The word ‘transhumance’ is used to describe the seasonal movement of livestock between summer and winter pastures. Herders usually have a fixed home in the valleys, where farming may be carried out as the soil is more fertile. Higher up farmland gives way to forests and then to alpine pastures. Beyond the snow line there is very little vegetation. Herdsmen usually take their cattle high up into the alpine zone in summer. Here cattle graze on green pastures and grow strong.
Once winter comes they move to the lower slopes where the weather is milder. Herdsmen often bring cattle into their houses and feed them grain that has been grown on terraces. The animals are kept warm and the heat from their bodies warms the homes of the herdsmen as well!
Picture Credit : Google
