The glacier road
Some climbs are about rhythm, some are about suffering. The Furka Pass is about exposure.
At 2,429 meters, high between Uri and Valais, the Furka doesn’t hide behind forests or valleys. It lifts you out into the open and keeps you there, suspended between rock, ice, and sky.
Why the Furka is different
The Furka is one of the most iconic roads in the Alps, famous for its hairpins, vast views, and close encounter with the Rhone Glacier.
Yes, it’s cinematic, but what really defines it is something simpler: you never stop seeing where you are. There are no long hidden sections, no deep forests masking the scale.
The Furka is open, honest, and impossible to ignore.
Speaking of scenic: the Furka Pass was used as a location in the James Bond movie Goldfinger – there’s a hairpin on the Realp end marked as “James Bond Strasse”, complete with lookout point and small parking area.
The glacier encounter
Near the top, the Furka gives you something unique: a direct, almost intimate view of a major Alpine glacier. The Rhone Glacier, source of the Rhône River, sits just above the road near the Belvédère.
This isn’t a distant view, it’s right there, dominating the landscape.
And it changes the feeling of the climb:
- colder
- harsher
- more real
The summit
At 2,429 m, the summit itself is almost understated. No huge theatrics, just wind, rock, and long-range views:
- Gotthard massif
- Valais peaks
- empty alpine space
This is not a summit for celebration photos, it’s a summit for standing still and taking it in.
Realp
Starting in Hospental, the Furka eases you in gently. The flat section of about 5 kilometers to Realp offers some stunning views of the surrounding mountains and is a nice warming up before the climb starts.
The ‘Furkastrasse’ officially starts in Realp – a few sheltered kilometers, and then the landscape opens.
The road starts to traverse wide alpine slopes, the valley falls away behind you, and everything becomes visible.
It’s a classic east-side Alpine climb:
- gradual exposure
- clean gradients
- long lines of sight
You can see your progress, you can measure your effort and you can feel the mountain slowly getting bigger around you.
There’s a nice restaurant called Furkablick just before the summit and it honors it’s name, because if you can sit outside, the view is fabulous. The restaurant at the summit was deserted when I was there and it looked ‘out of business’.
I cycled the Furka from Realp as part of the ‘Swiss Stage’ at the end of my Giro d’Italia 2015 – report of that “Gotthard-Furka-Grimsel” here.
Oberwald
If you want the full Furka experience, start from the other side.
From Ulrichen / Oberwald, the climb tells a completely different story—and for many riders, a better one.
It begins quietly:
- through forest
- alongside waterfalls
- building slowly through the valley
Then you reach Gletsch and everything changes.
The Gletsch moment
Gletsch is one of those rare Alpine locations where routes converge and perspectives explode.
From here, you can see:
- the Grimsel road rising opposite you
- the Furka hairpins above
- the Rhone Glacier hanging in the background
This is where the ride becomes visual overload.
You’re no longer just climbing, you’re riding into a scene.
The upper section from Gletsch to the summit is widely considered one of the most spectacular roads in Switzerland, with open views toward the glacier and the high peaks, and on the Grimsel snaking out of the opposite end of the valley,
At hotel Belvedere and on a clear day, you will want to take a picture of the jaw dropping view on both the Furka and the Grimsel. I did enjoy that going down in 2015, but not in 2019, because there was a thick fog.
The restaurant located at the summit is probably out of business, but just a little further, the Furkablick restaurant is serving refreshments with a view 😎
As mentioned, I cycled this end – from Gletsch anyway – during my ‘Tour de Suisse 2019’. started in Wassen and cycled the Susten – Grimsel – Furka loop and finished in Andermatt. Report of that trip here.
The descents
Whichever way you go, the descent is part of the reward:
- Toward Gletsch: tight, stacked hairpins and full glacier perspective
- Toward Realp / Andermatt: faster, flowing curves with wide views
And one unique bonus: from above Gletsch, you can often see your next climb—Grimsel—waiting across the valley.
Best combinations
Two-pass perfection
- Furka + Grimsel
- Pure, compact, visually overwhelming
Three-pass classic
- Furka + Nufenen + Gotthard
- True grand loop, perfectly logical
Adds the Old Tremola.
Big Three
- Furka + Grimsel + Susten
- Expands west/north instead of south
Alpenbrevet
The Furka is part of two of the Alpenbrevet courses:
- Gold course: Andermatt – Oberalp – Lukmanier – Nufenen – Furka – Andermatt
- Silver course: Andermatt – Gotthard – Nufenen – Furka – Andermatt
Neither tackles the Realp end, which is not necessarily a bad thing 😎
Practical notes
- Typically open June to October depending on snow
- Highly exposed → weather matters more than on most passes
- Temperature drops quickly at altitude
Best ridden:
- on a clear day
- early or late to avoid traffic
- with time to stop (you will stop)
Verdict
If the Gotthard is history, and the Susten is elegance, then the Furka is pure Alpine theatre.
The climb itself is manageable, the gradients are fair, but the surroundings?
They take over.
Ride it from Ulrichen / Gletsch if you can. That approach doesn’t just climb the Furka—it reveals it, layer by layer, until the glacier finally takes centre stage.
Background picture: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
