Gemmi Pass

The Gemmi crosses at 2,269 metres between the Valais and the Bernese Oberland - the path itself tops out at 2,322 - and it has carried traffic for centuries despite an obstacle that would have stopped most routes: on the southern side the ground rises as a sheer wall above Leukerbad, and in 1739 a new path was blasted into that face in a series of zigzags with drops beside them - it is walkable but exposed, and it was famous enough in the nineteenth century that Mark Twain described it in 1878, Maupassant set a story at the inn on the pass, and Conan Doyle sent Holmes and Watson over it on their way to the Reichenbach falls. A cable car now does the climb in minutes. From the pass the northern side is gentler, passing the Daubensee, a lake with no surface outflow, and descending toward Sunnbuel and Kandersteg.

What's there

• A path blasted into a cliff - the zigzags of 1739 above Leukerbad.
• The Daubensee - a lake at the pass with no surface outflow.
• A crossing at 2,269 metres - Valais to Bernese Oberland on foot.
• A cable car alternative - minutes instead of hours on the south side.

When to go

Late June to October. A day for the full crossing.

Practical notes

The historic path is exposed with real drops and is not for everyone; most people take the cable car up. The full crossing to Kandersteg is a long day needing transport arranged at the far end. Snow blocks the pass into early summer.

Nearby

Leukerbad is below the south side; Kandersteg and Oeschinensee are north.

Key facts