Description : A woman offering prayers at the river ghats of the holy Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar, North India, on the occasion of the Kumbh Mela, the biggest Hindu religious pilgrimage on earth. The number of pilgrims this year is expected to exceed around five million since the first day on 4 till it ends on . The auspicious days of the shahi snan or royal baths usually draw hundreds of thousands of devotees to the Har Ki Pauri and other banks of the Ganges river. As pilgrims from around the world gather on the occasion, most of the city remains shut for any vehicles other than security or emergency services, so a sea of humanity walks through the city to the bathing ghats.