The appointment is given each year around May 25: the breeders mount their herds in mountain pastures and the visitors accompany them. This gives rise to a festive day, high in color and music, which celebrates the arrival of sunny days and the freedom of our beautiful cows!
The programme
Transhumance: an ancestral tradition
This Sunday, there is traffic jam on our roads. Herds have priority for access to the summits of the Aubrac plateaus. Visitors, very numerous on this feast day, can accompany the animals on a stretch of road. Some prefer to welcome them to the Place des Fêtes in Aubrac and enjoy the festive atmosphere that reigns in the village. A beautiful mix of ancestral traditions, local customs and the pride of our identity.
The Transhumance, a practice which consists of moving herds on passageways seasonally, is registered in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage.
To better understand the history of our transhumance in Aubrac, let's go back to the XNUMXth century. The Aubrac monks began to take serious care of their cows and crossbreeding. But transhumance, which has punctuated the life of Aubrac for centuries, was primarily sheep. In terms of cows, it was rather thousands of sheep that stormed Aubrac each summer from Languedoc.
Little by little, the sheep gave way to the cows, which are now queens of the Aubrac plateau!
Transhumance Day today
After spending the winter in the warm stables, the herds of cows join the pastures of Aubrac to spend the summer. Every year around May 25, the breeders accompany their cows on foot, adorned with broom flowers, towards the Aubrac plateau. The most distant herds can travel up to 60 km, depending on the farm they come from.
It's a busy weekend that you will spend in Aubrac! The festivities even begin on Thursday! Farmer's market, mini-farm, hikes, discovery tours of Aubrac, catering, discovery evening... and of course the cows embellished with flowers for the occasion!
All day Sunday, a dozen herds follow one another in the village of Aubrac at 1 meters above sea level, the cradle of the cattle breed of the same name and rich in a thousand-year-old heritage.
Aubrac is a land imbued with a strong identity, the Salon du Terroir, which takes place in parallel with Transhumance in the heart of the village, is the perfect representation: showcase of local know-how, promotion of quality products and invitation to discover the territory. Botanical walks, hikes, musical entertainment and other folk dances complete the program.
Contact the organizers
The transhumance festival in Aubrac is the biggest festive weekend of the year. This event is prepared ten months in advance. The association Traditions in Aubrac is at the head of the organization and the Tourist Office of Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac takes care of information and reservations.
Little advice
If you want to take part in the celebration, remember to book your accommodation in December! We welcome on average between 7 and 000 visitors. It is therefore preferable to contact our tourist offices at the beginning of the year if you wish to register for the various weekend activities. The number of places is limited.
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