FURKA - GRIMSEL - SUSTEN: The BEST mountain passes in SWITZERLAND
(intense music) This is where James Bond chased Goldfinger in 1964, where there are some of the most iconic spots in Switzerland. (inspiring music) Join a trip to the holy trinity of the Swiss mountain passes. A trip to some of the most photogenic mountains in Europe. A one day ride over Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass and Susten Pass.
(upbeat music) - Hello everyone. Welcome to Switzerland and welcome to our ride, to what I think are some of the most spectacular mountain passes of the area. But we first need to get there. We departed around lunchtime from Zurich and our ride to our half day adventure in the Swiss mountains, first took us south direction to the mountain town Andermatt from where we planned to ride a loop over Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass and Susten Pass. (gentle music) - The great thing about this ride to Andermatt is that it takes you around this lake, which is called Urner Lake and it is part of Lake Lucerne.
(gentle music) - So, here we take off to Andermatt and as soon as you leave the big highway here, you'll hit some nice mountain roads. But until Andermatt, it's usually still quite busy because it's the main connection to Andermatt, and there are always a lot of cars. - Today, we are doing three passes in Switzerland. The first pass that we're doing is Furka Pass. Second one is Grimsel Pass and third one is Susten Pass, and you can do them all in one day and it's a pretty awesome ride. Being nestled between four major mountain passes, close to the Swiss Italian border, the scenic village of Andermatt has long been considered a crossroad of Switzerland by linking north south passes with east west passes.
The scenic Glacier Express railway stops here on its route between the famous ski resorts Zermatt and St Moritz, but Andermatt itself is as well one of the premier destinations for skiers in winter and hikers and mountain bikers in summer. The town itself can easily be explored on foot though, with cobblestoned streets lined with charming shops and typical Swiss hotels. (gentle music) - This is what you call a Swiss mountain town. It is very outdoorsy. There are hikers, mountain bikers, and nature lovers who are basically here to explore the surrounding nature.
And we will basically do the same, but on our motorcycles. Indeed, we were about to head to three of the most popular mountain passes of Switzerland, Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass and Susten Pass. - Here, we turn off to our first mountain pass.
People are waiting here because there is this train that wants to cross the road here. - Anyways, we just turned off to Furka Mountain Pass. I don't even know if I already told you guys what we are doing today. We will ride the holy trinity of the Swiss mountain passes, which are Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass and Susten Pass. And you guys might ask yourself why I call them the holy trinity and that is basically because you can ride one of these passes after the other, there are no big transport rides in between. And I tell you, after you saw these videos and the views I think you will know why I call them the holy trinity.
So, let's go. (gentle music) From Andermatt, you will first pass the village Realp, with its cute Hotel Post. From here the hairpin bends and the amazing vistas start. And on your way up the pass, you will reach the very small village Tiefenbach shortly after, that only consists of a few houses and one chapel.
(gentle music) - So, this is what we are here for, and this is, as well, why you have to put Furka Pass on your bucket list. I have driven it really so, so many times, I can't even count it anymore how many times I have ridden this pass, but I'm always amazed by these views. (gentle music) Due to its high altitude, Furka Pass is only open from June to October. The Furka Pass route crosses several waterfalls that are active all summer, getting their water from the melting snow and the Rhone glacier on top of the mountain. (gentle music) - Hello.
- Getting closer to the top of the mountain pass, and what I think is quite nice here, that this is a very famous and super popular pass but there are still some abandoned buildings here. And the top of the pass is not like some other mountain passes where it feels like there's like an amusement park on top with lots of restaurants and shops and so on. And so I think it's much less touristic than you might expect, which is nice. And, see there.
There's always some motorcyclists parking in the middle of the road, right under the sign. And come on guys, we will do exactly the same and annoy the rest of the traffic. Furka Pass is not only one of Switzerland's most beautiful, but as well, one of Switzerland's highest mountain passes. The highest point of the scenic road is at 2,436 meters above sea level and marks the border between the two Swiss Cantons, Uri and Valais. - We are on top of Furka Pass now.
Actually the top is not that spectacular but now we are going down to the valley and there are a lot of super, super steep hairpins and quite some attractions to stop and see. (gentle music) Make sure to stop a second time only 100 meters after the top of the pass. From here, you have the best view. (gentle music) - So, here you can see the two passes.
This here is Furka Pass going down here and that here, that is already the next pass. That is Grimsel Pass that goes up here to the mountain. - So, here your excitement level should be rising because now we get to the most famous part of the pass that many of you probably already have seen on pictures. Furka Pass is one of the most famous mountain passes for several reasons. In 1964, James Bond was chasing Goldfinger on exactly this mountain pass.
And today the abandoned old Hotel Belvedere is maybe one of the most iconic and most photographed buildings in Switzerland. The hotel was opened in 1882 with the Rhone glacier right behind it, and after a renovation in 1903, it became one of the most famous mountain hotels of the Belle Epoque. The Pope is said to have been one of its regular visitors back then, and even Sean Connery visited the hotel several times later on. But due to the quick spreading of cars, the Alpine passes became more easy and quick to travel. At the same time, the Rhone glacier lost one kilometer of its length making the views from the hotel less spectacular. In 2015, the famous hotel closed its doors forever, even though it is one of the most famous Swiss Instagram pictures ever.
(intense music) - This road here leads you down to the mountain town Gletsch. You see that down there, here on the right, in the bottom, the little houses. And the road that goes up there zig-zag style is Grimsel Pass and that's the next pass that we want to do. (gentle music) Surrounded by steep mountains, right at the bottom of Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass you find a hotel, a restaurant, a former gas station, an old railway station and a few small houses.
The settlement Gletsch is only inhabited during the summer months from June to September and lies at an altitude of 1,759 meters. Its most remarkable building is the old Anglican chapel though that was built in 1907. (gentle music) - We are climbing up the hairpins of Grimsel Pass now that you saw already from Furka Pass. It's not a very long way up to the top. And over there you see, as well, Furka Pass again that we came down. (gentle music) - Here we are, this is already the top of Grimsel Pass and this top of the pass is actually pretty cool because you have this lake here that is called Totesee, which means lake of the death.
And you have as well as some hotels and restaurants here. So if you want to stay somewhere along the route, this is a very good place. (gentle music) Grimsel Pass is situated at 2,164 meter elevation. And many people think it's, as well, one of the most beautiful mountain passes in Switzerland. We decided to stop for a drink at Hotel Grimsel Passhohe that is situated right at the lake, has a pretty awesome sauna, and is the perfect place to evaluate the beauty standards that Swiss mountain passes should have in our opinion.
- So, we are at the top of Grimsel Pass now and my travel partner will tell you how he likes Grimsel. - [Man] I hate it. - You hate it? - [Man] No, I don't hate it, but in my opinion, it's the worst pass in Switzerland. - Why? - [Man] Because it's very industrial and has dams and power lines and that sort of stuff. - But I still think it's very pretty.
(gentle music) Only a few steps from Hotel Grimsel Passhohe, you find the modern chapel of St. Christopherus, elevated above the road. The architecture of the chapel, with its stones and colors, imitates the nature on Grimsel Pass and several signs that can be found on the surrounding rocks praise nature and God. (gentle music) - Hallelujah, I know why my travel partner doesn't like this pass, because there are a lot of power lines.
And below me you can see the dammed lakes which are of course not natural but I still think they look kind of impressive and pretty. (gentle music) On the northern side of the pass are three reservoirs connected by tunnels and operated by power plants. On one of the reservoirs, called Grimsel Lake, there is another historic hotel called Grimsel Hospiz. (gentle music) - So yeah, the lakes here are, of course, artificial and built to get power, but I don't actually mind them as much as my travel partner does. I still think they are kind of scenic.
But if you would ask me if Grimsel Pass is one of the most beautiful passes in Switzerland, I would definitely agree with my travel partner and say no, because I think it's the most overrated pass of the three passes that we are doing today. Even though I really enjoyed the views, I was, as well, ready for the next mountain pass because it was already late in the afternoon and the sun was about to go down soon. - So going down Grimsel Pass here on this side is for sure much, much longer than going up and you eventually end up in this valley here from where you reach the town, Innerkirchen, it is called.
- So here we turn right on the road to Susten Pass. And look, there's still some sun here on the top of the mountains. So I hope we will be fast enough to reach the top before it gets completely dark.
(gentle music) - So, this here is hands down the best restaurant with the best Swiss Rösti dish and the best cakes in all the area. We unfortunately can't stop here today because the sun is going down already. But, if you ride these passes here, you have to stop at this restaurant. (gentle music) From all three passes that we did this day, Susten Pass is definitely the least touristic and least known pass of the holy trinity.
But that's maybe why I like it the best. The curves are perfect to ride a motorcycle. It is never too busy and the views get more and more stunning the higher you climb.
- Guys, I just love Susten Pass. From a riding point of view, it's just the most fun of all the three passes. The other two might be historical heaven but this here is motorcycle heaven. - And this here is my favorite part.
These little tunnels are so awesome. And this one ahead of us has a little waterfall dropping down at the side of it. I think it's just so idyllic. It's like out of a fairy tale. So I have a big Susten Pass love. (gentle music) - So this is the third pass now.
It's Susten Pass and in my opinion, it's the most beautiful and now as well, the evening light is super nice. The Susten Pass road has a length of 45 kilometers and is usually only open from June to October. The road that you are traveling today was opened in 1945 after a construction period of eight years and costs of about $32 million, which by todays pricing standards would be around $160 million. So one kilometer would cost more than 3 million today.
- I guess we just made it in time with the last rays of sunlight of this day. This here is the top of Susten Pass. Welcome, everyone. - Made it to the top of Susten Pass, which is 2,224 meters.
And now the sun is going down, so we have to hurry a little bit, so we don't get in the dark. - Through this tunnel here, you get to the other side of the mountain. Wow, look. Here, nearly all sun has gone already. (upbeat music) The length of the total route of the three passes from Andermatt is 119 kilometers.
And I would plan at least an hour per pass if you want to stop every now and then too. - That's it, it was a lovely ride. We are back to where we basically started and now goodnight, everyone.
I still have to ride home for about two hours. Thank you guys for joining this mountainous ride. Did you like the holy trinity of the Swiss mountain passes? If your answer is yes, leave a comment below this video and give it a thumbs up, and don't forget to subscribe to my channel. See you next Thursday for the next adventure. (motorbike roars)
2022-04-07 06:05
