Mina: the tent city of Hajj, day by day

What Mina is

Mina is a wide valley between Makkah and Muzdalifah, with mountains on both sides. For most of the year it is quiet. During Hajj it becomes a city of tents for more than a million people, each group in its own fenced camp with a number and a flag or board at the gate.

The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Mina on his Farewell Hajj, prayed there, and stoned the Jamarat from there (Muslim 1218). Allah says, “Remember Allah during the appointed days” (2:203): these are the days spent in Mina.

Your days in Mina

Some private groups move pilgrims to Mina late on the 7th to avoid the traffic. Your group will tell you its own timings.

Tents, toilets and food

• Tents are air-conditioned and shared, usually by people of the same group, with men and women in separate tents or separated areas
• Each pilgrim gets a narrow space with a mattress or a sofa-bed, depending on the camp category. Space is tight, so keep your bag small
• Toilets and wudu areas are shared by the camp. There are queues before prayer times, so go a little early
• Meals are served in the camp by the group’s caterer. Keep dates, biscuits and an empty bottle for water in your bag
• Camp facilities and categories change from year to year, so treat any description as a guide, not a promise

Staying with your group

• Learn your camp number, street number and the nearest landmark on the first day, and keep them written on a card in your pocket
• Keep the Nusuk card or the camp card your group gives you around your neck at all times
• Save your group leader’s number and put your phone on low-power mode; signals can be weak in crowds
• If you get lost, go to the nearest official help point or scout tent and show your card. Do not walk around looking for the camp alone

Coping with the heat

Hajj 2027 is expected in mid-May, when Mina is very hot during the day. The walks to the Jamarat and back can be long. Carry an umbrella, drink water often in small amounts, and rest in the tent in the hottest hours.

Older pilgrims should plan the Jamarat walk at a cooler time where the rulings allow, and use the help their group arranges. Signs of heat exhaustion, such as dizziness or confusion, need medical help at once.

Getting around Mina

Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat are joined by walkways, roads and the Mashaer train. Which pilgrims can use the train, and from which station, is decided each year by the Saudi authorities and depends on the camp. Your group will tell you whether you travel by train, by bus or on foot.

Distances inside Mina are bigger than they look. From many camps the walk to the Jamarat is 2 to 4 km each way, so wear soft, broken-in sandals.