ラ トマティーナ祭り

Around 10am on the morning of La Tomatina, the party starts with a spanish version of the greasy pole; a telegraph pole covered in lard with an entire Jamón the top. Contestants take it in turns to try to slip and slide their way up to the top of the pole and knock down the ham.

As soon as they manage this, the brawl is declared open and the trucks carrying the tons of tomatoes enter into the streets of Buñol.After exactly one hour of tomato pasting, gun shots signal the end of the fight and time for the mess to be cleaned up.

How to get there

Buñol is a small town not far from the town of Valencia. You can easily stay in a hostel in Valencia and jump on a train on the day or even camp out there the night before.

When is it?

The festival is held on the last Wednesday of August. Make sure you get there early and buy your ticket online before the date. Numbers are now regulated and there are a limited number of tickets available.

LOCAL TIPS

If you wear shoes, make sure they are old and that they fit pretty tight. If you wear flip-flops, expect to be making your way home barefoot.

Basically don’t expect to ever be able to wear your Tomatina costume again, what you’ve managed to keep on your body during the day will be completely covered in nice red tomato stains.

Wear goggles as the acid in the tomatoes can make your eyes sting; sunglasses will be both useless and again most likely lost. If you decide to take your camera make sure it’s waterproof and attached to your body.