Unmarried girls from the Shembe Church wait to make offerings after a service while on-top of the Nhlangakazi Holy Mountain during the annual Nazareth Baptist Church, (Shembe Church) pilgrimage near Durban, South Africa, 07 January 2023. On a hilltop in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, thousands of members of the Nazareth Baptist Church gather for their annual pilgrimage. Known as the Nhlangakazi Holy Mountain, this sacred site is also the culmination of a 50km journey these predominantly Zulu pilgrims have made by foot, some coming from as far as the city of Durban, on South Africa’s east coast. After walking barefoot up the hill for the final leg of their trip, the pilgrims gather on the holy hilltop, the sound of their soothing hymns carrying through the breeze as they sit in prayer. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK For the full Focus text on this story, please go to https://epaimages. com/misc. pp?code=section-focus

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Today's best photos: from a Zulu pilgrimage to a fire in Uruguay

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January 27, 2023

Updated: January 27, 2023, 10:17 AM