The most important day of the pilgrimage will see believers climb Mount Arafat, the site of Hazrat Mohammad's (SM) last sermon 14 centuries ago.

The Eid al-Azha holiday will start on Jan. 10, one of the country's religious bodies said in a statement on the Saudi Press Agency yesterday.

The pilgrimage takes place in the 12th month of the Islamic year, which began on Sunday. Islamic years are lunar and thus dates depend on sightings of the moon.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can afford the trip must perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in his or her lifetime.

Meanwhile, more than 1.1 million Muslims from around the world have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage.

The hajj pilgrimage, which has drawn two million Muslims in recent years, officially begins this year on January 8.

It kicks off in the early hours when pilgrims who have assembled at Islam's holiest city of Makkah in the western part of the oil-rich kingdom will set off on foot or by bus to Mina, an arid valley about 10 kilometers away.

Then the devout will spend the day in prayer and contemplation in the valley, where a massive number of fireproof tents are erected for shelter.

The next day at dawn, pilgrims will make their way toward Mount Arafat, where they assemble on the hilltop to pray and ask for the Almighty's forgiveness.

The act of reaching to summit symbolises the Final Judgement at the scene of the Prophet Mohammad's (SM) last sermon 14 centuries ago and marks the climax of the pilgrimage.

The faithful then return to Makkah for the first day of Eid al-Azha, which will be celebrated on January 10.

Most will sacrifice an animal, generally a sheep, in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) readiness to sacrifice his son to Allah.

Then the pilgrims will return to Mina to stone the "Jamarat," or three pillars symbolising the devil -- the final ritual.

All Muslims who have the means are required to complete the rites of the hajj, or pilgrimage, at least once in life.