“Die Alpfahrt” Traditional Cattle Drive in Switzerland

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“Die Alpfahrt”, the cattle drive, is one of the most traditional and impressive living traditions in Switzerland.

Every year in spring, when the grass in the mountains has grown enough, the farmers gather their cows and take them up to the alp. The “Alp” is the name of farms that are often located very high up in the mountains.
During the summer months, the farmers stay in the mountains with their cows and make delicious Swiss Alpine cheese, Alpbutter and Alpziger from the flavoursome mountain milk.

When the days get shorter and cooler and the cows have eaten the lush grass, the farmers take their cows back to their home farm in the valley. These Alpine descents are celebrated and honoured throughout Switzerland.
It is truly a very moving spectacle. The cows are decorated with beautiful flowers and wear large cowbells, while the farmers wear their local Sunday costumes. You can hear the cowbells ringing in the narrow valleys from afar. In the valley, the farmers and cows (or is it the other way round?) are greeted with great joy and gratitude by the locals.

Needless to say, this leads to a unique village festival, with music and dancing and lots of local delicacies. The local butcher roasts his sausages and the farmers’ wives sell their delicious home-baked cakes and tarts.

Quite some stories have been handed down about the long “Alapafahrt'” Festivals,  some had lasted so long that the farmer had to run in order to milk the cows in time the next morning…