It has been reported that Imam Khomeini used to stay in the holy city of Najaf until the 7th of Muharram during his stay of about 15 years in Iraq.
He used to visit Imam Ali (‘a) holy shrine twice a day and recited supplications there. Then he used to move to Karbala and stayed there until 13th of Muharram.
Imam in Karbala used to regularly visit the shrine twice a day before despite the excessive crowds.
He would never miss the pilgrimage due to too much number of pilgrims or his physical condition. It happened sometimes that Imam Khomeini was stuck in the crowd that his companions felt fear for his life so that he would not perish.
(Ayatollah Khatam Yazdi- Ibid, Vol. 3, pp. 24 and 25)