Open and species-rich
Short growth, plenty of light at ground level, flowers into late summer.
Farming & sustainability
Why an Alm is more than a meadow with cows
Open land, a few cattle, flowers up to the knee. It looks like nature that is simply there – and in truth it is work that was already done before the first guest came up.
01 · Summering (Sömmerung)
The Alm is a working farm, not an excursion destination
Most Almen belong to a farm in the valley. Some belong to a single farm, many to a community of several farms, and on quite a few old grazing rights exist. In early summer the animals are driven up, in autumn the livestock comes back down. Over the summer, it is often not the farmer who looks after the animals, but a herder – around 7,000 people in Austria.
The reason is sober: as long as the animals are up top, they eat grass nobody else could use. The meadows in the valley stay free; the hay for winter grows there. Without the Alm, the same farm would need more land below for the same number of animals. Many small mountain farms simply wouldn't exist anymore.
By the way: Far from every Alm lies above the tree line. Low and middle Almen lie in the middle of the forest belt; a good part of the Alm area is itself forest with grazing rights.
02 · Biodiversity
Why the flower meadow is so colourful
Alm areas are among the most species-rich habitats in the Alpine region. That is not because they are left alone – on the contrary. Because the animals keep short what would otherwise overgrow everything, low herbs and flowers get light at all.
Dwarf shrubs and green alders
After a few years without livestock, the area closes over and the flowers lose out.
Dwarf pines – and thus forest
The Latsche is a pine, the dwarf mountain pine, and counts as forest under forestry law. Pasture literally becomes forest again.
That is why clearing (Schwenden) happens: On many Almen, the scrub growth is cut back by hand every year. Without this work, the flower meadow you walk up for disappears within a few decades.
03 · Protection
The Alm holds the slope – if it is done properly
On a working Alm, someone checks regularly: fences, paths, ditches and watercourses stay in order, small slips are noticed early and repaired before they grow. And the grass is kept short instead of lying down flat in autumn – long old grass is one of the causes of gliding snow avalanches.
That only holds, though, as long as the stocking is right. Too many animals on too small an area leave trampling damage and worn cattle tracks – and those tear open first in heavy rain. Alpine pasture farming doesn't protect the slope automatically. It protects it when the measure is right.
04 · Scale
Alpine pasture farming in Austria, in figures
managed Almen
In all federal states except Vienna and Burgenland. As of 2026.
herders
They look after the livestock on the land over the summer.
cattle on the Alm
Of these, around 50,000 dairy cows, plus about 103,000 sheep, 13,500 goats and 11,000 horses.
Around a fifth of Austria’s national territory belongs to Almen. This means the Alm area as a whole – a large part of it is rock, dwarf pine and forest, not pasture. Source: Almwirtschaft Österreich, “Unsere Almen 2026”
05 · Consideration
What that means for your hike
On the Alm you are not in a park, but on working land – and still expressly welcome. It takes little for both to go together.
If you book an alpine hut with us, you stay overnight in the middle of a landscape that only exists because someone works it. Your booking is part of the calculation that carries a mountain farm – together with milk, cheese and livestock. If you also shop down at the farm, the circle closes a little tighter still.
06 · Matching accommodations
With these hosts you experience it directly
On the farm
Barn, livestock and Alm belong to the farm – you live right in the middle of it.
With farm products
Cheese, Speck, eggs or honey are available directly from the host.
In a secluded location
For everyone seeking the Alm feeling without neighbours.
Once more, briefly
Frequently asked questions about the Alm
May I walk across an Alm pasture?
On the paths, yes. You shouldn't walk straight across the area: it costs fodder and disturbs the animals. Where fences stand, there is almost always a stile or a gate.
Why is the Alm suddenly empty in autumn?
Because the animals were driven down. The livestock is only up top in summer – as soon as the fodder runs short or the first snow threatens, it goes back to the valley, often with wreaths and bells.
Can I get fresh milk or cheese on the Alm?
On working Almen often yes, but it isn't reliable – it depends on whether dairying is done and whether someone is there. Our host listings state what is available: Shopping regionally.
What do I do if cattle come towards me?
Stay calm, don't run away, step aside from the animal and definitely keep your dog on a short lead. Mother cows with calves need the widest distance.
Read on
Alm, Alpe, Bergmahd
The same, something different – and the most widespread misconception about the tree line.
Grazing
The most demanding way of keeping animals – and the only one where the land gets something back.
Why the Almabtrieb is a celebration
The adornment is not decoration, but a message you can read.
You work an Alm or a farm yourself?
Then we know the hut is often needed yourself in summer. We look beforehand at how your year runs – before you invest anything.