Bisket Jatra, Nepal (April)

Celebrating the start of the Nepali New Year, a huge and ponderous chariot carrying images of the god Bhairab is hauled by dozens of villagers. The creaking and swaying chariot lumbers around town, pausing for a huge tug of war between the eastern and western sides of town. Next stop is the Khalna Tole temple, where a huge 25m-high lingam (phallic symbol) is erected in the stone yoni (female genital symbol) base.

In the evening of the following day (New Year's Day), the pole is pulled down, again in an often-violent tug-of-war. As the pole crashes to the ground, the New Year officially commences.

Naghol, Vanuatu (May)

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When the first yam crop emerges on the Vanuatu island of Pentecost, the southern islanders begin to build high wooden towers. Once completed, village men and boys dive from these rickety wooden structures with only two vines attached to their ankles to break their fall (yes, naghol was the inspiration for bungee jumping).

To do it right, the vines should pull the divers up so near to the ground that their hair touches the soil. This is said to fertilise the ground, guaranteeing a bountiful yam harvest.

Today, tourism as much as tradition drives the naghol ceremonies, with dives taking place mainly for show, but locals still have to adhere to traditional taboos in order to participate.

Glastonbury Festival, England (June)

Welcome to Glasto. The colossal summer knees up in King Arthur country is the world's biggest and best music festival. It's like Woodstock, except it takes place pretty much every year. The list of performers who have rocked the venue's muddy fields reads like a who's who of popular music, from Bob Dylan and David Bowie to Radiohead and Blur.

And what a place to play. More than 175,000 revellers descend on 900 acres of farmland, bringing tents, 3L bottles of West Country cider and, if it's one of the 'muddy years', Wellington boots. As if following the local ley line, the atmosphere courses along tree-lined tracks; often with more direction than festivalgoers searching for that amazing noodle van they stumbled upon last night.

Burning Man, USA (August/September)

Burning Man is more than a festival, it's a utopian society that springs up on the cracked terrain of Nevada's Black Rock Desert. The survivalist happening's 10 principles include radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort and, above all, participation. These 10 hippy commandments lead to a 45,000-strong 'city' (the fifth largest in desolate Nevada) where inhibitions are left at the gates and freakery courses along the dusty streets.

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