India celebrates Ardh Kumbh festival

Today sees the most important day of the Hindu festival that is Ardh Kumbh take place.

Friday was the new moon night, the most important part of the six week long bathing festival.

The celebrations are concentrated on the northern Indian town of Allahabad, which lies at the confluence of three of India's most holy rivers, the Ganges, Saraswati and Yamuna.

Large numbers of holy men, known as Naga sadhus, marked the occasion by diving in to Ganges, with an estimated 20 million pilgrims expected to follow suit during the course of the day, according to the festival's organiser PN Mishra, in an interview with the AFP news agency.

It is thought that bathing in the holy waters purifies the body and soul and those that wish to try the waters for themselves can do so at until the festival concludes on February 16th.

Places to stay are scarce, although the introduction of an enormous tented village in the nearby area of Mela, which stretches out for miles, offers a temporary residence for many.