El Rocio | Rough Guide To Spain

Finding this village is like discovering the Wild West, it has wide, sandy streets lined with houses with broad verandahs complete with hitching rails for your horse and stabling at the back. It is famous for its annual romería ( 2009 event is 29th May till the 1st June)Rocío Pilgrimage at Pentecost when it is bursting with a seething mass of a million pilgrims with horses and decorated carts of all descriptions and age.

The rest of the year it is like ghost town, the streets eerily deserted except for a few visitors. Most of its larger buildings are dedicated to the various hermandades (brotherhoods) of Andalucía (approx 100) and are only used around the time of the romería.

Most of the other houses are also only occupied by families who come for the pilgrimage. It’s interesting reading the tiled plaques on these houses, which are dedicated to the member of the family who built them.

It is worth a visit purely to soak up this rather unique atmosphere. The huge church, the Ermita or Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora de El Rocío, its size completely at odds with a village the size of El Rocío, dominates the main dusty square. Destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, it was rebuilt in the 60s. Inside is the wooden figure of the revered Virgen del Rocío. At christmas they have a spectacular nativty scene.

Around the church are souvenir shops selling pilgrimage-related items. There are places to buy horse rider related leather goods and the latest flamenco style dresses, the styles change yearly and a ceramic shop. A few good tapas bars, one that does fabulous homemade Tortillitas De Camarones.

There are a handful of places to stay, but during the time of the Pilgrimage it is impossible to find anywhere to stay without booking well in advance.

As El Rocío sits on the edge of the Parque Nacional de Doñana, it is in an area rich in wildlife. The village itself is located on the Marismas del Rocío, a marshland area where there are many birds, particularly in spring, including flamingoes, herons and storks. Near the church running alongside the wetlands is the Paseo Marismeño, an excellent birdwatching spot.

El Rocío is a good base to explore the park. The nearest entry point to the park is only about 10km away from El Rocío at El Acebuche. About 1km south of the village just off the main A483 road to Matalascañas is the Centro de Información Las Rocinas, an information centre about the Parque Nacional Doñana. From the centre are some walks with birdwatching hides.

Image credits.

Tags: birdwatching, Church, El Rocio, guide, Las Rocinas, Parque Nacional de Doñana, Spain, tourism