This is the point where the shallow, muddy Ganges meets the clearer, deeper Yamuna. Hindu pilgrims come all year to bathe and take a boat out to the auspicious spot where the two rivers meet. A rowing boat should not cost more than Rs 30 per person if you share, but boat-owners are desperate to get foreign tourists on board at inflated prices. A private boat for a half-hour trip is about Rs 200. The number of pilgrims increases during the annual Magh Mela (mid-January to mid-February).

Astrologers calculate the holiest time to enter the water and draw up a 'Holy Dip Schedule'. The most propitious time of all happens only every 12 years when the massive Kumbh Mela takes place. Ardh Mela (half-mela) is every six years. Both of these attract millions of sadhus and pilgrims. In the early 1950s, 350 pilgrims were killed in a stampede to the soul-cleansing water (an incident recreated in Vikram Seth's novel A Suitable Boy).

The most recent Ardh Mela was in 2007, while the next Kumbh Mela here is 2013.