Alpine pasture and mountain meadow care
Working Together on a Volunteer Project in the Wipptal Valley
Have you ever worked while on vacation? High up at 2,000 meters, with a breathtaking panoramic view and a hearty farmer’s snack as a reward? We call that “getting to know the country and its people.”
There are many reasons why the mountains hold such a magical allure for us: the feeling of freedom when your gaze wanders into the distance. The scent of hay on the alpine pasture. The taste of fresh milk and homemade butter. The tranquility that gets under your skin. And sometimes we come across a mountain farmer mowing the grass with a scythe, and we wonder: What must life be like up here? How much work goes into keeping our landscape so beautiful?
Come visit us in the Wipptal and find out.
For two days of your vacation, you can work side by side with our mountain farmers. You’ll help keep the mountain meadows open so that orchids, herbs, and typical alpine flowers can continue to bloom. You’ll help maintain the alpine pastures so that cows have enough food, and in the process, you’ll learn what it means to live in harmony with nature. Amid this unique mountain scenery, the conservation area manager will share fascinating stories about animals, plants, and life up here—stories you won’t soon forget.
What does that mean for you? Physical labor, beads of sweat, and the occasional sore muscle. But all that fades away when you look at your work at the end with a smile that comes straight from the heart. Because then you feel what real work in nature does for you: it grounds you, it fulfills you, and it gives you a sense of home.
Highlights
- Learn about life as a mountain farmer
- Vacation with meaning
- Preserve our cultural landscape
- Meet nice, like-minded people
Important information:
For this course, you need to be physically fit and ready to get stuck in.
Sturdy hiking boots and work gloves are just as much a part of your basic equipment as sun and rain protection and your water bottle.
The program at a glance
Sunday: Travel and Arrival
Travel and Arrival: Take the train to Innsbruck or the Brenner Pass (both easily accessible by long-distance trains); from there, use the Wipptal Card for free S-Bahn and bus connections, or drive to Almi’s Berghotel in Obernberg.
Monday and Tuesday: with mountain farmers in the nature reserve
Welcome and short transfer or on foot from the hotel into the mountains to the work site. Our nature reserve supervisor and the mountain farmer will explain your work steps and the meaning behind them in detail before you get to work. At lunchtime there is time for a snack, relaxation and an exchange of ideas before the second round begins in the afternoon.
Wednesday: The Wipptal Valley and Its People
A day of exploration together. A geologist and a mountain guide will spend the day with you. The geologist will give you an in-depth look at the region’s geological features. The mountain guide will complement this with her extensive knowledge of the Wipptal Valley and its people.
Thursday: Excursion to the mountaineering village of Valsertal
Excursion to Valsertal to visit Helga and her goats on their alpine pasture. After a walk together through the unique gray alder forest, Helga serves a regional alpine snack with homemade products and explains lots of interesting facts about life on the alpine pasture. You are also welcome to spend the day on your own at your own pace.
Friday: Journey home
Say goodbye and travel home or start your individual extension
Date & Prices
Date:
Aug. 23–28, 2026: Almi’s Berghotel (completed)
Starting in November, you’ll find the new dates for 2027 here. Feel free to sign up to receive a notification when booking opens.
Prices:
Almi’s Berghotel: €535 per person in a double room; single room supplement: €125
Minimum number of participants: 2; maximum number of participants: 10
Accommodations:
Almi’s Berghotel, Obernberg
Included services
- 5 nights' lodging, including a Wipptal mountain breakfast and a regional dinner featuring local products at Almi's Berghotel
- 2-day course "Alpine pasture and mountain meadow care" with protected area supervisor and mountain hiking guide
- 2x regional snack package
- Exploration Day in the Obernberg Valley with a geologist and mountain hiking guide
- Excursion to Helga's Alm incl. cheese snack or a day at your own pace
- Wipptal Card = Ticket for public transportation in the Wipptal (Innsbruck-Brenner S-Bahn, regional buses to all valleys)
All locals are warmly invited to participate free of charge on both course days (Monday and/or Tuesday). Please simply let us know in the "Message" field when you register that you do not wish to stay overnight.
Sustainability
The traditional, species-rich cultural landscape, such as alpine pastures, mountain meadows and larch meadows, is home to many protected plants and animals. Using them has contributed to food security in Tyrol for centuries. Our project helps farmers to preserve this cultural landscape.
Dialog
Our project brings together agriculture, tourism and nature conservation. We cooperate with the "Schule der Alm" association, the ÖAV mountaineering villages project and the Wipptal volunteer center.
Added value
In 2022, 360 hours of work were completed, 13 transfers were ordered from regional companies, 42 snack packages made from regional products were consumed and overnight stays were booked for the participants in the Wipptal.
10 years of Schule der Alm - a reason to celebrate!
On October 17, 2025, a very special anniversary was celebrated at Gasthof Olpererblick in Schmirn: The board, Alpine pasture teachers and supporters of the School of the Alpine Pasture looked back on the tenth "school year". Over 650 participants have completed the courses over the past ten years and found a lot of meaning and community here - and two even found a partner for life.
Booking form for alpine pasture and mountain meadow care
Booking and cancellation policy:
6 weeks before arrival you will receive detailed information about the Alpine and Mountain Meadow Care course with program, accommodation address, packing list as well as the invoice, which is due 4 weeks before arrival.
Cancellation conditions:
up to 6 weeks before arrival: €50 per person cancellation fee
6 to 2 weeks before arrival: 30% cancellation fee
from 2 weeks before arrival: 50% cancellation fee.
We recommend that you take out cancellation insurance with Europäische Reiseversicherung. With your booking confirmation we will send you a link where you can take out your insurance easily, quickly and online.
Provider:
Incoming Reisebürogesellschaft GmbH
Rathausplatz 1
6150 Steinach a. Br.
Tel.: 0043 5272 6270