Rare Hindu pilgrimage open for travelers of all faiths

The Internet has been abuzz recently with stories of tour companies allowing travelers of all faiths to do experiential immersion travel and "be Muslim for a month."

Now, a NY-based tour company is offering a two-week Hindu pilgrimage to travelers of all faiths.

The Kumbh Mela Fair occurs once only every twelve years. On January 14, 2013, Geringer Global Travel gives travelers the chance to join Hindus of all sects and social castes in this landmark spiritual experience.

The Fair is one of the largest organized pilgrimages in the world, attracting over 70 million devotees. It is attended by many sadhus or holy men, clad only in saffron sheets, their heads smeared with ashes. Hindus consider that attendance at the Kumbh Mela offers the faithful powerful and auspicious blessing. It is thought to be the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages, especially the ritual bathing in the River Ganges.

On visiting the Kumbh Mela in 1895, Mark Twain wrote:

"It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination…"

Geringer's tour also includes visits to national and religious landmarks in Delhi, Hardwar, Mathura, Agra, Orchha Kharajuraho on the way to the holy city of Allahbad, the site of the ritual Ganges bathing. Finally, the group will visit Varanasi, considered one of the holiest cities on India.

Pricing for the tour starts at $3,060, not including airfare.

More information and details on the itinerary can be found at: http://www.geringerglobaltravel.com.