El Rocio

Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rocío

This iconic white hermitage is home to the Virgin of El Rocío, affectionately called "La Blanca Paloma" (The White Dove), one of Spain's most venerated Marian images. The sanctuary becomes the focus of Spain's largest pilgrimage each Pentecost, when up to a million people converge on this small hamlet in an extraordinary display of devotion, music, and Andalusian culture. Brotherhood groups travel on horseback, in decorated carriages, or on foot across the countryside for days to reach the shrine, creating one of Spain's most colorful and emotional cultural events.