Asociación Amigos del Camino del Rocío a Santiago

Who is behind the route

The Asociación Amigos del Camino del Rocío a Santiago grew out of an idea of Rocieros: they wanted to combine the pilgrimage to the Virgen del Rocío with the pilgrimage to the Apostle, on horseback too. They founded the association in July 2021, based in the Aldea del Rocío, and by the end of 2021 it already had over 100 members. It is supported by the Hermandad Matriz de Almonte, the Diputación de Huelva and the municipalities along the route.

In July 2022, the municipalities along the route came together for the first time at the house of the Hermandad Matriz in Almonte, together with the Camino de Santiago associations of the Vía de la Plata and the Camino del Sur. At this meeting, the first tile with arrows was unveiled on the façade of the Santuario. The association is working towards official recognition of the route, which requires a definitive route, rest areas, albergues and points of assistance.

The association's route

• Camino de El Rocío a Santiago de Compostela – from the Santuario del Rocío through the Condado de Huelva and the mining district on the Río Tinto into the Sierra de Aracena, where it meets the Camino del Sur (220.1 km to Zafra)

In Zafra the route continues on the Vía de la Plata to Santiago. For the whole distance, the association reckons with 34 stages and around 1,150 kilometres.

The association sums up the idea in three sentences: “Huelva es tierra santiaguista. Huelva es tierra rociera. Y es que Huelva es tierra peregrina.” The way links the Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Rocío with the Cathedral of Santiago, in the association’s words the two most important pilgrimage sites in Spain. Both are jubilee sites where pilgrims can gain an indulgence, which is why the way is meant to be walked in both directions. It starts at the door of the Santuario beneath the pilgrim’s scallop shell and leads to Almonte along the Camino de Los Llanos, the path on which the Virgen is carried to her town every seven years.

What the association does for pilgrims

The association waymarks the route with tiles: yellow arrows point towards Santiago, green ones back to El Rocío. In the Santuario del Rocío there is a pilgrim office that stamps pilgrim credentials. For pilgrims who arrive in El Rocío on the Camino de Santiago, the association has created its own certificate, because the route is meant to be walked there and back.

In December 2022, the association held the first Peregrinación Rociero-Jacobea through the mining district around Nerva, and in February 2023 almost 50 pilgrims on foot and on horseback passed through Los Santos de Maimona in Extremadura. In addition there are training series at the house of the Hermandad in El Rocío, and for the feast of the Apostle on 25 July, the association celebrated a Mass in the Santuario in 2025.

Together with the Diputación de Huelva, the association has published a Guía of the route: 13 stages from El Rocío to Zafra, each with its level of difficulty and a street-by-street description, plus the accommodation, the stamping point and the sights for every town. The Guía shows what the association has built up with the municipalities: in almost every town along the route there is an Acogida municipal, a municipal pilgrim accommodation available on prior request, and in Puerto Moral, Cañaveral de León, Valencia del Ventoso and Zafra there are pilgrim hostels. Stamps are given at town halls, parishes, tourist offices and bars.

Contact and getting involved

You will find news, dates of the pilgrimages and contact details on the association's Facebook page. You can reach the association at tel. +34 614 101 167 and asamigosdelcaminorociosantiago@gmail.com. The pilgrim office in the Santuario, which issues the pilgrim credential, you can reach at tel. +34 620 428 425 and oficinadelperegrino@hermandadmatrizrocio.org.