The Alpine Pasture Season and the Cattle Descent

For about a hundred days each summer the herds move up to the high pastures, and the farming year is built around that movement. The ascent in late May or June is quiet and practical. The descent in September or early October is not: the cows come down the valley roads in flower headdresses and bells the size of buckets, the largest bells going to the animals that gave the most milk, with the herders walking beside them in embroidered smocks. Villages meet them with markets, cheese stalls and music. The tradition covers the whole summer, from the cheese made in the alp huts to the bells and the songs, and UNESCO added the alpine pasture season to its list in 2023.

What you actually see

• The descent - decorated herds walking down the valley roads in September and October.
• The bells - graded by size and worn only for the walk down.
• The alp dairies - cheese made in copper vats in huts through the summer.
• The village markets - stalls of alp cheese, sausage and craft laid out to meet the herds.

When to go

Descents happen between the middle of September and the middle of October, and each village fixes its own date, often confirming it only days ahead because it depends on the weather and the grass. Urnasch in Appenzell, Charmey in Fribourg and St-Cergue in Vaud hold the best known ones. Start early, since the herds usually come down in the morning.

Honest expectations

Dates shift and can be cancelled outright by weather, so this is a poor thing to build a trip around from abroad. The well-known descents draw crowds, coach parties and roadside parking chaos, and the herds themselves pass in a few minutes. It remains an agricultural event, which means mud, dung and traffic held up in narrow lanes.

Nearby

Appenzell's cheese country and the Alpstein ridge rise behind Urnasch.