El Rocío, Coto Doñana, Andalucia, Spain
El Rocío sits right on the north western edge of the Parque Nacional de Doñana and is located in an area rich in wildlife. The village is a sprawling and pretty Wild-West style place with white houses and sandy, unpaved roads where horses are tied to wooden rails.
The village of El Rocío overlooks the La Madre de las Marismas, a marshland area where there are huge numbers of birds. Near the hermitage and running alongside the wetlands is the Paseo Marismeño, an excellent birdwatching spot.
The Hermitage of El Rocío is home to the Virgin of El Rocío, a small and much-venerated carved wood statue, and it is the destination of an annual procession and pilgrimage on the second day of the Pentecost known as the Romería de El Rocío. In recent years the Romería has brought together roughly a million pilgrims each year from all over Andalucia and beyond.
Although there has been a hermitage on this site for centuries, the present hermitage building was designed by architects in 1961 and built in stages over the next two decades. The modern church of Nuestra Señora del Rocio is a stunning sight when viewed from across the water where the dazzling white sanctuary stands out like a beacon against the green of the marisma and the deep blue of the sky.
Date: 1st May 2012
Location: view from La Madre de las Marismas, El Rocío, Coto Doñana, Andalucia, Spain
The village of El Rocío overlooks the La Madre de las Marismas, a marshland area where there are huge numbers of birds. Near the hermitage and running alongside the wetlands is the Paseo Marismeño, an excellent birdwatching spot.
The Hermitage of El Rocío is home to the Virgin of El Rocío, a small and much-venerated carved wood statue, and it is the destination of an annual procession and pilgrimage on the second day of the Pentecost known as the Romería de El Rocío. In recent years the Romería has brought together roughly a million pilgrims each year from all over Andalucia and beyond.
Although there has been a hermitage on this site for centuries, the present hermitage building was designed by architects in 1961 and built in stages over the next two decades. The modern church of Nuestra Señora del Rocio is a stunning sight when viewed from across the water where the dazzling white sanctuary stands out like a beacon against the green of the marisma and the deep blue of the sky.
Date: 1st May 2012
Location: view from La Madre de las Marismas, El Rocío, Coto Doñana, Andalucia, Spain
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Also in: South and west Spain - April and May 2012
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