Kumbh 2027: NTKMA Pushes Homestays, Aims for 2,000 Airbnb Listings in Nashik

Nashik does not have enough hotel rooms for the 2027 Simhastha. So the Kumbh authority wants local families to open their homes to pilgrims.

From 600 to 2,000 homes

About 600 properties in Nashik are listed on Airbnb today. Kumbh Mela Commissioner Shekhar Singh said in September 2026 that the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) is working with Airbnb to take that number to at least 2,000. NTKMA will also run a campaign asking residents to rent out rooms in their homes.

For a Nashik family with a spare room, this could mean extra income during the mela. For a pilgrim, it could mean more choice beyond hotels and tents.

Why: hotels are not enough

According to NTKMA, Nashik has more than 1,500 hotel beds, and there are over 100 dharamshalas across Nashik and Trimbak. NTKMA itself says this is not enough (Lokmat Times and HT, September 2026).

The numbers show why. The NTKMA plan expects 12 crore pilgrims over the whole mela, and on a single Amrit Snan day about 1.5 crore people in Nashik and 0.75 crore in Trimbak.

NTKMA is also planning tent cities, with sites of about 80 acres in Nashik and more than 50 acres in Trimbak. A new SOP for private tent cities was issued on 29 September 2026. Foreign visitors will not get special lodging. They can use hotels or private tent cities (HT, 4 October 2026).

Homestay rules: not published yet

The NTKMA plan mentions "structured registrations of … homestay owners". But no homestay registration procedure or policy has been published so far. That means:

• There is no official list of registered or approved homestays yet.
• There are no published rules for homestay owners yet.
• The official NTKMA booking app, when it comes, is approved for tent cities only, not for homestays.

What pilgrims should do now

• Book early if you are sure of your dates, especially around the Amrit Snan days: 2 August, 31 August, and 11 and 12 September 2027. Full dates are on our dates page.
• Verify before you pay. Check reviews, the exact address and how far the home is from Ramkund or Trimbakeshwar.
• Be careful with "official" claims. Since no official homestay list exists yet, nobody can honestly say a homestay is "NTKMA approved" today.
• Keep a backup. If a homestay booking falls through, hotels and tent cities are the other options. Tent-city applications for operators are to open shortly, but no tent prices have been published yet.
• Plan your last mile. On Amrit Snan days, private vehicles will be stopped at outer parking hubs and the Ramkund and Trimbak temple areas will be pedestrian zones, according to the NTKMA transport plan. A home close to the ghats may still mean a long walk on those days.

Compare all your options, from hotels to tents, on our accommodation page, and read our pilgrim guide before you travel. We will update this post when NTKMA publishes homestay rules. This site is an independent guide, not an official NTKMA site.