Questions Pilgrims Ask Us

Message us on WhatsApp or call the Kote Gate office with the names, ages, the package you want and your departure city. We confirm what is available on the group you want and take it from there. You can also walk into the office — it is open every day.

Do Peer Road, Kote Gate, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334001. It is in the Kote Gate area of Bikaner, and someone is there every day of the week.

Bikaner and the whole of Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir. We have branches in Jammu & Kashmir, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Sanchor and Churu, so there is usually someone local to speak to.

Yes — here and on the journey. You are never asked to explain yourself in a language you are not comfortable in. Shoukat Ali also holds a B.A. in Arabic and Farsi and worked in Saudi Arabia for two years.

Please do. A great many of our pilgrims book after sitting down in the office and going through it in person, and that is by far the easiest way to ask everything at once.

Nine things, in every package: the air ticket, travel insurance, the Umrah visa, hotel on a sharing basis, three meals a day, air-conditioned transport across Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah including all Ziyarat coaches, a passport bag, laundry, and a five-litre can of Zamzam.

Personal expenses and shopping, and the coach fare for the eight optional Ziyarat beyond Madinah — Maidan-e-Badr, Bir-e-Rauha and the rest — which pilgrims take by choice and pay for separately. Everything named in the package list is covered.

Yes, in all three packages, and our office handles the application. You never deal with the consulate. If you have your own flights and accommodation, we also process the visa on its own for ₹15,000 per person.

Yes — breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day of the journey.

Yes. Air-conditioned transport across Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, including the coach for every Ziyarat in the package.

Fifteen, twenty or twenty-eight days. The inclusions are identical in all three — what changes is the length of the stay.

No. There is no age restriction on Umrah. A large share of our pilgrims are between 50 and 70, and the arrangements are planned around that: shorter walks, seats kept aside, and someone from the group always within reach.

The Saudi rules on this have changed in recent years and depend on your age and how you are travelling. Women do travel with our groups. Call the office and we will tell you exactly what applies in your case rather than give a general answer that may not fit.

Not on the website. Hajj costs change every season with the quota route, the airline and the category of package, and a stale figure helps nobody. Message or call the office and you will get a real quote for the coming season.

As early as you can. Hajj happens once a year on fixed dates and places are limited, so the enquiry has to be made a long way ahead.

A passport valid well beyond your travel date, recent photographs, and the vaccination certificate Saudi Arabia requires of pilgrims. Hajj also carries requirements that Umrah does not, and those change from year to year — the office gives every pilgrim the current checklist rather than asking you to track it.

Yes. That is how we run every journey. You are met at the airport and stay with the group throughout, with someone who knows the route and the language.

Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. We pick whichever is easiest for your family, and the group travels together from there.

In Makkah, 1,150–1,250 m from Masjid al-Haram. In Madinah, 600–650 m from Masjid an-Nabawi. If you want to be closer, our Deluxe, Super Deluxe and VIP packages are arranged to order.

The office confirms the hotel and flight details for your group with your itinerary, before you travel. Ask us and we will tell you which hotel your departure is booked into.

Yes, in all three Umrah packages, covering the whole of your journey.

Yes. Clothes are washed and pressed during your stay, and it is part of the package price rather than something you settle at the hotel.

One sealed five-litre can per pilgrim, carried home for you. It is one of the nine inclusions.

2 Umrah groups every month. The international Ziyarat tours run three times a month, on the 10th, 15th and 25th.

18 sites in Makkah and 15 in Madinah are part of every Umrah package, with 8 more beyond Madinah available by choice. We name all 41 before you book.

The programme includes Ghar-e-Hira on Jabal al-Nour and Jabal-e-Rahmat at Arafat among 18 sites in and around Makkah. Ask the office for the full written list before you book.

Masjid-e-Quba, Maidan-e-Uhud, Jannat al-Baqi and Bir-e-Ghars are among the 15 sites in and around Madinah. The full list is given before booking.

Eight sites beyond Madinah — including Maidan-e-Badr and Bir-e-Rauha — taken by choice. The coach fare for these is paid separately from the package price.

Yes, as a separate journey from Umrah. There are four itineraries taking in Masjid al-Aqsa, Bayt al-Maqdis and Qibla-e-Awwal, with routes through Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq, from ₹1,50,000 per person. A group needs a minimum of 22 members.

Three trips every month, on the 10th, 15th and 25th, from Delhi and Mumbai international airports.

A passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel date, recent passport-size photographs, and the booking form we send you. Saudi Arabia also requires a meningococcal (ACWY) vaccination certificate for pilgrims. Requirements change from time to time, so the office gives every pilgrim the current checklist when you book.

Once your booking is confirmed we hold your place on that group, and you get the full itinerary with hotel and flight details before you travel.

Yes, and many people do. Send the names, ages and departure city on WhatsApp and the office will handle the rest. We will tell you honestly what help they will need on the journey and what we provide.

Speak to the office as early as you can. Cancellation terms depend on how close to departure you are and on what has already been booked in your name — flights and visas in particular.