Accra: Over 6900 Ghanaian pilgrims who embarked on the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia are expected to start arriving in the country on June 12, 2026, sources close to the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana have indicated.

The Office in the coming days will announce the flight schedule for the pilgrims who will be arriving at the Tamale Airport in the Northern region and later the Accra International airport in the capital city.

The arrival of the pilgrims will officially mark an end to a month-long largely successful pilgrimage that has recorded three casualties, the lowest in recent years.

Preparatory activities started with the announcement of a GHS 60,000 hajj fare by the government, a reduction from the previous year’s fare of GHS 62,000.

Other undertaken activities included the announcement of accredited hajj agents, swearing of the Hajj board, recruitment of health professionals, orientation for potential pilgrims, a compulsory health screening programme for potential pilgrims and finally the airlifting exercise which begun on May 1, 2026, in Tamale and ended on May 19 in Accra.

This year’s contingent is one of the largest ever from Ghana and reflects the increasing interest among Ghanaian Muslims in undertaking the sacred pilgrimage.

Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is obligatory for every Muslim who is physically and financially capable of undertaking the pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime.

The key rituals include Tawaf, the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba in Makkah; Sa’i, the walk between the hills of Safa and Marwa; the symbolic stoning of the devil at Mina; and the standing at Mount Arafat, regarded as the spiritual climax of Hajj.

This year’s Hajj officially began on May 25, 2026, which corresponds with the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic calendar.