| Flüela
The Flüela Pass in the Albula range (Rhaetian Alps, Graubünden) connects the Landwasser Valley (Davos) with the Lower Engadine. Culminating at 2383m above sea level, it used to be open all year round because of its importance: the Engadine is the upper part of the Inn Valley, which runs for 300km through Switzerland and Austria, and only 3 roads connect it to the rest of Graubünden and thus Switzerland. The Julier Pass at 2284m (from Silvaplana to Tiefencastel), the Albula Pass at 2312m (from La Punt to Thusis), and the Flüela Pass (from Susch to Davos): 3 roads, 3 high mountain passes, that's how isolated the Engadin is from the rest of the country! In 1999, the opening of the 19km long Vereina railway tunnel (and incidentally the longest metre gauge tunnel in the world) changed the picture as trains provide shuttle services for road vehicles. Since then, the pass is no longer open all year round. A progress that did not satisfy everyone: in the year 2000, more than 23'000 people (inhabitants and tourists) signed a petition asking that the pass remain open in winter! This is an ongoing affair, since the Pro Flüela association has been keeping the flame of demands alive ever since... Pass this rather incredible pass, in its magnitude and its wide infinite horizons, and you will understand why! The ascent from Davos is majestic, the descent to the Engadine is spectacular... |
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