The Furka Pass was immortalized by the Aston DB5 / Ford Mustang car chase in James Bond’s Goldfinger, and is another stunning 5 star pass in the central Swiss Alps, part of the “Big 3” passes close by to Andermatt.
From Gletsch the Furka Pass starts with a couple of tight switchbacks, but then cuts a long sweeping path along the rock-face of the valley for around 5 to 6 KM. Visibility forward is fantastic, roads surface immaculate, so it’s a road that you really can “drive” and really puts a big smile on your face. At the end of this initial stretch, you then turn back on yourself, the Furka Pass then gets steeper, with a series of great switchbacks (road surface here is not so great and quiet often can be small rock debris on the road from the steep walls the road has been cut into) up until you reach the Hotel Belvedere, iconic site close to the top of the pass.
The hotel itself is currently closed for renovation, but this is anyway the spot you should park up to view the Rhone glacier. You’re then just 2 minutes walk to the Rhone Glacier. After departing the hotel, the final ascent to the top of the Furka Pass takes you through a few more good switchbacks, before a small lake at the top – a real lunar landscape.
The run down the Furka Pass is not quite as exciting as the road narrows and can be quiet steep in places, but does give great views all the way none the less. Once at the bottom of the Furka Pass, there is a 4-6KM streth of road, arrow straight, running parallel to the railway line.