Tschäggättä mask festival

Between Candlemas in early February and the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the Tschäggättä roam the villages of the Lötschental: figures in roughly hand-carved wooden masks, fur pelts and heavy cowbells. Every mask is hand-carved and unique. This custom exists nowhere else in Switzerland and was never invented for tourists, it has simply never stopped. Onlookers get chased and rubbed with snow, so keep your distance if you'd rather avoid that. It's the most authentic winter tradition you can witness in the area.