One of the most colourful events on the Zululand calendar is seldom witnessed by visitors but is highly recommended for its ritual, tradition and uniqueness.

Once a year in October, a large village springs up overnight on a hill known as Judea outside Gingindlovu when thousands of pilgrims of the Nazareth Baptist Church gather for a month of prayer and celebration.

The church, popularly known as the Shembe church, is the largest of the independent churches of South Africa and is a fascinating combination of Old Testament dogma, Christian and colonial symbolism and traditional Zulu Culture.

The gathering marks a month of prayer, healing and worship during which the pilgrims are dressed in flowing white robes but it also includes several days of colourful celebration during which the pilgrims perform hypnotic trance-like dances.

These days of celebration are some of the most colourful spectacles in Zululand with the married women dancing with furled umbrellas and tiny ceremonial shields, the maidens in their beadwork, the men in their animal skins and feather headdresses and the younger men in pith helmets and gingham kilts.

• Visitors need to adhere to some religious protocol - shoes and hats are not allowed - and they are advised to join one of the tours organised by Zululand Eco-Adventures based in Eshowe.

Tel : 035 474 4919.