Cycling routes

Grimsel - Legendary Mountain Passes

Velofahrerin beim Aufstieg auf den Grimselpass auf der Walliser Seite

Obergoms

-3/2°

From the Haute Valais village of Oberwald to the summit of the Grimsel Pass, you will discover a giant of the Alps that connects the canton of Valais with Bern.

Difficulty

Difficult

Length

12.21 km

Duration

2:30 h

Blick auf die Furkastrasse vom Grimselpass

Description

From Oberwald, the road climbs through a pine forest while you glimpse over the young Rhone River below. When you arrive at the village of Gletsch, the road splits between the Furka Pass to your right and the Grimsel Pass to your left. In the following kilometres, the view is extraordinary, where you will discover the spectacular Rhone Glacier, the source of the Rhone River. At the summit, a small alpine lake reflects the neighbouring peaks shining under a clear sky as the view opens towards the Bernese Alps.

Turn-by-turn directions

The Grimsel Pass is one of the Alpine giants that rises over 2,000 metres of altitude. From Oberwald to Gletsch, the warmup is fairly easy as the slope is reasonable. A small cog railway follows the route just below the road until the split to the Furka Pass. From Gletsch, long straights are linked together by a series of zigzags, and you start to feel the air become scarce as you take on the altitude. The top of the pass offers views of the summits in both the cantons of Valais and Bern, and Gletsch seems so very far away only just a few kilometres below. A park with Marmots makes the restaurant at the pass a very friendly place to visit.

Start

Oberwald (1368m)

Destination

Grimsel pass (2164m)

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Author's recommendation

The route offers superb views on the final part of the climb.

Technical information

Altitude

2165m

1368m

Ascent

+797m

Descent

-0m

Technique

Stamina

Experience

Landscape

Best time of the year

Public transport

Frequent CFF train connections from all over Switzerland to Brig, then MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn) train or bus to Oberwald.

Approach

From Brig, follow the cantonal route 19 "Furkastrasse" for 40km until you arrive in Oberwald.

Parking

Parking at the train station in Oberwald, follow the local car park routeing.

Source

This activity is brought to you by Valais/Wallis Promotion