It’s late evening in the city of Prayagraj and the roadside vendors selling snacks are packing up their wares to shut for the night.

Millions of people have taken a holy bath at the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela (also known as Mahakumbh) - described as humanity's biggest gathering - in northern India's Prayagraj city on Monday.

For pilgrims at the largest gathering of humanity, ritual bathing in India's holy rivers includes a key challenge -- finding your family and clothes after the chilly dip. But many said that the effort to bathe in the holy waters was worth it.