The Festival de l’Alpage in Champoléon speaks the language of the Champsaur-Valgaudemar mountains: summer pastures, herds, shepherds, stone paths and high meadows. The alpage is treated as a working world, not as scenery. Walks, meetings, demonstrations and local encounters help reveal the knowledge behind seasonal grazing, from routes and tools to gestures learned in the field. In a valley often admired for peaks and hiking, the festival gives the people of the pastures their rightful place. It is a thoughtful celebration of mountain continuity, rural intelligence and the quiet labour that has shaped this part of the Ecrins landscape.
Tag: pastoral-traditions
Fête de la Transhumance de Riez
Riez’s Fête de la Transhumance brings pastoral culture into the heart of Haute-Provence. The event celebrates the seasonal movement of sheep and the know-how of shepherds, but its importance goes beyond a picturesque procession. Transhumance shaped landscapes, paths, vocabulary, food habits and village calendars throughout the Verdon and the southern Alps. In Riez, the celebration allows visitors to meet that heritage at street level, through animals, producers, demonstrations and local hospitality. It is a strong regional marker because it speaks of work, not nostalgia alone. The sheep passing through town carry a memory of mountain routes and rural economies that still define this part of Provence.