Running of the Bulls

Pamplona, Spain. July 6th - 14th

Pamplona�s most famous annual festival is the Fiesta de San Fermin, which runs from July 6th to 14th every year. It is a free festival, ideal for party animals on low budgets who can keep it low cost - the main expense being cheap beer and wine during the fiesta.�

Perhaps the best-known - and controversial - aspect of the spectacular Fiesta is the Pamplona Encierro, or Pamplona Bull Run. Considered by some to be an ultimate rite of passage into manhood, and by others to be an unnecessary and cruel practice, the Bull Run takes place every morning of the fiesta from the 7th July. Hundreds of unbelievably brave (or unbelievably stupid) locals and tourists take to the streets of Pamplona to try and out-gallop a stampede of 500-kilo beasts bearing down upon them. The run is some 830 meters, and developed as part of the procedure for moving bulls from the outskirts of the town to the bullring for the Corridas, or bullfight.�

Participation in the actual run is not recommended, as there are regularly fatalities and serious injuries at the encierros with many being impaled or gored on the bulls� sizeable horns. There is usually a plentiful supply of daredevils who decide to take on the challenge however, and risk life and limb for the three-minute dash. The rest of the half a million tourists who attend the festival can survey the madness from the safety of fenced-off areas on the side of the streets.

The Fiesta de San Fermin is a night-festival, with revelers partying all through the night and into the morning before gathering to watch the bull run at 8 o� clock in the morning. The sheer volume of people who crown into the town during the festival means that accommodation is usually booked up long before the festival begins, and many end up sleeping in parks and public places. Although this may be a cheap option, helpful to those traveling on a budget, it is not exactly a comfortable one � and staying power is required to last through the night and still be in any fit state to see the bulls in the morning.

Budget travelers who want to experience the encierro without the all night drinking can drive or take a night train into the town, arriving in time to see the bulls run. It is a low cost way to see the town�s main event � but it�s also low fun, and you might not want to miss out on the infamous fireworks and parties that are held every night. If you want the party, the bulls AND the sleep, be sure to book accommodation well in advance. If you plan, for some reason, on participating in the run, it is strongly advised that you get some decent sleep before you take to the streets.

The anti-bull run in Pamplona�

There are many who believe that the Bull Run in Pamplona is a cruel and barbaric practice that causes unnecessary and gratuitous trauma and pain for the bulls involved. On the 5th of July, many of them take part in the �Running of the Nudes� � a humane alternative to the Running of the Bulls that takes place in Pamplona every year in protest against the bull run.� This practice is growing in popularity every year as people who believe in ethical treatment of animals refuse to stand by and witness the bulls being subjected to the torment they endure during the bull run and ensuing bullfights.

A fun-filled and light hearted event, the Running of the Nudes is a karma and guilt free alternative to the Bull Run, and aims to draw attention away from � and ultimately obliterate � the traditional encierros that�animal�lovers�see as archaic and brutal.��