Transhumance Festival

Very soon, Madrid will host one of the most surprising and eagerly awaited events for lovers of rural life: the arrival of an entire flock of sheep.

The Transhumance Festival will bring around 1,400 Merino sheep accompanied by shepherds and mastiffs, as part of a traditional celebration. This festival has been held since 1994 to remember and preserve this age-old journey. The festival recreates the fee that shepherds paid to municipal officials for driving the sheep across their lands.

The sheep travel a long way: from the Cantabrian mountains, they cross forests and marshes to reach the winter pastures in the Extremaduran holm oak country. Their journey takes them through Palencia, Ávila, Segovia, Valladolid and Madrid.

In Madrid, their route will begin in Casa de Campo and pass through Cuesta de la Vega, Puerta del Sol and Cibeles. The celebration will take place on 19 October, and the sheep are expected to arrive at Puerta del Sol at 10:30 h.