Every spring around one million people converge on the Blanca Paloma shrine in the village of El Rocío, at the edge of the Doñana National Park, in the biggest pilgrimage in Spain. This celebration is a combination of religion and fiesta and is held 50 days after Easter.
During the week running up to the event, which runs from Saturday to Monday, different Rocio brotherhoods set out from bases all over the region. The most traditional ways to do the pilgrimage is on horseback, by carriage or on foot. The brotherhoods are dressed in flamenco clothing and they advance in festive spirits, singing flamenco by day. In the evening they camp out and organise bonfire partie. There are four main routes the oldest of which runs from Almonte 17km from the village of El Rocio
On arriving in the village of El Rocío, the pilgrims pitch their camps and wait for all the remaining brotherhoods to arrive. Saturday there is a parade where they present themselves before the statue of the Virgin Mary, to the music of the ringing church bells. Sunday there are various religious ceremonies and Sunday night nobody sleeps, in anticipation of the weekend's most exciting moment: the “jumping the fence”, when the people of Almonte jump over the fence to bring the statue of the Virgin out of the shrine and parade it around the village on Monday morning.
