Gemmi Pass 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 ...

across the

Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type=Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , l ...

connecting

Leukerbad Leukerbad (french: Loèche-les-Bains, Walliser German: ''Leiggerbad'', although locally known as ''Baadu'') is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History The story of Leukerbad dates back to the 4th ...

(on the south) in the canton of

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

Kandersteg Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mounta ...

(on the north) in the canton of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. The pass itself lies within the canton of Valais, at a height of above sea level. The main trail reaches . The pass lies between the

Daubenhorn The Daubenhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, located above the town of Leukerbad, Switzerland. The mountain has the longest via ferrata, or secured climbing route, in Switzerland. The route is built into the mountain's southeastern face and ...

() in the west and the

Rinderhorn The Rinderhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Leukerbad in the canton of Valais. It lies east of Gemmi Pass on the chain culminating at the Balmhorn The Balmhorn (3,698 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. I ...

() in the east. The pass is at the west end of the Aar Massif and at the east end of the

Wildstrubel The Wildstrubel () is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Canton of Bern, Bern and Valais. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 15 km wide, extending between the Rawil Pass and the Gemmi Pass. Along w ...

Massif. Near the pass is the

Daubensee __NOTOC__ Daubensee is a lake at Gemmi Pass in Valais, Switzerland. It is the site of the annual Shepherd Festival held on the last Sunday in July. It has a surface area of . See also *List of lakes of Switzerland *List of mountain lakes of Swit ...

, which has no outlet above ground. The

Gemmi Fault The Gemmi Fault or Gemmi Pass Fault is a geologic fault in Switzerland. It lies close to the Gemmi Pass at Leukerbad and is a strike-slip fault. This fault is at least long and shows evidence of Holocene movement; several landslides and trace ...

passes close to the pass. The pass is mentioned in the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

story

The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title ...

. Sherlock Holmes and

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

cross the pass on their way to

Meiringen Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...

, where Sherlock Holmes has his famous meeting with

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

at the

Reichenbach Falls The Reichenbach Falls (german: Reichenbachfälle) are a waterfall cascade of seven steps on the stream called Rychenbach in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They drop over a total height of about . At , the upper falls, known as the ...

. The pass is described by

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

in his short-story ''L'Auberge''. The American writer

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

also visited the pass in August 1878, and described it in a letter to his wife.Albert Bigelow Paine, ''Mark Twain's Letters, Vol. 2,'' Harper & Bros. Publishers. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3195/3195-h/3195-h.htm#2H_4_0003 Although the pass cannot be traversed by road, it is still directly accessible by cablecar from Leukerbad. Alternatively, the pass can be reached by a two-hour dramatic hike on foot. Gemmiweg von Leukerbad zum Gemmipass

From Kandersteg a cable car gives access to the ''Sunnbüel'' area (1,934 m), 10 km north of the pass, allowing hikers to cross the pass on a wide and easy trail. The trail over the Gemmi Pass is very popular with hikers both in summer and in winter. The pass itself is also used as a vantage point, because of the view of some major peaks in the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ( ...

, such as the

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Valai ...

and

Dent Blanche The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At -high, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps. Naming The original name was probably ''Dent d'Hérens'', the current name of the nearby D ...

References

External links

* Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Switzerland Mountain passes of Valais {{Valais-geo-stub