Gotthard Pass

The Gotthard is not the highest Alpine pass nor the easiest, but it is the most direct line from the Rhine basin to the Po plain, and its history turns on one obstacle: the Schollenen gorge north of the summit was impassable until a route was engineered through it in the thirteenth century, with the Devil's Bridge as the emblem of that work. Once open, the pass became the main north-south corridor and reshaped the region's politics and economy. The summit at 2,106 metres holds a hospice, a lake and the Sasso San Gottardo museum inside a former artillery fortress cut into the rock. Old cobbled sections of the historic road survive and can be walked, and rail and road tunnels now carry the traffic below.

What you actually see

• The Schollenen gorge - the obstacle whose crossing opened the route.
• A summit at 2,106 metres - hospice, lake and the old road buildings.
• Sasso San Gottardo - a museum inside a fortress cut into the mountain.
• Cobbled sections of the old road - walkable stretches of the historic route.

When to go

Late May to October, while the pass road is open. A day.

Honest expectations

The pass closes for winter - only the tunnels run then, and they bypass everything described here. Weather at the summit turns fast and it snows in any month. Summer weekends bring heavy motorcycle traffic. The fortress museum keeps seasonal hours.

Nearby

Andermatt and the Devil's Bridge are north; Airolo and Ticino are south.