Chilean Alonso Ceardi poses with two pictures that show when he was severely gored during the running of the bulls at the 2010 San Fermin festival in Pamplona, in Oviedo July 4, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Hemingway

Pamplona and Hemingway have been intimately linked since a visit to the town in 1923 inspired "The Sun Also Rises", his booze-sodden tale of a group of bickering Americans and Britons which sealed the reputation of both town and author.

The US Nobel Literature Laureate died 50 years ago, but thousands still follow the "Hemingway trail" of bars, cafes and restaurants where he enjoyed the Navarra region's distinctive cuisine.

Tourists descend on Pamplona in such numbers that hotels lining the route and the bull ring itself are booked up for years in advance. Many sleep rough or not at all, preferring instead to join in non-stop street parties so raucous that many local residents wear ear-plugs to bed at night.

However, runners dicing with death remain the main draw as thousands pack the streets to watch the four-minute race every morning, in addition to millions on television across Spain.

The festivities kick off on Wednesday with the launch of a firework rocket -- known as the "txupinazo" -- and the first bull run follows the next morning. The bulls are then lined up in the afternoon to be despatched in traditional bullfights.

July 7 also sees the procession of Saint Fermin through the same streets where, as local legend has it, the martyr was dragged to his death by bulls at the start of the 4th century.

Until July 14 tourists can enjoy folk dancing, rural sports, a livestock fair or a procession of larger-than-life figures dubbed "giants" and "big-heads", as well as less traditional feats such as diving into the crowd from on top of a fountain -- or just getting very drunk.