Mecca
Saudi Arabia · Makkah · 277 m
Description
Mecca is the holiest city in Islam and by a wide margin the most visited place in Saudi Arabia. Tens of millions arrive each year for Umrah, and some two million more for the Hajj in the twelfth lunar month. Everything turns on the Masjid al-Haram, the mosque built around the Kaaba, a courtyard that holds hundreds of thousands at once and is ringed now by the Abraj Al Bait clock tower and its hotels. The city sits in a narrow valley of bare rock, and the caves of Hira and Thawr in the hills above it are where the first revelation and the flight to Medina begin. Entry to Mecca is restricted to Muslims.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 3 to 10 days (optimal 5 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – March
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Masjid al-Haram and the Kaaba
- Tawaf, the circling of the Kaaba
- Sa'i between Safa and Marwah
- Zamzam well water
- Abraj Al Bait clock tower and its observation deck
- Ramadan Umrah and the night prayers (annually in Ramadan)
- Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah during the Hajj (annually in Dhu al-Hijjah)
- Jamarat bridge and the stoning ritual (annually in Dhu al-Hijjah)
- Jabal al-Nour and the Cave of Hira
- Hira Cultural District and its revelation exhibition
- Makkah Museum and the Kiswah factory
- Jabal Thawr and its cave
- The souqs and gold shops around the Haram
- Ain Zubaidah, the Abbasid water channel
Getting there
- Airports:
- JED
- Train stations:
- Makkah (Haramain High Speed Railway)