Qué hay en La Meca, Arabia Saudita, a lo largo del año

Concurrido — vacaciones escolares en 6 de los mercados que lo llenan, uno de sus mejores meses por clima

• Norma

  Entry restricted to Muslims

  1 Ene – 31 DicCierres

  The city is closed to non-Muslims year round, and the checkpoints on the approach roads enforce it. Everything below assumes you are travelling for Umrah or Hajj, which is the only reason anyone comes. Fuente ↗

• Festivo

  Ramadan Umrah season

  18 Feb – 19 MarRamadán y EidMucha genteReserva pronto

  The busiest month of the year at the Grand Mosque outside Hajj itself. Permits are issued through the official app and rooms within walking distance of the Haram are booked out months ahead at multiples of the usual rate. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: The quiet Umrah months (15 Oct – 10 Feb (normalmente)), Winter flash floods (1 Nov – 31 Ene (normalmente))

Concurrido — Ramadan Umrah season, vacaciones escolares en 2 de los mercados que lo llenan

• Festivo

  The last ten nights

  10–19 MarRamadán y EidMucha genteReserva prontoRiesgo

  The final third of Ramadan, when pilgrims come looking for Laylat al-Qadr and the mataf fills to capacity. Permit slots vanish within minutes of release and the authorities cap repeat Umrah to one per pilgrim. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Ramadan Umrah season (18 Feb – 19 Mar), The quiet Umrah months (15 Oct – 10 Feb (normalmente))

Máxima afluencia — Ramadan Umrah season, The last ten nights

• Festivo

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadán y EidMucha gente

  The Eid prayer at the Haram, then a sharp drop as the Ramadan crowd flies home over the following week. The days immediately after are among the quietest of the year in the mosque. Fuente ↗

• Norma

  Umrah season closes before Hajj

  15 Mar – 15 May · normalmenteCierres

  Umrah visas stop being issued some weeks before Hajj and holders must leave the kingdom by an announced date, so the mosque empties out ahead of the pilgrimage. The cut-off is published each year and moves with the lunar calendar. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Ramadan Umrah season (18 Feb – 19 Mar), The last ten nights (10–19 Mar)

Concurrido — Hajj, vacaciones escolares en 3 de los mercados que lo llenan

• Festivo

  Hajj

  20 Abr – 20 Jun · normalmenteTemporada de peregrinaciónMucha genteCierresReserva prontoRiesgo

  Five days that move the whole city: Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, then the return. Numbers are capped by country quota, the roads into Mecca close to everyone else, and the heat during a summer Hajj is the main risk. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar), Umrah season closes before Hajj (15 Mar – 15 May (normalmente))

Máxima afluencia — Hajj, Eid al-Adha

• Festivo

  Eid al-Adha

  27–30 MayRamadán y EidMucha genteCierres

  The pilgrimage ends at Eid and the kingdom takes several days off with it. Everything in Mecca is running at capacity, and the exit flights out of Jeddah are the tightest of the year. Fuente ↗

• Temporada

  Summer heat in the valley

  15 May – 15 SepCalor extremo

  The city sits in a bare rock valley with nothing to soften the afternoon. Marble courtyards are cooled and misted, but the walk between the mosque and the hotels is the part that catches people out.

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Umrah season closes before Hajj (15 Mar – 15 May (normalmente)), Hajj (20 Abr – 20 Jun (normalmente))

Máxima afluencia — Hajj, Saudi summer holidays

• Festivo

  Saudi summer holidays

  15 Jun – 31 Ago · normalmenteVacaciones escolaresMucha gente

  The kingdom's schools break and domestic Umrah picks up sharply with them, so the mosque runs busy through the night and thin in the afternoon. It lands on the worst of the heat in the valley. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Hajj (20 Abr – 20 Jun (normalmente)), Eid al-Adha (27–30 May), Summer heat in the valley (15 May – 15 Sep)

Concurrido — Saudi summer holidays, vacaciones escolares en 5 de los mercados que lo llenan

En julio no empieza nada nuevo.

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Summer heat in the valley (15 May – 15 Sep), Saudi summer holidays (15 Jun – 31 Ago (normalmente))

Concurrido — Saudi summer holidays, vacaciones escolares en 4 de los mercados que lo llenan

En agosto no empieza nada nuevo.

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Summer heat in the valley (15 May – 15 Sep), Saudi summer holidays (15 Jun – 31 Ago (normalmente))

Concurrido — Saudi National Day, vacaciones escolares en 3 de los mercados que lo llenan

• Festivo

  Saudi National Day

  23–24 SepFiesta nacionalCierresMucha gente

  23 September is a public holiday, often joined to a weekend. Government offices close, streets and buildings are lit green, and evening events and fireworks draw families out, with domestic flights and hotels busier around it. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), Summer heat in the valley (15 May – 15 Sep)

Temporada media — vacaciones escolares en 3 de los mercados que lo llenan, un mes normal

• Temporada

  The quiet Umrah months

  15 Oct – 10 Feb · normalmenteCierre de temporada baja

  Between the Hajj crowds and Ramadan the mosque is at its emptiest and the walk to it is bearable. Permits come easily, rooms near the Haram cost a fraction of the Ramadan rate, and the tawaf takes a fraction of the time. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic)

Temporada media — un mes normal

• Riesgo

  Winter flash floods

  1 Nov – 31 Ene · normalmenteTemporada de inundaciones

  The valley takes most of its rain in a handful of storms and the runoff comes off bare rock into the streets, shutting underpasses and approach roads for a few hours. It has reached the mosque courtyards before now. Fuente ↗

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), The quiet Umrah months (15 Oct – 10 Feb (normalmente))

Concurrido — vacaciones escolares en 5 de los mercados que lo llenan, uno de sus mejores meses por clima

En diciembre no empieza nada nuevo.

Sigue en marcha: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 Ene – 31 Dic), The quiet Umrah months (15 Oct – 10 Feb (normalmente)), Winter flash floods (1 Nov – 31 Ene (normalmente))