Luxury Guide

Running with the Bulls

The Pamplona festival - also known as the San Fermin Festival or Sanfermines' is held in Pamplona, Spain every year from July 6-14. The most famous part of the festival is the bull run or encierro when 12 bulls charge through the streets of the old city. Although the festival begins on July 6, the bulls do not run until July 7 and then run for 7 consecutive mornings at 8 a.m. until the end of the festival. Anyone over the age of 18 can run with the bulls and there is no charge to participate.

The route measures a 0.5 mile (825 meters) through the cobblestone streets of Pamplona's historical center. Starting at 6 a.m. work crews clean all debris from the streets and install double rows of 7-foot high security fencing. Once the fences are installed, there are only a handful of entrance gates to the course. Looking at the map, the bulls start running out of their corrals on Santo Domingo street. They turn left into the City Hall square, run along Mercaderes, and then make a hard right on to Estafeta street. Many experienced runners believe this is the most dangerous part of the course. After this 90-degree turn, the bulls run a straight 330 yards (303 meters) up Estafeta towards the bull ring. They veer left on to Telefonica street and through a dangerous bottleneck tunnel called Callejon before entering the bullring.