Bunyol is a small town in the north of Valencia famous for its festival, held on the last Wednesday of August: a tomato fight where a crowd of about 30.000 people gather in the main square village to throw each other 300 tons of tomatoes. What does it take to celebrate the Tomatina? ... a lot of tomatoes, many people and being eager to have lots of fun!
This unique festival was born in 1945 and it has become a very popular celebration not only in Spain but brings in people and tourists from all around the world.
The Town Council organizes the tomato fight and delivers tons of tomatoes to be used during the fight. Tomato fight lasts exactly one hour, it begins at 12 with the sound of a large horn imitating the sound of the Middle Age ancient horns, and it ends exactly one hour later. Participants must not throw any tomatoes before or after these signals.
The rules:
It is absolutely forbidden to bring or throw bottles or other objects that could hurt other people.
You must not tear t-shirts.
Crush your tomatoes before throwing them.
At the sound of the 2nd banger you must stop throwing tomatoes.
Other activities and games are held during the Bunyol festivities besides of the Tomatina: the "Carreras de Sacos", races between people jumpling with their legs in cloth bags, the "cucañas", a game where the trophy is a serrano ham. You can also taste some delicious chocolate at the evening and attend some of the rock bands live performances scheduled.
The Date: Last week of August.
Where? At the Bunyol Plaza del Pueblo.
Price? The event is free!
Where to find accommodation? Book well in advance, because the city does not have a large hotel capacity. We recommend you to find a cheap Hostel in Valencia and take a train from there to Bunyol. Trains get full during the day, so take it the earlier you can. You'll also find public showers in Bunyol.
