Pamplona Bull Run (San Fermin) Spain

If you have read the famous novel ‘The Sun Also Rises’ by Ernest Hemingway, then you would find that the author invited people worldwide to participate in a particular festival of Spain. On your visit to Spain, you should not miss the opportunity of watching this particular festival, i.e. Pamplona Bull Run (San Fermin), Spain. Though every month in Spain has one or more festivals, but still if you can be in Spain in July, then you will witness the best festival of Spain.

Timetable of the festival
If you are interested in seeing this festival then keep it in mind that the festival starts from July 6 and continues till July 14. You can watch the bull run and even participate there every day on 8 am from July 7 onwards.

Knowing the origin:

The origin of the Pamplona Bull Run (San Fermin), Spain festival, according to the historians is that, it is not one festival but a conglomeration of three separate festivals; the San Fermin festival in honor of the patron Saint, the commercial festival which began from the XIVth century and the Taurine festival which is the main bullfight festival. Earlier this festival used to take place on the 10th of December but later on the Town Council decided that it is moved to the 7th of July, because the weather also remains good during this time of the year. Though bull fighting is the main attraction of the festival but there are other equally interesting attractions also like Basque wood-chopping, barrel-lifting, firework displays etc. The bull run in Spain got the spotlight since the time people decided to run alongside the bulls in this festival.

What to do for watching the festival?
Once you are in Pamplona, then get ready to take enjoy the myriad flavors of this unique festival of Spain. It is advisable that you book tickets six months in advance since it gets tougher to get ticket otherwise. If you wish to you might stay in any hotel or dorm but it is quite tough to get rooms there. However, some prefer to stay with the tour companies since they have luxury coaches where you can catch up with some sleep before the event starts. You can also find some people preferring to sleep in the sleeping bags in the open street. A must buy when you are in Pamplona is the bull runner’s uniform. Even if you do not want to run you must wear that at least to get a feel of it. Stay away from thongs and sandals since there are broken glasses in the ground. Be careful when you are watching the bull run in Spain. There are lots of incidents of death or loss of limbs happening every year during this festival.
You can choose any of the venues to watch the bullfight festival. For this, you have to book tickets one day in advance. Buy a cheaper ticket and you will find yourself sitting with the local kids who throw edibles to the bulls from their seats. Nowadays, bullfight takes place on foot instead of horseback and you can see the swift matadors slipping a metal disk over the bull’s horns.