Top 10 Most Epic PASS ROADS in SWITZERLAND Alps 🇨🇭

🇨🇭 The Ultimate Road Trip: Top 10 Pass Roads in Switzerland 🚗✨
Take a breathtaking ride through the Swiss Alps as we explore the 10 most stunning and unforgettable mountain pass roads Switzerland has to offer. From legendary serpent roads to dramatic glaciers, this is not just a top 10 — it’s a journey.
We kick things off with the iconic Gotthardpass, including the historic Tremola road and the infamous Devil’s Bridge, before venturing toward lesser-known but equally epic routes like the Nufenenpass, the highest paved pass in Switzerland, where cloud inversions and alpine wildlife await.
We take you across snow-covered landscapes on the Julierpass, one of the rare roads open year-round, and wind past sparkling lakes and hydro dams on the majestic Grimselpass. Autumn gold and UNESCO heritage charm light up the Albulapass, while the Berninapass offers glacier views and secret hikes to the bluest lakes in Switzerland.
If you’re into curves, drama, and raw alpine beauty, the Splügenpass — connecting Switzerland and Italy — delivers one of the most thrilling drives of your life. Then comes the Sustenpass, where waterfalls and tunnels awaits below. Of course, no list is complete without the Furkapass, famous for its James Bond cameo and otherworldly ice cave, a stark reminder of our changing climate.
But the crown jewel? That goes to the Klausenpass. From hidden waterfalls to lush alpine meadows and rugged switchbacks, it’s a wild ride through the heart of Swiss legend and landscape.
Whether you’re dreaming of your next road trip, planning a journey, or just love epic scenery, this video will take you on a ride through Switzerland’s most beautiful, challenging, and awe-inspiring alpine roads.
📍 HERE is the DjemoGraphic MAP: https://app.pioneermaps.com/djemographic/topvillages

📅 Best visited between May and October (weather permitting), these routes are more than just roads — they’re destinations in themselves.

📍 Got a favorite? Or one you dream of driving? Let us know in the comments!
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#SwitzerlandRoadTrip #PassRoadsOfSwitzerland #DjemoGraphic #SwissAlpsDrive #EpicScenicDrives

A journey through the heart of the Alps over 
Top 10 Pass Roads of Switzerland! From serpent roads to inspiring mountain vistas, we’re 
counting down the most scenic and thrilling alpine routes the country has to offer. 
Whether you’re planning your next road trip, dreaming of riding through the Alps, or simply 
loving epic landscapes… you’re in the right place. Buckle up for your next Switzerland 
road trip! Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel. let’s s get started with number 
10, and that would be the Gotthardpass. Let’s start with a very famous pass road of 
Switzerland, before we are getting into the less-known ones. The Gotthardpass, in 
Italian Passo del San Gottardo connects the central and Italian-speaking parts of 
Switzerland, the cantons of Uri and Ticino. The Gotthardpass is that road that might 
upset many travelers as the highway to the tunnel is often jammed, actually really 
jammed. But from late Spring/early Summer, the passroad above the Gotthard is opening up, 
offering you a longer but likely much faster way. The road is very scenic, it starts from Amsteg, 
you either can head up the old road to Göschenen or you take the highway, which is faster in case 
if there is no traffic jam. The actual pass road then really starts up from Göschenen, from 
there, you ascend this serpent road, crossing the devil’s bridge, a first stopping point at 
where you can see one of the most legendary bridges of Switzerland of which the locals say 
it was built by the devil. Just next to it are the Suvorov monument from the battles between 
Napoleon the 3rd and the Russian army as well as a publicly accessible military facility tunnel.
The road ascends further to Andermatt and then at Hospental, you need to turn left to head to the 
Gotthard hospice. Once you reach this bifurcation, I recommend you to turn right and take 
the old plastered road called Tremola. Arrived at the hospice, you may take a quick 
break, have a few snacks, buy souvenirs and go to see the lake. There is another military 
facility here that you can enter, you may even see the largest crystal of Switzerland.
The very highlight awaits you when you continue the old passroad down to Airolo. The tremola is 
much admired for its serpent way, so make sure to stop a couple of times to take some photos. You 
won’t even need a drone to have great footage. If you want to know more details about this 
pass road, I made a separate video about it. Number nine is just nearby and 
that would be the Nufenenpass: Since we are now at Airolo, there is another 
pass road starting there taking you over to the Canton of Valais, to the valley of Goms. 
This pass road is already quite less famous in Switzerland but it is not any less worth of 
driving. Let’s start at the beautiful village of Ulrichen in the german-speaking part of Valais, 
ascending the mountain to 2478 meters, by the way the highest pass road on this Top 10 list.
You might think that you always need perfect weather, but sometimes sunny weather does 
not create long lasting memories. I went here with Ita and Hanafi in 2023, it was rainy 
all day but the ascending mist created a very unique and mystical atmosphere. We were not that 
hopeful until we crossed the thick layer of clouds and suddenly enjoyed a breathtaking vista.
For Hanafi it was his first cloud inversion, so it was something really special.
However, even without cloud inversion this passroad is very scenic. I came here with Razi 
on a late sunny Summer afternoon. We took a quick break up here and then saw many of these ibexes.
The road down to Airolo is long but not so steep, making it quite easy to drive. Depending 
on the time you are driving, you might be interrupted by cow herds heading back to their 
stables… welcome to the real alpine Switzerland! As just mentioned before, this pass road is 
great to be combined with the Gotthard pass to head back to Central Switzerland or vice versa.
Important information: This pass road is usually the last one opening up in Switzerland. From 
June to August, you certainly will be able to take this pass road, depending on the conditions 
it might be open even in Mid-May and then in the Autumn months of September and October, the road 
might close once in a while due to snowfall. It will finally close in mid-October/early 
November for the rest of the year. Let’s head to the canton of Graubünden, 
number eight is the Julierpass: The Julier pass is one of the few 
pass roads that remain open all year, even during Winter. This allows you to enjoy 
the unique experience a snowy pass road, which certainly looks much different from Summer.
Connecting the Engadin region to the rest of Switzerland, this pass road is vital to 
the regions in far eastern Switzerland, as they otherwise would be cut-off during the 
Winter months. The Julierpass is one of the longest pass roads in Switzerland. Starting at 
Silvaplana on 1800, the road ascends quickly and after a couple of minutes, you already reach 
the hospice on 2284 meters. Driving down to Tiefencastel and Thusis will take a lot more time.
There are a few serpent parts that you will be driving on before you reach Bivio, the 
first village after the hospice. Further down is the barrage of Marmorera, a 
nice spot to go for a quick break. Personally, I prefer taking this 
road from Tiefencastel to Silvaplana, as the arrival in the Engadin through 
this pass road is really wonderful. Some interesting fact about this road. 
Switzerland is spending millions of CHF to keep this road open all year. Without this 
link, the Engadin region would be cut off from the rest of Switzerland. The only alternatives 
would be the Vereinatunnel or taking long detours through Austria or Italy to return to the other 
parts of Switzerland. During Summer and Autumn, you may also take the Albula pass road, more 
about that one in the later part of this video. Number seven is also a very popular pass 
road, and that would be the Grimsel: Located in Valais and the Berner Oberland, 
this one is one of the most popular pass roads of Switzerland. The Grimsel pass takes you 
from Gletsch to the Haslital. The road on the Bernese site is much longer, you first pass 
Guttannen and then approach two major dams. What makes this pass road to such a big 
attraction? There are various reasons: One of them is the very popular Gelmerbahn 
that is accessible through this road, the another important one is the fact that this 
pass road can be easily combined with others, such as the Sustenpass, Nufenenpass and Furkapass. The road down to Gletsch is short but 
a really beautiful serpent. It does not matter that much if you now ascend or descent 
this road. The entire pass road is beautiful in either of the directions of travel.
The Grimsel pass remains closed during Winter. It usually opens around late May and 
closure happened around October/early November. Number six is again located 
in the canton of Graubünden, by the way one of my favorite pass 
roads, and that would be the Albula: No doubt one of my very favorite pass 
roads, especially very underrated during the golden Autumn season!
The Albulapass connects the Engadin to the rest of Switzerland. However, unlike the 
Julierpass this road remains closed during the Winter months, for a pretty cool reason 
actually. We will be getting there soon! The Albula pass road starts in Tiefencastel 
and ascends to 2315 m to then head down to La Punt-Chamuses-ch [Tschamuschtsch]. When you 
are driving on this pass road, make sure to stop at various points as there is really a lot to 
see! First of all, just before you reach Bergün, there is a nice view point, in October/November, 
you might even have the chance to get some Winter Wonderland vibes there. The road continues 
to Bergün/Bravuogn, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful Swiss villages. 
Exploring this nice place is certainly worth it. Now the following part gets really fun! 
You will be passing beneath a couple of UNESCO world heritage train bridges, if 
you are lucky that might even happen when the Rhaetian railway train is passing by at 
the time you are on the road. I personally, find this part to be the most beautiful 
during October with the many golden larches. After Preda, there is another important photospot 
to have a break at. The Lai da Palpuogna is one of Switzerland’s most beautiful alpine lakes during 
Autumn. In here, you have plenty of golden larches that are perfectly reflected in the lake’s water. 
At times it might snow up there or the lake is even frozen. During Summer, everything would be 
green instead, something I yet have to experience! The upper part might be snowy during Autumn, it 
will look very magical during that time. When heading down to the upper Engadin, the 
road will follow a serpent path through pockets of larch forests. Again here, a 
good time to have a quick photo break. I personally prefer taking this road from 
Tiefencastel to the Engadin, but even if you travel in the other direction, it’s nice as well!
During Winter, the pass road remains closed as I already mentioned. For these months, 
the part from Preda to Bergün is converted into a toboggan run. You will be sledding in the 
middle of Switzerland’s heritage railway line, passing underneath arcs while 
the train crosses over above you. By the way, if you want to know where all 
these beautiful spots are located at, I made this “Djemo Graphic” map: you can see all the 
places where I filmed at for my YouTube videos, Instagram Reels. you only need to purchase 
it once, and you can find the link in the descriptions. and now let’s continue with number 
five, we’re already moving to the upper half this top 10 list of the most beautiful passports of 
Switzerland, let’s continue with the Bernina: I know, in a couple of Top 10 videos, the 
Bernese Oberland or canton of Valais have been prominently featured. In this video, 
it happens to be the canton of Graubünden! The Berninapass is another road that remains 
open during all year as it is the only way for the people of the Valposchiavo 
to access the rest of Switzerland. The road starts in Pontresina and takes you up to 2330 m. You will be driving parallel to 
the Rhaetian railway line, again once in a while having interesting parts to stop at!
A hot spot is this one here at where you can see the Mortaratsch Glacier, just a few minutes after 
Pontresina. Further up, after crossing the larch forest, you will reach the station of Diavolezza, 
an attraction you might consider to visit. There is a gondola up to 3000 m from where you have a 
great view over the glaciers, by the way: a cool place for skiing even during the Autumn months!
It’s not much of a longer way to the hospice, you will pass the Lago Bianco and then head down 
to the Valposchiavo, a valley that in my opinion is very much underrated. After roughly 10 minutes’ 
drive, you will arrive at a settlement called La Rösa, a nice place for a quick stop. During 
Autumn, you may go for a walk among the golden larches. Very likely, you will be alone in here.
Further down is Sfazu, at where you may park your car to head up to the Lago di Saoseo. The road 
is only for public transport, violators will be fined. It takes about 90 minutes to reach the lake 
but that is absolutely worth it. You will see the bluest of all bluest lakes of Switzerland!
Once you reached the end of the pass road, you will be at Poschiavo, one of the most 
beautiful Swiss villages. This is by the way the Italian-speaking part of the canton of 
Graubünden. There is a lot more to see in here, I made a separate video about this valley. Just 
very brief: You may also take the Berina express that connects the Engadin and Valposchiavo, 
ending in Italy’s Tirano. The railway will pass this wonderful viaducts at Brusio, which 
is part of the Swiss UNESCO world heritage. Number four is also located in the canton of 
Graubünden, and that would be the Splügen Pass This is certainly one of the most thrilling 
and curvy pass roads you can take in the Alps! On this list, the Splügenpass is 
the only one that is not entirely in Switzerland. The road connects the beautiful 
village of Splügen to Chiavenna in Italy. You will be passing by this forest and then 
ascending further up this serpent road to head towards the boundary. The road is very scenic, 
you will see pristine landscapes with creeks, lonely trees and lush green slopes.
Having arrived at the hospice, there is the immigration check point. Back in the 
days before Schengen, you would see many swiss police officers and Italian carabinieri. 
Nowadays, you only see cars and tourists. The road on the Swiss side is already 
very beautiful. It even gets better on the Italian side. The ascend from Splügen is 
quite short, but your way down to Chiavenna will take quite a bit of your time!
You pass curvy roads, Alps, villages, dams and then you eventually arrive at Pianazzo, 
a village at where a stop is imperative. Follow this short path to access the view point, 
from where you can oversee the valley, the waterfall and this: that’s the highlight 
of the pass road on the Italian side. The following part will be very curvy, at times 
narrow, passing short tunnels, very exciting! Roughly a one-hour drive from Splügen down to 
Chiavenna, very beautiful overall and who knows? Maybe you want to explore more of the region 
at Lake Como or if you travel to Graubünden, seeing the village of Splügen itself or 
continuing to Ticino via San Bernardino. And now, we’re already entering 
the podium of the top 10 most beautiful pass roads of Switzerland: 
number three would be the Susten: One of the most difficult pass roads on this list, 
but a true alpine wonderland. In Wassen the road starts, the first part being easy, but after 
the ascend is quite steep and curvy. You will be passing one of the most beautiful alpine 
landscapes, the valley is deep and wide, the mountains high and you still can see some glaciers 
that might still last for the next 10-20 years. There is this side valley that you may 
consider going for a hike, a very hidden gem people take note of but seem to ignore 
as crossing the pass is everyone’s intention. The road continues further until this tunnel 
after which you then arrive at the hospice. Now, you will leave the canton of Uri and enter the 
Bernese Oberland. The road there is much easier, less steep but notably longer. The uppermost part 
is the most enjoyable, you see some glaciers, even one waterfall and you pass by multiple 
tunnels. Easy and yet super enjoyable! Further down the road, you will see this 
restaurant at where you can taste the best Bernese Rösti coming along in multiple variants.
The pass road ends at Innertkirchen. You have multiple options of how to continue, 
either you do a round trip by crossing the Grimsel and then the Furka or you 
head towards Brienz/Interlaken. Then, you may want to check out the Aareschlucht, 
the probably most visited gorge of Switzerland. Number two is a very famous pass 
road, and that would be the Furka: A historically very important pass road, today 
a major tourist attraction of the Swiss Alps. The Furkapass has been attracting large numbers 
of tourists due to the challenging road, the beauty of the landscape, the attractions 
and the fact that this was a filming location for James Bond Goldfinger.
The road starts in Gletsch/Oberwald and takes you to Realp in the canton 
of Uri. I prefer starting from Realp, the experience is better from that side, you 
ascend higher and higher, there are bits that are narrow and you will see this road is at 
times a bit dangerous, which is why I consider this one being difficult for first timers and 
people with big cars or recreational vehicles. Consider going for a few stops, the 
landscape is really beautiful at every point, my favorite locations are the one about 5 
minutes after Realp, you can see the valley and at times also encounter cows that reside 
up here during the Summer season. Further up, there is this small bridge at where you can see 
this waterfall, really nice spot. My friends Razi, Hanafi and Ita really liked this point a lot.
Its not much further up to the hospice but similar to other pass roads, the best 
place to make a stop is at the Belvédère, the iconic hotel featured in James Bond 
Goldfinger. Back then the hotel was very popular, you could see the Rhone glacier reaching far 
down to the valley. Due to the global warming this glacier has much retreated and in the recent 
years the loss in ice mass has become even worse. A quick visit to the ice cave is something I 
highly recommend. It costs you 9 Swiss Francs, you then need to march quite a bit down to 
reach the glacier, I remember only 25 years ago, the way was about 50 meters long only.
The ice cave is absolutely breathtaking, everything around you is cool, blue and you 
feel like being in a different world. The ice cave is being protected by UV blankets that 
significantly reduce the melting of the ice but this does not stop the glacier from retreating 
further. Only in 2022 and 2023, Switzerland lost 10% of its glacier mass, the same amount was lost 
between 1960 and 1990, a number to think about. The road down to Gletsch is much 
easier, you then may ask yourself, if you want to continue your journey by taking 
the Grimsel pass followed by the Sustenpass or do the other roundtrip with the Nufenenpass 
and the Gotthardpass to return to Andermatt. And now I’m going to present you 
my favorite and the most beautiful pass road of Switzerland: number 
one is the amazing Klausenpass: This is no doubt the most beautiful passroad 
you can take in Switzerland. Connecting the cantons of Glarus and Uri, you will be 
seeing a lot on your way, maybe even too much so you better short list your stops 😉
You will be passing many wonderful waterfalls, a nice alpine village (Urnerboden) and get to 
enjoy amazing vistas. If you start in Altdorf, you first pass this wonderful old town, you will 
see the statue of our national hero William Tell in the centre, then you ascend to Bürglen, 
his home town, which is worth a quick stop. On your further drive, you will be see beautiful 
lush green hills, the pass road is absolutely breath-taking, already at its lower part.
The next place is Unterschächen, the home to one of Switzerland’s most beautiful 
waterfalls, the Stäuber. You would have to park your car either here or down in the village, 
from Hältikehr it’s about a 40 minute’s hike, driving up to the waterfall is strictly forbidden, 
kindly respect this rule to avoid heavy fines. The waterfall is really worth a quick visit, it’s one 
of the subjects that probably best represents the ideal dream of a Switzerland vacation.
There is by the way one more hidden gem around this pass road that I am presenting 
in another video, where I presented in the detailed guide about this pass road, which I am 
going to suggest you at the end of this video. The upper part of the pass road is curvy, at 
times narrow, raw and rough but absolutely magical! Consider a quick stop at this bench to 
once more look down to the Staubifall, before you are ascending further up to the Hospice.
At the hospice, you may have a quick break, but I do have to be honest, it’s 
not the highlight of this pass road. It gets again very beautiful as you are then 
heading down to the Linth valley in Glarus. The upper part is curvy, absolutely magical, 
surely great to have multiple stops. At times it might also be foggy, which really renders the 
entire landscape mystical. This in my opinion is the most beautiful part on this side of the 
pass road, so make sure to not rush through it. Further down, you will reach Urnerboden, the 
largest Alp of Switzerland. You might think you are already in the canton of Glarus, but 
it actually still belongs to Uri. It’s a small village, worth a quick exploration, the part at 
the creek is pretty nice, a visit to the cheese factory shop is also something you may consider.
As you are driving the road further down, you will reach by the Berglistüber, a 
waterfall that you even can pass from behind! Arrived in the Linth valley, maybe don’t head to 
Glarus straight, consider going for a visit to the Schreyenbachfalls they only get water during late 
June and July, thus an absolute secret favorite! So many great pass roads here in Switzerland. now, if you want to watch more videos like this, 
then, I’m going to see over there. Otherwise, if you’re more interested in something 
else, then, let’s meet in this video!