Fête de la Transhumance du Haut-Jura

Transhumance: a living tradition of the Haut-Jura

The Fête de la Transhumance du Haut-Jura celebrates one of the highlights of the Jura agro-pastoral calendar: the ascent of the herds to the high pastures, known as 'pâturages boisés' or 'combes'. This ancestral practice, which has governed the lives of breeders for centuries, involves leading cows (mainly Montbéliardes and Simmentales) from the valley stables to the summer pastures at altitude, where they will spend the summer.

Lajoux: a pastoral village in the heart of the Regional Natural Park

Lajoux is a commune in the Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park, located at an altitude of over 1,000 meters on the Jura high plateaus. This village of character, whose economy is traditionally linked to dairy farming and the production of Comté cheese, is the ideal place to celebrate pastoralism. The Maison du Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura (House of the Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park) is located here, testifying to the importance of this territory for the preservation of mountain traditions and landscapes.

Festival Program

The Transhumance Festival offers a day rich in discoveries:

• Transhumance Departure: accompanied walk with the herds from Ferme de Bastien, departure at 9:30 am
• Pastoral Demonstrations: presentation of breeders' know-how, cheese making
• Traditional Music: concerts by pastoral and folk music ensembles (musette, bagpipes, violin, flutes)
• Producers' Market: Jura cheeses (Comté, Morbier, Bleu de Gex), cured meats, honey, and local products
• Educational Activities: workshops for children on pastoral life and alpine biodiversity
• Conferences: talks on the importance of pastoralism for mountain territories

An event supported by the Regional Natural Park

The Transhumance Festival is organized in partnership with the Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park, local breeders, and the Lajoux media library. The event is part of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists proclaimed by the United Nations, highlighting the global importance of these practices for sustainable land management.

Comté: a product of Jura pastoralism

Jura pastoralism is inseparable from the production of Comté, France's leading AOC-AOP cheese. The cows that ascend to the summer pastures produce milk of exceptional richness, nourished by the floral diversity of the high-altitude meadows. Transhumance directly contributes to the quality of this emblematic cheese and the maintenance of the open landscapes of the Haut-Jura.