The Swiss fall tradition of bringing the cows down from the alps is the most iconic tradition in Switzerland. The cows are typically adorned with elaborate flower headdresses and the alpine farming families dress in traditional clothing to lead the cows into the village.
In many Swiss villages, this event is accompanied by a big festival with market, selling alpine cheese and other local products, along with musical performances and other festivities.
Below I’ve included the biggest cow descent festivals that are worth traveling for.
Contents
Calendar 2026 – Best Cow Descents
The biggest and most popular cow descent festivals are Prättigauer Alp Spektakel, Urnäsch, and Schwarzsee Pfalleien.
| Date 2026 | Location | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 5 Sept 2026 | Gstaad “Züglete” | Bernese Oberland |
| *Sat 12 Sept 2026 | Klosters | Graubünden |
| Sat 19 Sept 2026 | Urnäsch | Appenzell |
| Sat 19 Sept 2026 | Flimserstein | Graubünden |
| *Sun 20 Sept 2026 | Crans Montana | Valais |
| Sat 26 Sept 2026 | Entlebuch | Lake Lucerne Region |
| *Sat 26 Sept 2026 | Kerns | Lake Lucerne Region |
| Sat 26 Sept 2026 | Schwarzsee Pfalleien | Bernese Oberland |
| *Sat 26 Sept 2026 | Näfels | Eastern – Glarnerland |
| *Sat 4 & Sun 4 Oct 2026 | Prättigauer Alp Spektakel | Graubünden |
* These dates are tentative and will be confirmed closer to the event.
⬇️ See full 2026 calendar of cow descents.
Make the Most of Your Cow Parade Weekend!
The parades are just the highlight. The real magic is turning the event into a whole weekend of hiking, family activities, and local experiences. If you’d like help figuring out where to stay, what else to do nearby, and how to make the logistics easy, I offer a variety of trip planning services.
Yes, I need some helpEastern Switzerland
In addition to the big festivals below, the Appenzell website posts when other alpine farmer families are planning to bring their cows down.
1. Glarnerland
At the end of September, multiple villages in the Glarnerland valley have cow descent parades, particularly in Näfels, Klöntal, and Schwanden. See glarnerland.ch for updates.
The Näfels festival is typically 9:00 to 13:00, but they suggest arriving early as the herdsmen must be flexible and the cows could arrive at anytime during the day. They will have food, alphorns, and market featuring alpine cheese.
Date: tentatively 26 September 2026
Location: For the Näfels parade, the main meeting point is the schoolhouse in the center of the village. Best to take a train to Näfels-Mollis, about 1h10 from Zürich.
Website: glarnerland.ch
More for the weekend: Elm Giants Trail, Mettmenalp hike, Braunwald Panorama Trail
See all Glarnerland activities.
2. Urnäsch, Appenzell
Alpine farmers lead their herds into the village, arriving from about 9:00 to noon. You can wander through the festival, enjoy the their traditional clothing and musical performances.
The market has over 50 stalls, selling a variety of local cheese and other products. One highlight is the pig race, done 3x during the day.
Location: Urnäsch
Date: 19 Sept 2026
More info: myswitzerland.com • appenzellerland.ch
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How to get there: It’s best to arrive by train to the Urnäsch station (1h40 from Zurich). By car, there will have parking areas near the village and a shuttle to the festival.
Where to stay: We suggest staying in nearby Appenzell, a 14 min train ride from Urnäsch (every 30 mins). We really like Neuhof Gäste-& Schokohaus, excellent breakfast, family-friendly, short walk from train station.
More for the weekend: Aescher cliff restaurant at Ebenalp, Seealpsee lake, Hoher Kasten viewpoint, Maestrani Chocolarium
Lake Lucerne Region
3. Entlebuch
Seven alpine farming families bring 300+ cows and other cattle down to Schüpfheim. The procession through the village is the main highlight, with traditional clothing and music. This festival is very popular, attracting over 10,000 visitors each year.
Cows start the descent from Sörenberg around 7:30, arriving at the festival in the Schüpfheim village around 11:15. The market in town is open from 10:00 – 16:30.
Location: Schüpfheim
Website: www.biosphaere.ch
How to get there: The center of town is closed to traffic, so best to arrive by train – Schüpfheim train station (31 mins from Lucerne). They will have signs indicating where cars can park outside the town, but spaces are very limited.
4. Kerns
The market and food stands open at 9:30am, featuring locally produced cheese and meat. Around 10am the decorated cows start arriving, along with the farmers and herdsman in traditional clothing. They parade around around the Kerns village center, accompanied by musical performances.
Location: Kerns
Date: tentatively Sat 26 Sept 2026 • 10:00 – 14:00
More info: www.kerns.ch • www.obwalden-tourismus.ch
Not this year: Einsiedeln
The cow festival in Einsiedeln only happens every 5 years. The next one is scheduled for 2028. Learn more.
Bernese Oberland
In addition to the big ones below, Mürren usually has an Alpazug in the beginning of September, but they don’t publish the day far in advance or advertise it.
5. Schwarzsee – Alpabzug Plaffeien
This popular cow descent festival southeast of Bern attracts over 10,000 spectators to admire over 1000 cows owned by 20 different families.
It has a particularly lovely setting along the Schwarzee lake surrounded by mountains. The festival includes a market, food and drink stands, and various musical performances throughout the day, including alphorns and yodelers.
Location: Schwarzee. Bus stop Schwarzsee, Gypsera (1h20 from Bern).
Date: Sat 26 Sept 2026 • 10:00 – 22:00
Website: fribourg.ch
6. Gstaad “Züglete”
For the Gstaad cow festival, the cow parade goes through the center of the village. There are typically two parades, one starting around 9:30 and another after lunch. They have food and markets stands and musical performances.
Location: Gstaad Promenade thru center of village
Train station: Gstaad, 2 hours from Bern
Date: Sat 5 September 2026 • 9:30 – 16:30
Website: www.gstaad.ch
Overnight: You might like HUUS Gstaad
Graubünden, Southeast Switzerland
7. Prättigauer Alp Spektakel
This is one of the biggest and best cow parade festivals in Switzerland. In addition to the cows, they have cheese tasting, sheep sheering, concerts, children’s parade, petting zoo, etc.
This event requires an entrance ticket, which includes the shuttle bus from Grüsch to the festival. You buy the ticket onsite, no advance booking.
The cow parade arrives in the village at 11:30 and festivities run from
Location: Seewis im Prättigau
Date: tenatively 3&4 Oct 2026
Website: www.alpspektakel.ch
How to get there: You must ride a shuttle to the Seewis village for the festival. The shuttle picks up at the Grüsch train station and parking is at the Grüsch-Danusa cable car station – Valzeinastrasse 6, 7214 Grüsch
The shuttle runs about every 20 mins from 8:30 – 18:00. It can have a long wait due to the crowds.
8. Flimserstein Bargis
In this cow parade, about 200 cows descend over the steep Scala Mola terrain and gathered into the high alpine valley Bargis.
Before the cows arrive, the day starts early with “Buura Z’Morga,” a classic farmer’s breakfast in Bargis (sells out very far in advance). There are also food stands and traditional music.
At about noon, the decorated cows arrive in Bargis, then leave around 14:00 headed to Fidaz and finally Flims.
Date: 19 Sept 2026
Location: Bargis village near Flims
Website: www.flimslaax.com
How to get there: Get to Flims by bus or car (park at Stenna Parkhaus). Then ride the shuttle bus from Flims to Bargis. You can buy tickets onsite.
The cows travel on this same road in the afternoon. So the shuttle doesn’t run between 14:00 – 15:30, or until all the cows are down the mountain. There can be long waiting times in Bargis for the shuttle, so many people just hike down along with the cows, about 1h30.
Overnight: We like the Me and All Hotel Flims, which is right in the center of town
9. Klosters
This cow festival in Klosters begins at 9:00, with the cows starting to arrive around 11:00. The afternoon is filled with music and activities, including a children’s program.
Date: tentatively Sat 12 September 2026
Location: The festival is located at the Monbiel parking, just outside the village, free bus from the Klosters/Platz train station.
Valais, Southern Switzerland
10. Crans-Montana
This alpine festival starts with the Grenadiers’ rifle salute. Then a parade of local music and folklore groups.
Around 11am, the cows arrive and parade down the main street of the village, ending at the Etang Long parking where the festival is centered. The rest of the afternoon you can enjoy the food stands, live music and entertainment.
Date: tentatively 20 Sept 2026 • 10:15 – 18:30
Location: Crans Montana – Parking Etang Long
How to get there: Best to arrive by bus or funicular from Sierre/Siders as parking in the village is limited.
Website: www.crans-montana.ch
Overnight: We suggest Valaisia, a Faern Collection Hotel
Cow Descents by Date (2026)
These are tentative dates that will be confirmed for 2026 as they are published by the event organizers.
12-13 Sept 2026
| Location | Region | Event info |
|---|---|---|
| Hofstetten Brienz | Bernese Oberland – east of Interlaken | event info |
| St. Stephan BE | Bernese Oberland – near Lenk | event info |
| Wassen UR | Lake Lucerne Region – near Göschenen | event info |
| Brigels | Graubünden – near Flims | event info |
| Klosters | Graubünden – Klosters | event info |
| Müstair GR | Engadin – near Zernez | event info |
| Chandolin VS | Valais – near Sierre | event info |
19-20 Sept 2026
| Location | Region | Event info |
|---|---|---|
| Wengen | Jungfrau Region | event info |
| Lauterbrunnen | Jungfrau Region | Winteregg & Mäderalp |
| Urnäsch | Appenzell region | event info |
| Flimserstein Bargis | Graubünden – near Flims | event info |
| Celerina | St Moritz Engadin | event info |
| St Luc, Ayer, and Grimentz | Valais – Val d’Anniviers | event info |
| Grächen | Valais – near Zermatt | event info |
| Blatten-Belalp | Valais – near Aletsch Arena | event info |
| Anzere | Valais – near Sion | event info |
| Sembrancher | Valais – near Martigny | event info |
26 Sept 2026
| Location | Region | Event info |
|---|---|---|
| Entlebuch Schüpfheim | Lake Lucerne region | event info |
| Kerns | Lake Lucerne region | event info |
| Schwanden | Eastern – Glarnerland | event info |
| Näfels | Eastern – Glarnerland | event info |
| Schwarzsee Pfalleien *** | Fribourg region | event info |
| Charmey | Fribourg region – near Gruyeres | event info |
| St Cergue | Vaud – near Geneva | event info |
| Blonay | Vaud – near Montreux | event info |
| Lignières | Neuchatel region | event info |
3-4 Oct 2026
| Engelberg cattle show | near Lucerne | event info |
| Heiden | Appenzell region | event info |
| Semsales | Fribourg region, between Montreux and Fribourg | event info |
| Albeuve | Fribourg region, near Gruyeres | event info • www.desalpe-semsales.ch |
| Saignelégier | Jura region, north of Biel | event info |
Cow Ascents in spring
A few villages have parades for bringing the cows up to the alp in spring.
Engstligenalp usually has a spring cow ascent festival in mid June. In 2025, it was on 21 June.
Wengen usually has theirs the second weekend in June.
Appenzell region usually has a couple from mid May to early June. Sign up for their newsletter to see upcoming dates.
One Response
The Alpabzug has been scheduled for September 20 in the Wengen area. https://wengen.swiss/en/discover/events/calendar-of-events.html Thank you for your good work.