Above the Toggenburg, on a shoulder of hillside around 1,200 metres, there is a stretch of road where the whole Säntis massif comes into view at once. The Alpstein is a compact mountain range, but from here it appears huge: a wall of pale limestone with steep faces, folded strata and a summit that wears a cap of cloud on most days. The pull-off for photographs is one of the better ones in eastern Switzerland.
The geology is the story. The Säntis and its neighbours are made of layers of limestone that were once the floor of a warm sea and have been pushed into great folds by the collision of continents. In the cliffs you can see those layers curving in giant waves, and the effect is of a mountain made of stacked paper. Beneath the cliffs, smooth green pasture slopes down into the valley, scattered with wooden farms and chalets with deep roofs.
The road here is the kind that gives you time to look. Corners are wide, the gradient is gentle, and the surface is good, with some patching. Traffic is light outside weekends, and on a weekday morning you might share the road with nothing but a milk truck. Cattle graze right to the edge of the tarmac, and in summer the sound of bells rises from the slopes, so keep your speed down and watch for animals.
Wildhaus, a small village in the Toggenburg with a ski lift, has cafes and a couple of shops, and it is a pleasant place to stop for a coffee. For fuel, the best choice is Appenzell or one of the larger towns in the valley, because small villages here may not have a station. Light is best in the early morning, when low sun rakes across the limestone and brings out every fold, and again in the evening, when the cliffs glow pink. Weather changes fast, so keep a rain layer handy.