A glass of wine, some alpine cheese, sun and plenty of time - on the Ritom, the funicular railway is the means, and the Ticinese mountain hut the goal.
Even the Romans avoided the immense mass of the Gotthard. The Pass only gained significance around the year 1200, when the Schöllenen Ravine between Göschenen and Andermatt was developed. Today the Gotthard Pass is the most important North-South connection.
The Nufenen Pass is both Switzerland's highest pass open to motor vehicles and the starting point for a superb cycling tour that actually passes through Italy for much of the way. Well, as spectacular as the circuit is, you're still going to have to shoulder your bike for some of the stages. The Griess Pass, for example, resists all attempts to cross it in the saddle. But no matter, your extraordinary efforts will be rewarded by a peerless mountain landscape.
