Switzerland, Graubunden, Switzerland
Glaciers hang over the road as it threads past turquoise Lago Bianco to the Poschiavo valley.
Length
33 km
In miles
20.5 mi
Driving time
50 min
Atlas rating
9.3 / 10
The run
Pontresina to Poschiavo. Drive it in either direction, though the views usually favour the climb.
Season
Usually open year round, snow chains possible
Nearby
25 km away
Maloja Pass
Tight zigzags drop dramatically off the Engadine plateau toward the Italian border.
27 km away
Passo del Mortirolo
Cycling's cruellest climb doubles as a brutally steep, tightly hairpinned driving test.
30 km away
Julier Pass
A fast, sweeping Roman era route across a bare, boulder strewn Engadine watershed.
30 km away
Albula Pass
Tight forested hairpins give way to a bare summit above the Albula rail viaducts.
35 km away
Passo dell'Umbrail
Switzerland's link into the Stelvio is a quieter alternative with the same drama.
36 km away
Passo dello Stelvio
Eighty four hairpins stacked above the treeline make this Europe's most theatrical mountain pass.
Longer journeys
55m
Furka Pass
Furka takes about fifty five minutes end to end, longer if you stop at the Belvédère, and it is open from roughly June to October depending on snow clearance. It is not dangerous if driven with sense, the road is wide and immaculately surfaced, but the drop below the Belvédère hairpin is real and the weather can close in fast above 2,000 metres.
1h 05m
Grimsel Pass
Granite, reservoirs and a surface that flatters every car.
1h 15m
Susten Pass
Built for the view rather than the shortest line, and the finest surface in Europe.