Romería de la Virgen de la Cabeza
Spain's oldest pilgrimage brings over 500,000 devotees to the sanctuary atop the Sierra Morena mountains near Andújar every April, with decorated wagons, horseback riders and flamenco.
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Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen
On July 16th, every fishing village and coastal town in Spain honours the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of fishermen and sailors. Statues of the Virgin are carried in procession to the sea and placed on decorated boats for a maritime parade — one of Spain's most photogenic summer traditions.
May
Feria de Córdoba
The Feria de Córdoba, held in late May at the El Arenal fairground, is a more intimate and accessible alternative to Seville's Feria de Abril. Open casetas, horse parades, and flamenco make it a quintessential Andalusian experience without the overwhelming crowds.
September
Fiesta del Cascamorras
The Fiesta del Cascamorras is one of Spain's most extraordinary and bizarre festivals. Every 6 September, a man covered in black grease (the Cascamorras) attempts to run from the town of Guadix to Baza to reclaim a statue of the Virgin of Piedad — while thousands of equally grease-covered locals try to stop him. The result is a spectacular, chaotic, oil-black mass of humanity. Declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest, it's an ancient rivalry turned into joyful, slippery mayhem.
June
Romería del Rocío
The Romería del Rocío is one of the most extraordinary religious and cultural events in the world — a mass pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgen del Rocío (the White Dove) in the village of El Rocío, on the edge of the Doñana National Park in Huelva, Andalusia.