PrepareSheet 5 of 10In draft
Pack for Hajj — not for every possible emergency since 1987.
Filter by person and by bag, tick things off as you pack, and print it. The rule that outranks the whole list is at the bottom.
You will carry more than you think and move more than you think. The small bag you can manage easily will become one of your favourite possessions, and the large one will become a problem you carry between camps.
Filter this to your own situation. Most of it is not for everyone.
The three bags
Carry-on is the bag that must contain everything you cannot replace: Ihram, medication, documents, and one day of essentials.
Checked is everything else, and everything in it is negotiable.
The Mashair bag is the small one you carry through the five days — Mina, Arafah, Muzdalifah, Jamarat. Pack it as though you will be holding it for fourteen hours, because some days you will be.
Documents — carry-on, always
- Passport with the required validity, plus visas and permits
- Vaccination certificate
- Paper and secure digital copies of every document
- Emergency contacts, hotel details and your group ID
- One phone number written on paper. Electricity-free, and the reason is on On the Ground
Ihram and clothing
Brothers: one Ihram set in the carry-on, always accessible before the Miqat. A second set in checked as backup. An Ihram belt or pouch. Ihram-safe sandals, already broken in. Safety pins or clips.
Sisters: a modest Ihram outfit you have already worn for a full day at home, stairs and wudu included. A backup outfit and a spare hijab. Extra underscarves and pins. A compact prayer garment. Menstrual supplies even if your dates look safe, some of them in the carry-on. Cycle medication if prescribed, started on schedule. For Sisters covers all of this properly.
Everyone: comfortable walking shoes, broken in. A lightweight shoe bag — shoes left at a Haram entrance are rarely seen again, and a bag that lives on your wrist costs almost nothing.
Health and body
- Regular medications, split between bags, in original packaging
- Doctor’s letter for prescriptions and anything injectable
- Blister plasters, tape and basic first aid — in the Mashair bag, not the hotel
- Unscented petroleum jelly for chafing
- Unscented toiletries, wipes and tissues
- Unscented sunscreen and sunglasses
- A light-coloured umbrella
- A refillable water bottle, and electrolyte sachets for the long days
The Mashair bag
Everything above that is marked for it, plus:
- Portable charger and cable
- A small Qur’an, or an offline Qur’an app
- Your written Arafah du’a list — see Du’a & the Arafah Builder
- A small towel, travel pillow, eye mask and earplugs
- A simple change of clothing and socks
- Snacks: dates, nuts, bars
- Cash in small denominations
What to leave at home
- Twelve outfits for Mina. You are not going to wear them
- Brand-new, unbroken-in shoes
- Scented perfumes and colognes, for the Ihram days
- Valuables and jewellery you would be upset to lose
- Anything essential that exists only in your checked luggage