La Tomatina

One tomato, two tomatoes, three tomatoes, La Tomatina

When it comes to crazy summer festivals, La Tomatina beats them all. Considered world’s biggest food fight, La Tomatina takes places every year, on the last Wednesday of August, the little Spanish town of Bunol, close to Valencia, turns into tomato throwing battlefield. More than a hundred tons of over-ripped tomato is thrown on the streets.

The festival, which holds a long tradition, is supposed to have started in 1944. In recent years, the numbers escalated even up to 50,000, thus in 2013, the organisers limited the number of participants to 20,000. Now the purchasing of the tickets itself has become a real battle.

But what is it that makes the festival so special? First, tomato is brought to Plaza del Pueblo, on large trucks. The signal for the beginning of the fight is firing of water cannons, and the battle begins. We won’t go into details, but it’s totally crazy, out of this world. For an hour, you can forget about everyday worries and think only tomato. Some claim that participating in this tomato fight is the best way of relaxation they have ever experienced. So why not give it a try and include the visit into one of your tours?