Do you love finding exceptional cultural events while you travel? Do you love cows? The Transhumanza in Compaccio, Italy is a must-do! Celebrating bring the cows home from the Alps before winter sets is a sight to behold.
One of the main reasons we chose to do a Dolomite road trip during the first week of October was so we could take part in the Transhumanza, the cows coming home from the Alps in Italy. Cow festivals are weekend events, of course, so this is Day 2.
If you missed Day 1 of our Dolomite road trip where we hiked through a stunning valley, go here.
We’ve attended these cow festivals in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France, and we needed to see how the Italians did it. Spoiler alert! It was awesome!
The cow festivals I found were all located in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol. There may be others, but it gave us the opportunity to return to the most beautiful region in all of Italy. We love it there for the scenery and food, among other things.
Compaccio Almabtrieb or Cow Parade
In my research, I’d found that Compaccio, or Compatsch, on the Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm) was one that ticked off all my boxes. The cows are paraded through the village, they are usually decorated, there is a small local festival, and the photos would be stunning. Truly stunning.
You can stay atop the Seiser Alm, but of course, it’s more expensive than staying below it. It’s also tricky, kind of, to get there. Even though we had our car, the road to Compatsch is closed between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. You can get there either by taking the bus or by ski gondola. We chose to take the gondola. Luckily, the fares for the festival were reduced, and it only cost us 14 Euros per person, which is a deal.
We did want to stay close, so we chose the Garni Hauenstein, which was so close we could walk there if we wanted (about 1 Km away). However, we parked in the huge lot, thinking we’d be tired on the way down.
Alpe de Siusi or Seiser Alm
Once up on the Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm), we walked out of the gondola station and were accosted with a stunning view: horses and mountains, and the sun just barely above the mountaintops. We couldn’t stop smiling.
We walked through town and stopped at the tourist office to get the hints and tricks to finding the best place to view the spectacle. They had a brochure, which was nice, and, of course, were more than happy to answer questions. We found out that there were actually two groups of herds that go through Compaccio, one from the Saltia side and one from the Panorama side, and because of the times, we hoped we might be able to watch both.
We started walking up the road towards Saltia, where the first group would be coming from and found the spot I wanted for the backdrop of my photos. It was a huge boulder along the road.
It was right near the Tschon Schwaige, a pension and restaurant, which, to our delight, was opening as we walked by. We popped in just to waste some time waiting for the cows to start their descent. The cows were due a little after 11:00, but if you know me, I like to make sure I have my spot staked out before the crowds started to gather. It’s so important to me that I never mind standing and waiting.
Our Dolomite Road Trip Looked like this:
- Drove from Ramstein area in Germany
- Overnighted in the Brenner Pass
- Day 1 – Vipiteno, Bolzano, and Selva Val Gardena (volksmarch)
- Day 2 – Siusi, Seiser Alm, Compatsch and Kastelruth – Cow festivals
- Day 3 – Völs am Schern, Tiers Cow Festival, Via Coller, St. Magdalena Bacon Festival
- Day 4 – Tre-Cime and Lago di Braies
- Day 5 – Kronplatz Peak, The Lumen Mountain Photography Museum and the Messner Mountain Climbing Museum
- Day 6 – 9 – Back to Bolzano, Bergamo, Annecy and the Retours des Alpages
Download a snapshot pdf of our Dolomite road trip for further planning.
However, we were over an hour early, so stopping, sitting, and having a cup of coffee was a stellar idea. We ordered coffees and, of course, couldn’t pass by their homemade apfel strüdel, which was ultra-amazing! (Should I use hyperbole here? Absolutely!)
After enjoying our coffee, we noticed more and more people walking down the road, so we went back out to claim my corner. It turns out many other people had the same idea we did, but not so many that we felt crowded.
Here Come the Cows
The parade began. The farmers were full of smiles. They yodeled, whistled, cracked their whips, and tipped their hats, all while keeping a wary eye on their livestock.
The cows didn’t disappoint. Many of them wore elaborate headdresses and bells. They seemed content to move along the road, venturing towards the people every now and then, until their minders set them back on the right path.
The parade wasn’t just farmers and their cows; there were also some tractors, horse carts, women, and children, and all of them were enjoying the day. This was only the beginning of their journey, so no one was tired…yet.
It’s pretty obvious when the last group has passed you by because all the spectators start walking back to the village. When this happened, Jim and I sprinted to the other small road where the Panorama cows were supposed to come down from the alp.
Even though we didn’t have as much time to find the best photo spot, I think we did pretty well. The backdrop featured some Dolomite peaks…couldn’t have asked for anything more.
This was a smaller group, and before we knew it, all the cows had passed.
At this point, we had two choices. We could hang out in Compatsch and see what the festival offered, or we could go back down the gondola and watch these same cows arrive at their end destination, Kastelruth (Castelrotto), all in all about 20 km. There would be a festival there, as well, we were sure.
We chose to skip the Compaccio fest and head into Castelrotto, which is one of the prettiest towns in the Dolomite region, and highly recommended as a stop.
Our Rating
The entire experience of attending the Transhumanza or Almabtrieb in Compatsch was fantastic. It was a five star event from beginning to end.
- plenty of free parking
- a fun gondola ride
- gorgeous views
- stunning cow parade
- yummy coffee and cake
- excellent photos
What more could a person ask for?
Conclusion
Watching the cows come home from the Alps on top of the Alpe di Siusi or Seiser Alm is a chance to really get a glimpse into the culture of the Dolomites. If you are going to be in Italy at the beginning of October, make sure it’s on your itinerary.
Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.