Arbaeen falls in the height of the Iraqi summer, and 2026 is an especially hot one. But the story of the walk in the heat is not one of danger — it is one of extraordinary care, as tens of thousands of medics and volunteers turn the road to Karbala into one of the best-tended pilgrimage routes anywhere.
Preparing for the heat
Ahead of this year’s observance, the World Health Organization urged organisers to build heat protection into every level of the plan — expanding safe drinking-water stations and shaded rest areas, and strengthening heat-illness screening, cooling and medical referral along the route, as reported by the Iraqi News Agency. Those measures are visible everywhere: misting arches, water sprays, shaded tents and cold-water points line the way.
A medical corps on the march
The care behind the scenes is vast. Sixty medical units staffed by more than 2,500 volunteers, organised by Najaf’s Health Directorate and volunteer groups, are stationed along the 80-kilometre route to offer first aid, check-ups and emergency help, according to Shafaq News. Thousands more relief workers, along with hospitals and clinics set up specially for the pilgrimage, support walkers through exhaustion, dehydration and minor injuries.
Add to that the thousands of mawakib handing out cold water and rest by the minute, and the road becomes a place where help is rarely more than a few steps away.
How to walk well in the heat
If you are making the journey, a little preparation goes a long way. Seasoned pilgrims keep to a few simple habits:
- Walk in the cool hours. Many cover the most ground at night and in the early morning, and rest through the hottest part of the afternoon.
- Drink before you are thirsty. Sip water steadily; the mawakib mean you will never run short.
- Cover up sensibly. Light, loose clothing, a hat or umbrella, and sunscreen make a real difference.
- Mind your feet. Comfortable, broken-in footwear and clean socks prevent most of the blisters that end walks early.
- Listen to your body. Dizziness or a headache is a signal to stop, cool down and find a medic — and there are thousands of them.
Our first-time guide and planning pages go into more detail on packing and pacing.
Care as an act of love
It would be easy to read the heat as a hardship. Those who walk tend to see it differently. The doctor volunteering their leave, the teenager refilling water bottles at 2am, the family running a cooling station year after year — all of it is offered freely, in the same spirit that fills the mawakib. The heat is real; so is the tenderness that meets it. That, too, is Arbaeen.