Festivals and Celebrations Worth Travelling for

Want to experience a cultural festival in the country that birthed it? Join in one of these during your next trip.

Bibi Shanks-Davison
30th April 2024
Image credit: frankspandl, Pixabay
Around the world there are so many unique festivals, attracting many tourists each year. In this article I talk about La Tomatina, Carnaval and Holi.

La Tomatina is a festival taking place each August in Buñol, Spain. This festival is simple – a massive food fight with tomatoes! Tomatoes have historically been used to throw at bad performances, which is what happened in 1945 when participants and spectators in a parade started throwing tomatoes from the local vegetable stalls at each other. This erupted into a festival, which attracts 20,000 participants each year. Travellers to this festival must be ready to get covered in tomatoes and be aware that since 2002 there has been a fee for anyone wishing to take part.

Carnaval is another festival known worldwide, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in February/March for a week leading up to Lent. It is the biggest carnival celebration in the world, with over 2 million people roaming the streets of Rio to see its marvellous parades. Despite the idea of Carnaval being brought to Brazil by Portuguese colonizers, over time it has developed into a beautiful celebration of Brazilian culture and identity. This is a very popular festival, however – so if you are planning to travel to celebrate Carnaval, booking everything well in advance is advised.

Holi, also known as the Festival of Colour, is a festival taking place in India. It is a Hindu celebration of good over evil and of the arrival of spring. A main part of the festival is throwing coloured paint, which creates such an amazing and joyous atmosphere. The festival has ancient origins, dating back to around the 4th century! Again, visitors must be prepared to be covered head to toe – I know I would much rather be covered in beautiful colours than tomatoes!

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