At 2,429 metres, the Furka Pass is one of the great high roads of the Swiss Alps. It climbs 29 km between Realp in the canton of Uri and Oberwald in Valais, past the Rhône Glacier and the bends where James Bond drove in Goldfinger, and it is open only for a few months each summer.
Furka Pass route: Realp to Oberwald
From the Uri side, the road leaves Realp (1,538 m), on the Andermatt side, and climbs to the summit at 2,429 m. On the Valais side it drops in a series of tight bends past the Rhône Glacier to Gletsch, then continues down to Oberwald (1,369 m) in the Rhône valley. The maximum gradient is 11 per cent.
The road was newly laid in 1866, and it was soon drawing tourists to see the Rhône Glacier and the alpine panorama. Today it is a classic for drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists.
Rhône Glacier and Hotel Belvédère
Near the summit on the Valais side stands the Hotel Belvédère, a landmark beside the Rhône Glacier. From here a short walk leads to the Rhône Glacier Ice Grotto, a 100-metre tunnel and ice chamber cut into the glacier. Because the ice moves 30 to 40 metres a year, the grotto has to be carved afresh every season.
The glacier is the source of the Rhône, which flows through Lake Geneva and France to the Mediterranean. Like most Alpine glaciers it has shrunk dramatically since the 19th century.
Goldfinger and the James Bond Strasse
The Furka Pass has a starring role in Goldfinger, the 1964 James Bond film. One curve on the road is now signposted as the “James Bond Strasse”, with a lookout and a small parking area where fans stop for a photograph.
Away from the film location, the best views come from the many pull-outs along the road. Stop often: the light changes fast at this altitude.
When is Furka Pass open?
The Furka is a summer road. According to Alpine pass information, it usually opens between early May and late June, depending on snow clearance, and closes between late October and early November. In 2026 it closed for the winter on 28 October. In exceptional years it has stayed open longer, until 2 December in 2011.
Check the live status before setting off, especially in June and October, and expect cold, wind and even snow showers at the summit in any month. There is a restaurant below the summit at Tiefenbach/Belvedere.
Furka car train and steam railway
When the pass is closed, or if you are in a hurry, the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn car train carries cars between Realp and Oberwald through the Furka Base Tunnel all year round. The trip takes barely 20 minutes and saves about 45 minutes compared with driving over the top. The tunnel opened in 1982 at 1,390 m, replacing the old seasonal railway route over the summit.
That old mountain line has been brought back to life by volunteers. The Furka mountain steam railway (Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke) runs about 18 km between Realp and Oberwald on a metre-gauge rack railway, climbing above 2,000 m through steep slopes and narrow gorges. Its historic locomotives and carriages, many more than 100 years old, were restored to working order by volunteers. A ride in one direction and the pass road in the other makes a fine day out.
For more mountain roads and railways, see Tianmen Mountain, Japan’s Tadami Line and Bern in winter.
Related reading
- 15 Swiss Ski Resorts: Compare the Villages, Terrain and Connected Areas
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- Solvay Hut on the Matterhorn: A Shelter Reserved for Emergencies
- Nine Climbers on the Jungfrau: A Mountain Turned into a Tiny Planet
- Pilatus Cogwheel Railway: What a 48% Gradient Means and How the Train Climbs It
- Sphinx Observatory at Jungfraujoch: The Science Behind the Famous View
- The Matterhorn Through the Day: Twelve Photographs, One Remarkable Mountain
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