Islam's holiest city, Mecca, has been filled with white-robed pilgrims since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the biggest pilgrimage in its history.
Security forces patrolled the ancient city, the birthplace of the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH], as banners welcomed faithful, including the first international visitors since 2019.
Abdel Qader Kheder, a Sudanese pilgrim, told AFP that the event is pure joy, ahead of its scheduled start on Wednesday. "I can't believe I'm here. "Every moment is a pleasure for me."
After two years of drastically reduced numbers due to the pandemic, one million people - including 850,000 from abroad - are permitted to attend this year's Hajj.
According to Saudi Arabian authorities, at least 650,000 foreign pilgrims have arrived so far.
About 2.5 million people participated in the rituals in 2019, including circumnavigating the Kaaba, the imposing black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque, gathering at Mount Arafat and stoning the devil in Mina.
By 2021, about 60,000 fully vaccinated Saudi citizens and residents will be allowed to perform the Hajj, to stop it becoming a global super-spreader.
Under strict sanitary conditions, one million vaccinated pilgrims under 65 will attend the Hajj under ten times-a-day cleaning and disinfection of the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site.
Along with other religious visits, the Hajj, which costs at least $5,000 per person, brings in about $12 billion each year.
A requirement that was dropped last year now allows women to attend the Hajj unaccompanied by a male relative.
Saudi Arabia no longer requires masks in most enclosed spaces, but they will be required at the Grand Mosque. The PCR test result must be negative for pilgrims from abroad.
Grand Mosque will be "washed 10 times a day involving more than 4,000 workers," authorities said, using more than 130,000 liters (34,000 gallons) of disinfectant every day.
More than 795,000 Coronavirus cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia since the pandemic began, 9,000 of them fatal.
Climate change is making an already hot and arid region even hotter and drier due to the scorching sun.