Nufenen Pass (Italian: ''Passo della Novena'', German: ''Nufenenpass'') (el. 2478 m.) is the highest

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 ...

with a paved road within

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It lies between the summits of

Pizzo Gallina Pizzo Gallina is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps of Switzerland, overlooking the Nufenen Pass. Administratively, the summit is located on the border between the municipality of Obergoms, to the north-west and in the canton of Valais, and the ...

(north) and the

Nufenenstock The Nufenestock (2,866 m) is a mountain of the Lepontine Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Valais and Ticino. It lies between the Nufenen Pass Nufenen Pass (Italian: ''Passo della Novena'', German: ''Nufenenpass'') (el. ...

(south). The pass road from

Ulrichen Ulrichen is a village in the municipality of Obergoms in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The population () was 219. Ulrichen was an independent municipality until January 1, 2009, when it merged with Oberwald and O ...

in 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 ...

leads to the

Bedretto Bedretto is a municipality and a village in the Val Bedretto, the upper most part of the river Ticino. It belongs to the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History In 1906 pre-Roman graves and a Roman era villa and co ...

valley in the canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, linking

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

to Airolo. It is not the lowest pass between the two valleys, as it is located one kilometre north of an unnamed slightly lower pass at 2,440 metres (vs 2478 m.), which is traversed by a trail. The road is of relatively recent construction, having been opened to motor vehicle traffic only since September 1969. The source of the

Ticino River The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows. It is one of the four ...

lies east of the top of the pass. Towards the north are views of 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 ...

, including the

Finsteraarhorn The Finsteraarhorn () is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the most prominent peak of Switzerland. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth-highest mountain and thi ...

while there is a view over the

Gries Glacier The Gries Glacier (german: Griesgletscher) is a 5 km long glacier (2005) situated in the Lepontine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 6.23 km2. In 2008 it had an area of 5.26 km2. History Griesg ...

to the south. Nufenen gries

Bibliography

Nicola Pfund Nicola Pfund (born November 7, 1960 in Sorengo) is a Swiss Italian writer, blogger and journalist. Biography He is a native of Canton Schaffhausen, but he was born in Sorengo (Canton Ticino). After studying at a teacher-training college, Pfund ...

, ''Sui passi in bicicletta - Swiss Alpine passes by bicycle'', Fontana Edizioni, 2012, p. 54-61.

Sources and further reading

* This article incorporates information from the equivalent article in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

, consulted during April 2009.

External links

Cycling Map, Elevation Profile, and PhotosProfile on climbbybike.comCycling up to the Nufenenpass: data, profile, map, photos and description
Mountain passes of Ticino Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Valais Ticino–Valais border {{ticino-geo-stub

See also

Bibliography

Sources and further reading

External links