Bull Running in Spain

The Pamplona Encierro: What Actually Happens

The encierro - the running of the bulls - takes place each morning from July 7 to July 14 during the San Fermin festival in Pamplona. Six fighting bulls and six steers run 875 metres from the corral at Santo Domingo through the old city streets to the Plaza de Toros bullring. The run starts at 08:00 and is over in approximately 3 minutes. The same bulls are fought and killed in the corrida that evening.

The street route from the corral to the ring has two notorious sections: the tight left turn at the town hall (Calle Mercaderes to Calle Estafeta) where runners get pinned against the wall if they misjudge the corner, and the short stretch outside the bullring entrance where the crowd compresses. At least 16 people have been gored to death in the encierro since 1910. Hundreds are injured annually, ranging from minor falls to serious gorings. The 2023 festival saw six people hospitalised with bull injuries.

Participating

The run is free to join. You must be over 18. Drunk runners are ejected from the course before the start. You register at the Calle de la Estafeta or Santo Domingo entry points by 07:30. The official advice is to run in front of a bull for a short distance, then step aside. The bulls are bred fighting animals weighing 600kg; they are not predictable and their speed on flat ground exceeds 50km/h. Wearing appropriate shoes and not running drunk are the two most consistently given pieces of practical advice by veterans.

The safest position to observe from is one of the wooden-fenced window barriers on Calle Estafeta. Places on these barricades are not free - they sell for EUR 10-20 per person in advance and are managed by the Pamplona town council. Booking opens months ahead. Rooftop and balcony positions along the route are controlled by building owners and cost EUR 80-200+ for the week.

San Fermin outside the encierro

The festival runs continuously from July 6 (the opening ceremony, the chupinazo rocket at noon from the town hall) through July 14. It is not a brief annual event; it is a week of concerts, fireworks, processions, and street life. The opening day’s crowd in Plaza del Castillo is enormous. The white clothing and red neckerchief combination is the standard dress. Peña clubs (local drinking societies) march in groups with bands.

Plaza del Castillo is the social centre of Pamplona throughout the festival, with outdoor bars serving kalimotxo (red wine and cola) and cider from the morning. The Basque food available in Pamplona is genuinely excellent: Bar Gaucho on Calle Espoz y Mina has pintxos for EUR 2-3 each from 13:00, and the queues tell you they know what they’re doing.

Accommodation

Book 6-12 months in advance for any accommodation in Pamplona during festival week. Prices multiply by five to ten times their normal rate. Most available rooms by January are already gone. Camping outside the city (Camping de Ezcaba, 7km north) is the option if hotels are full. Sleeping in the parks is technically illegal but widely tolerated; the city has done this for long enough that the local authorities manage rather than prevent it.

Beyond the festival

Outside July, Pamplona is a Navarran city of 200,000 people that happens to have a beautiful medieval core. The Citadel (16th-century defensive fortification, now a park), the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Real (EUR 5 entry, 14th-century Gothic cloister), and the old city walls are all accessible year-round without the crowds. The drive south to the Bardenas Reales badlands (90km) is worth a day trip in its own right.