Top 10 Bizarre Festivals - Candidly ranked by Howard Hillman

Top 10
bizarre festivals
of the world

rankings you can trust

Top 10 rankings
World's
bizarre festivals

El Colacho
Kanamara Matsuri
San Fermin
Thaipusam
La Tomatina
Burning Man
Hodaka Matsuri
Roswell UFO
Boryeong
Monkey Buffet

Top 10
bizarre festivals
in brief

El Colacho (baby jumping)

Spain. Men dressed as devils leap precariously over babies lying on a mattress in the street in the belief that the act will rid the infants of their original sin.

Kanamara Matsuri

Japan. Large phallic statues are paraded down the street during this Shinto fertility festival. Stands sell phallic-shaped souvenirs and carved foods.

San Fermin (Running of the Bulls)

Spain. Young men and woman risk injury and worse as they daringly rush down the street a step ahead of raging bulls in Pamplona.

Thaipusam

India, Some Tamil Hindu devotees immolate themselves by piercing their cheeks, tongues, backs with skewers or hooks. Not for the squeamish.

La Tomatina

Spain. It's the world's biggest and messiest food fight. Locals and tourists enthusiastically hurl truckloads of ripe tomatoes at each other.

Burning Man

USA. It's a festival in the desert where self-expression rules. The highlight is the burning down of the iconic wooden male statue on the final night.

Hodaka Matsuri ("Naked Festival")

Japan. Thousands of men wearing nothing but minimalist white loin cloths congregate in public during this centuries-old Shinto ceremony.

Roswell UFO

USA. People who believe that the Air Force hid info about a crashed UFO now gather here to share extraterrestrial stories and conspiracy theories.

Boryeong

South Korea, Visitors coat themselves in the local therapeutic mud. The scene of a hoard of "mud people" having fun is hilarious.

Monkey Buffet

Thailand. A round platter measuring about 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter is covered with fresh fruits and vegetables. Monkeys aggressively devour them.