Almabtrieb 2026 in Bavaria & Tyrol: the cattle descent calendar

The descent from the alpine pasture, a festival as old as the Alps

The Almabtrieb (« driving down from the alpine pasture ») is the autumn return of livestock from the high pastures to the valley barns, after around 100 days of summer grazing. It is the opposite of the Almauftrieb, the spring ascent, which is not celebrated in Germany or Austria. The word changes by region: in the Allgäu it is called Viehscheid, a term that precisely describes the sorting of the mixed herds at the Scheidplatz, where each farmer reclaims his own animals at the end of the day. The Swiss equivalent (Alpabzug, Désalpes) is a cousin, outside the scope of this guide. The tradition dates back to the Bronze Age, and the traditional window runs between St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August) and Michaelmas (29 September), extended to mid-October according to Wikipedia and austria.info.

The scale is huge: around 500,000 cattle graze the Austrian Alps every summer, nearly 110,000 of them in Tyrol alone, which counts some 2,100 alpine pastures. Bavaria manages about 1,400, with close to 53,000 cattle in 2022 according to Bayern Tourismus. In the Allgäu, around 30,000 young cattle come down every autumn to some thirty municipalities, drawing at least twice as many visitors as animals, according to allgaeu.de. Alpine and Mediterranean transhumance has been inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list since 2019, a list extended to ten countries in December 2023; alpine farming also features on Bavaria’s intangible heritage register, as UNESCO Austria notes.

Highlights

• Whole villages in party mode: brass bands, farmers’ markets, regional specialities
• Animals are decorated only if the summer passed without accident: the finery is a report card for the season
• A living, ecological tradition: summer grazing slows reforestation and protects against avalanches

Fancy extending the alpine experience around your descent weekend? From Munich, the most-requested day trip in the Bavarian Alps leads to the castles of Neuschwanstein and Linderhof: a small-group day out, ideal to pair with the Almabtrieb at Mittenwald or in the Allgäu, two hours from the Bavarian capital by train.

The Allgäu opens the season, Mittenwald steals the show

In Bavaria, it all starts in the Allgäu, where the season opens on 11 September: Oberstaufen brings around 1,000 cows down from 8.30 am at the Scheidplatz, Schöllang (Oberstdorf) around 700 young cattle from four pastures led by the flower-decked Kranzkuh, and Balderschwang, Germany’s most isolated village (1,044 m), around 220 cattle. Bad Hindelang follows on 10 or 11 September with nearly 900 head from five pastures, a tradition documented since 1794; sources differ for 2026 (mid-September is the safe bet), as festivalsindeutschland.de and denkinger-pr.de note. The following week rolls on with Buching on 14 September (provisional, the only handshake handover of animals), Nesselwang on 15-16 September, Gunzesried on 17, Wertach on 18, then the big Immenstadt rendezvous on 19 September: around 800 animals from seven pastures, bell drawing and market.

In the Alpenwelt Karwendel, Wallgau celebrates as early as 5 September, Krün on 19 September (whatever the weather), and Mittenwald on 20 September offers the most spectacular procession in Upper Bavaria: the herd parades through the old town of painted facades (Lüftlmalerei) and arrives around noon at the Festwiese Riedboden for the Almfest, with free entry. Further east, the Berchtesgadener Land schedules the Stoißer Alm on 19 September (animals decorated at 1 pm, arrival around 4 pm at the Seiberstadt hiking car park) and Piding on the weekend of 19-20 September. And the showstopper is Königssee: around thirty cows from the Saletalm and Fischunkelalm pastures are ferried across on flat « Landauer » boats (about a one-hour crossing) — the only cattle descent on water in the whole Alpine arc — and its date is never published, according to festivalsindeutschland.de.

Dates to remember

• 11 September: Oberstaufen (~1,000 cows), Schöllang (~700), Balderschwang (~220)
• 19-20 September: Immenstadt, Krün, Stoißer Alm, Piding, then Mittenwald on the 20th (the most spectacular)
• 26 September: Haldenwang and Haslach (Oy-Mittelberg), the Allgäu’s last big Viehscheid
• Early-mid October: Königssee by boat (date revealed on site); Schleching/Raiten on 10 or 17 October

From the Kaunertal to the Kufsteinerland, the season plays out over three weekends

Tyrol opens the season on 4 September with the goats of the Verpeilalm in the Kaunertal, followed on 5 and 6 September by the pastures of Falkauns, Nasserein and Gepatsch. The first big weekend, 12-13 September, brings together Kramsach (Alpbachtal), Ried im Oberinntal (from 2 pm at the Lindenplatz), Telfes im Stubai (alphorn from the Stubaier Alphornbläser at 3 pm), Pfunds (cows and horses, farmers’ market), Jerzens in the Pitztal (descent at 2 pm, Kirchtag on the 14th) and the villages of the Tannheimer Tal, Jungholz, Grän and Nesselwängle, according to tyrol.com and Presse Tirol.

The 19-20 September weekend is the busiest of the season. On the bill: Reith im Alpbachtal, one of Tyrol’s biggest Almabtriebs (start 10 am, parade around noon, entry €8, under-12s free); Fulpmes in the Stubaital, free, farmers’ market from 11 am and animals around 12.30 pm; Söll under the Wilder Kaiser, free; Leutasch on the Seefeld plateau, arrival around noon at the Kirchplatzl; Auffach in the Wildschönau, free 10 am-6 pm with over 500 animals and 46 pastures at around 2,000 m; Kirchberg, Westendorf (17-19 weekend) and Angerberg (19 or 20 September depending on the source), in the Kitzbüheler Alpen; Landl at Thiersee from 19 to 26 September. On Monday the 21st, Tannheim closes the ball with a three-day descent and nearly 1,000 m of elevation change, one of the finest in the region.

26 September holds its own programme: a second Almabtrieb at Reith im Alpbachtal (a different procession), Hopfgarten, Kelchsau and Itter in the Brixental (GREEN EVENT TIROL label, public transport required), Gerlos in the Zillertal for its 30th edition (pedestrianised main street, 30 exhibitors, Noriker horse teams) and Zell am Ziller (10 am-5 pm). Finally, October stays alive: Pillerseetal on the 3rd, Mayrhofen around the 6th (to be confirmed), and the grand finale on 10 October at Ebbs (Kufsteinerland), where 2.5-year-old Haflinger stallions come down from the Hengstalm in a ceremony that has kept a natural-herd breeding going since 1947, according to tyrol.com.

The three-weekend rhythm

• 12-13 September: Telfes, Ried, Jerzens, Pfunds, Kramsach, Nauders
• 19-20 September: Reith im Alpbachtal, Fulpmes, Söll, Leutasch, Wildschönau, Kirchberg, Westendorf, Angerberg, Landl
• 26 September: 2nd Reith, Hopfgarten, Kelchsau, Gerlos, Zell am Ziller, Wörgl
• 10 October: the Haflinger stallion descent at Ebbs, the grand finale

Reading the finery, tasting the party

The cows’ finery, the Aufkranzen, follows a precise code: the Kranzkuh, the lead cow, wears the finest crown, often adorned with a cross (divine protection) and a mirror (to ward off evil spirits), as Austria-Forum describes. A black ribbon woven into the crown (the Klagbüschel) marks a bereavement in the family or on the pasture. In the Berchtesgadener Land, cows wear the Fuikl, monumental headdresses of spruce branches bent into arches, decorated with dyed shavings and paper flowers: 30-40 hours of work each, with the making traditionally starting on 24 August. In Tyrol, the Almboschen mix branches, flowers, ribbons and paper, among the most spectacular finery in the Alps. The night before, in the Wildschönau, the Gru-Nacht still gathers shepherds and farmers’ wives for the last night on the pasture, around the Melchermus cooked over the fire, according to Presse Tirol.

On the food side, the Almfeste serve the classics: Kässpatzen (cheese spätzle with fried onions), Kiachln (lard doughnuts), Zillertaler Krapfen (fried potato-and-cheese pastries), smoked bacon, farmhouse bread and alpine cheeses aged all summer. In the Wildschönau, finish with a Krautinger, a turnip schnapps. Brass bands (Blasmusik), alphorn players, Schuhplattler dancers and whip-crackers liven up the day, often paired with the Kirchtag, the consecration feast of the local church. Foodies extend the weekend at the Almkäseolympiade in Galtür (26 September, €18), where over 100 pastures from five countries present their cheeses. To understand the whole alpine cheese circuit, also read our dossier on Europe’s cheese routes.

To taste by the roadside

• Kässpatzen and Kiachln, the two pillars of Bavarian Almfeste
• Zillertaler Krapfen, at Zell am Ziller and Gerlos on 26 September
• Krautinger, the Wildschönau’s turnip schnapps
• Alpine cheeses (Allgäuer Bergkäse, Sennalpkäse), cheaper at the festival than in the shops

First time, long weekend or grand finale: pick your camp

If you only see one: Mittenwald, 20 September — a procession through a frescoed old town, free entry, direct train from Munich (about 1h45). For raw authenticity, Bad Hindelang (mid-September) lines up nearly 900 head from a tradition documented since 1794, with spectators in place from 6 am. On the Tyrolean side, the biggest remains Reith im Alpbachtal (19 and 26 September, €8), the most festive the Wildschönau (19 September, free, 10 am-6 pm), and the most spectacular to close it all Ebbs on 10 October with its Haflinger stallions. Photography-minded travellers take position on a bend, telephoto in hand, and never follow the procession, advises the Moonhoney Travel blog.

Public transport is by far the simplest option: the Bayern-Ticket (€34 solo, €44-74 for 2-5 people, about £29 on the solo fare) covers Bavarian regional trains, the S-Bahn and buses, and stays valid as far as Kufstein on some lines, according to Deutschlandtarifverbund. From Munich: Oberstdorf by direct train in 2h20 (from €20-29 booked ahead, according to Omio), Kufstein in 1 hour then a taxi of about €37 to Ebbs. The car parks of the big villages are full before 8.30 am and group buses are billed €100-150: the train is also a money-saver. From the UK, Munich is a two-hour flight (British Airways and Lufthansa from Heathrow, easyJet from Gatwick), and easyJet also flies direct from Gatwick to Innsbruck (about 2h05, three times a week in September, fares from around £44), which puts the whole Tyrolean calendar within easy reach. compare flight prices to Munich or Innsbruck; and if Oktoberfest (19 September-4 October) falls on the same dates, combine both, with our pick of 10 premium Oktoberfest experiences.

The smart spectator’s habits

• Arrive before 8.30 am at the big villages, and stand by the roadside, never in front of the animals
• Never cut through the procession: cattle do not behave like a parade
• Confirm the date a few days ahead with the tourist office (some are never confirmed)
• Have a plan B in the same valley: several villages descend on the same weekend