Camino Rociero

Were better to go horse riding than the western village El Rocio and the National Park Doñana.

El Rocio

The village El Rocio, just one hour from Seville and only 15 minutes from the beach, is surrounded by the forest and marshes of the National Park Doñana. El Rocio is one of those places that is very difficult to describe, one has to see and live the experience to fully understand. This village seem to be made for horses. There are no paved roads, only sand, all houses have beams in front of the terrace to tie the horses. All houses have also a back entrance to enter with your horse and horse carriage. Even the bars have high tables so the people can have a beer on the back of their horse. People from all over the region love to spend the weekend here to ride their horses, sing, drink and dance. Once a year the cowboys will gather all the thousands of the wild horses that live in Doñana and drive them to the village were they are blessed by the local priest before they continue their way to Almonte were they will stay for five days. This event is called Saca de las Yeguas. El Rocio is also a pilgrimage village and every year pilgrims from all over Spain come to visit the virgin of El Rocio.

Doñana

The National Park Doñana stretches out over 3 provinces, Huelva, Cadiz and Seville. This is the place were the Guadalquivir river flows into the Atlantic ocean, that's why there are so many marshes and shallow streams. It is one of the most important natural parks in Europe because those marshes are the resting place for thousands of migrating birds between Africa and Europe. Besides this the unique ecosystem is the habitat of important endangered species such as the Iberian Lynx and the Imperial Eagle. Other interesting animals that you can find here are, wild horses, cows, deer, wild boars and the beautiful pink flamencos.

Camino Rociero

We suggest a horse ride that combines all the local traditions with a tour through the village and Doñana. An experience that you will never forget. This horse carriage tour will start in the village El Rocio were we have a drinks and some sweets before we start. In the horse carriage there will be water, and if you choose local wine Manzanilla. A local music group, Coro Rociero (guitarists, singers and dancers) will join us to make this an authentic and fun experience. They will be responsible for the entertainment and make sure to build a party in the middle of nature. During our first stop an aperitif is served in the middle of the forest of Doñana and the music group will invite everybody to dance.

As we continue our tour we will arrive at our second stop for lunch. Yes, a lunch in the middle of nature, but with the service of a restaurant. After lunch, we head back to El Rocio were we end the tour at the church.