The running of the bulls is run on stone. Pamplona’s old town streets are paved, the paving gets slippery, and every year the city treats the steepest and sharpest stretch with an anti-slip liquid so that bulls and runners keep their feet. This is what we know about the stones under the encierro, where some of the old ones went, and why they matter to anyone who runs.
What is the running of the bulls route paved with?
Stone. The route runs through the Casco Viejo, Pamplona’s old town, from the corral in Santo Domingo through the Plaza Consistorial, Mercaderes and Estafeta to the bullring; our route map walks it section by section and our route length guide gives the distances. The city does not publish which stone covers each street. Its 2026 notice on the anti-slip work describes the treatment as opening tiny pores in the stone of the paving, which tells you the surface is natural stone, and that it polishes smooth with use.
Why do runners and bulls slip?
Polished stone, early morning damp and a sharp turn. The worst place is the curve where Mercaderes meets Estafeta: the bulls come down from the Plaza Consistorial at full speed and many cannot make the turn on the stone. Runners slip on the same paving, which is why experienced runners pick shoes for grip.
The anti-slip treatment
The City of Pamplona first tried an anti-slip treatment on the route in 2005 and has applied it every year since 2006, except in 2020 and 2021, when there was no fiesta. In 2026 a crew of ten spread about 1,500 liters of the liquid by hand, with watering cans and brooms, starting at 11 at night. They covered about 1,875 square meters, from the end of the Santo Domingo slope through the Mercaderes curve and into the start of Estafeta, plus the exit from the Santo Domingo corral. The city’s stated aim is simple: stop bulls and runners from slipping.
The memorial stones
In December 2023 the city set memorial plates into cobblestones along the route to remember the 16 people who have died in the encierro. A report on how slippery the route’s surfaces were led to their removal. In June 2025 the city installed the sixteen names, with the year of each death, in bronze on the granite pedestal of the Monumento al Encierro, where Avenida de Carlos III meets Avenida de Roncesvalles.
Where the old cobblestones went
When Pamplona began pedestrianizing the Casco Viejo in 1996, thousands of old adoquines were lifted from its streets. A small number were sold through the Museo del Encierro, the running of the bulls museum that stood on Calle Mercaderes, a few steps from the curve. We bought the last of the museum’s stones from its former owners. Each one is numbered, rough cut and one of a kind: a piece of the old town where San Fermín happens. If you have run these streets, you can own a piece of Pamplona.
Frequently asked questions
Is the running of the bulls route cobblestone?
The route runs on the stone paving of Pamplona’s old town. The city does not publish the type of stone for each street.
Does the city make the street less slippery?
Yes. Every year since 2006, except 2020 and 2021, it has applied an anti-slip liquid from the end of the Santo Domingo slope through the Mercaderes curve and the corral exit.
Can I buy a cobblestone from Pamplona?
Not from the street, which belongs to the city. Encierro sells the last of the cobblestones the Museo del Encierro sold after the old town’s pedestrianization, numbered and one of a kind, shipped within the United States.
Sources: Diario de Noticias de Navarra, 3 July 2026; City of Pamplona, 26 June 2025; City of Pamplona, December 2023.