Flüela tops out at 2,383 metres, a wide, bare saddle between the Schwarzhorn and the Weisshorn, and the first thing you notice when you get there is the silence. The road from Davos has climbed through the Flüela valley, first through pine and larch, then out onto open pasture, and now you are in a stony world of scree, snowfields and two small dark lakes beside the road. The old hospice at the top, a solid stone building, has served travellers for generations and still serves coffee, soup and cake to riders who arrive cold.
The pass links Davos, in the Prättigau and Landwasser valleys, with Susch in the Lower Engadine, and it has been used since the Middle Ages, when mule trains carried goods between the two regions. The modern road was built in the 1860s, and it has always been a seasonal route: in winter heavy snow and avalanches close it, typically from November to May, although the canton tries to keep it open as long as possible, and closures can happen at short notice. Since the Vereina rail tunnel opened in 1999, with a car-carrying train between Klosters and the Engadine, the pass has become a summer road for those who want to ride it for its own sake.
The riding is good rather than technical. On the Davos side, the climb is steady and well surfaced, with long bends and a few hairpins, and the road is wide enough for comfortable overtaking. On the Engadine side, the descent to Susch is steeper and more twisting, with a series of hairpins through the forest and views down into the Lower Engadine. Watch for cyclists, who love this pass, and for cattle and sheep on the open pasture. The weather can change quickly: snow can fall at the top even in July, and fog can roll in from the valleys.
The landscape around the pass is wild and empty, and it is a good place for spotting wildlife: marmots whistle from the rocks, ibex graze on the high slopes, and golden eagles hunt overhead. The Schwarzhorn, to the south, is a popular walk from the top of the pass, with views over the whole of Graubünden. For fuel and food, Davos is about ten kilometres away with every service, and Zernez and Susch, on the Engadine side, have stations and restaurants. Zernez is also the gateway to the Swiss National Park, the oldest in the Alps.