakeshwar).
The Kumbh Mela Commissioner plans for 8-10 crore visitors to Nashik and about 4 crore to Trimbakeshwar over the Kumbh, and about 1.5 crore in Nashik and 75 lakh in Trimbakeshwar on a single Amrit Snan day. Every Amrit Snan is planned for that scale. Our forecast for the heaviest is the 3rd Amrit Snan, Saturday 11 September at Nashik and Sunday 12 September at Trimbakeshwar: two weekend days in a row, inside Ganeshotsav, when the roads out of Mumbai already carry the festival traffic. The 2nd, on a Tuesday, should draw the fewest day-trippers.
On Amrit Snan days we forecast Purushwadi (39 km, busy), Bhandardara (52 km, busy), Sandhan Valley (57 km, busy), Jawhar (60 km, busy), Saputara (64 km, busy). The effect fades to nothing by about 100 km.
In season for the monsoon, more than 100 km from Nashik, and a day's drive from Mumbai or Pune. Travel on a day that is not a snan day.
Both: Nashik bathes on Saturday 11 September and Trimbakeshwar on Sunday 12 September, per PTI, Patrika and the Free Press Journal. One outlet gave 11 September for both sites.
With the flag hoisting (Dhwajarohan) at Ramkund, Panchavati, at 12:02 pm on Saturday 31 October 2026, with rituals at Kushavarta in Trimbakeshwar. The crowds come later: the first Amrit Snan is on Monday 2 August 2027.
Facts checked against these sources on Monday 12 October 2026.
