Furka is the pass everybody has seen without knowing it: the Goldfinger car chase of 1964 was filmed on these hairpins, and the hotel at the Rhône glacier still trades on the association. At 2,429 metres it is the highest pass of the classic Swiss trio, linking Uri to the canton of Valais through the Urseren valley and down to Gletsch.
The road itself is a joy. On the Uri side it runs up from Realp in a sequence of tight bends and long straights, with views back along the Urseren valley, while the Valais side drops away in generous hairpins towards Gletsch. The gradients are steady, the surface decent and the barriers sturdy, though a stretch or two is patched and rough after the winter. At the summit, the old Hotel Belvédère sits above the Rhône glacier, whose ice grotto has been cut into the glacier each summer for visitors. A century ago the ice nearly reached the hotel terrace, and a line of photographs shows how far it has retreated. Visitors now see a tongue covered by protective blankets in summer to slow the melting.
The Furka also has a famous railway. The old Furka mountain line, a cogwheel steam railway, used to cross under the pass in a high tunnel before a long base tunnel was opened in the early 1980s and left the summit section unused. Volunteers restored it, and in summer steam trains again climb the route between Realp and Oberwald, a nostalgic sight you may catch from the road. The Swiss love a good railway, and the Furka line is a firm favourite.
The pass closes in the snow season, typically from about late October to early June, and it can close temporarily after a summer storm. It is also exposed to wind and cloud, so even on a fine day, bring a windproof layer. Go early, and you will have the hairpins almost to yourself.