Around 70 alpacas were guided down Switzerland’s Kiental valley at sunrise as they left their high mountain pastures for the winter. The annual journey, known as the Swiss ‘alpabzug’, is a traditional seasonal livestock migration and offers a striking reminder of rural customs in the Bernese Oberland.

The alpacas, owned by the Arnold and Toni Luginbuehl family and Uli Lippl, were escorted by shepherds along the mountain road. After reaching the valley, they were loaded onto a livestock truck and taken to a farm in Aeschi, near Spiez, where they will remain through the winter following their summer in the mountains.