Furka Pass (french: Le Col de la Furka), with an elevation of , is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...

connecting

Gletsch Gletsch () is a hamlet in the German-speaking half of the canton of Valais, located in the upper Rhone valley, called Obergoms ('Upper Goms'), , southeast below the Rhone Glacier's mouth and itself the headwaters of the Rhône. It is called Gle ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...

with

Realp Realp (archaic : ''Frialp'') is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. History Realp is first mentioned in 1363 as ''Riealb''. Geography Realp has an area, , of . Of this area, 41.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.3% i ...

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...

. The

Furka Oberalp Bahn The Furka Oberalp Railway (german: link=no, Furka Oberalp Bahn) is a narrow gauge mountain railway in Switzerland with a gauge of . It runs in the Graubünden, Uri and Canton of Valais. Since January 1, 2003, it is part of the Matterhorn G ...

line through the Furka Tunnel bypasses the pass. The base tunnel opened in 1982 and replaced a tunnel at 2100 metres. The Furka Pass was used as a location in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Goldfinger''. One curve on the east side of the pass is even named "James Bond Strasse". At the sign, there is a lookout point with a small parking area. Visitors can also park next to Hotel Belvédère, close to the top of the pass on the west side, and take the short walk to the Rhone Glacier Ice Grotto. The glacier moves 30–40 meters a year and the 100 meter long tunnel and ice chamber can be visited from June when the road opens.

External links

*
Furka Cycling Profile, Maps, and Photos

Profile on climbbybike.com

Cycling up to the Furkapass: data, profile, map, photos and description

Furka Pass - the world's greatest driving roads - Colcorsa
Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Switzerland Mountain passes of Valais Mountain passes of the canton of Uri Tourist attractions in the canton of Uri Uri–Valais border Rail mountain passes of Switzerland {{Uri-geo-stub

See also

External links