Along the Glacier Express

Route description

Täsch is the end of the road for private cars: Zermatt is car-free, and a shuttle train runs up from the large terminal car park. After a day with the Matterhorn, drive back down the Mattertal to Visp and east along the Rhône valley to Brig, with its Stockalper Palace.

Road 19 climbs through the Goms valley, a string of villages with dark timber houses, to Oberwald and the Furka Pass at 2,429 m. The hairpins give views of the Rhône Glacier, and the pass is usually open from June to October. When it is closed, a car-carrying train runs through the tunnel from Oberwald to Realp.

Andermatt lies in a high valley where several pass roads meet. The road then climbs to the Oberalp Pass at 2,044 m, where a small lighthouse marks the area of the Rhine’s source, before descending the Surselva valley past Disentis and the Rhine Gorge to Chur.

Chur’s old town is worth a walk before the final leg south over the Julier Pass into the Engadin and St. Moritz. All three passes on this route have narrow sections and steep gradients, so check that they are open before setting out, especially outside midsummer.