The breathtaking Flüela Pass road in the Swiss Alps goes up to 2363 metres and connects Davos, the highest altitude town in Europe and famous for hosting the annual World Economic Forum with the town of Susch in the lower Engadine valley.
Before the former presenters of the widely popular British TV program: TopGear discovered the Transfăgărășan Highway in Romania, they declared the Flüela Pass to be part of the best driving road in the world.
The winding curves of the Flüela Pass are nestled inside a quiet valley with a small number of villages which allows you to get into a great driving rhythm, without having to slow down and then speed up again every few kilometres.
On the north side of the pass driver will find themselves on gentle curves inside a small coniferous forest. Going higher the vegetation gets less and less dense with a very barren area on the top. This is also the most scenic part of the drive with beautiful curves and serpentine combinations up to the pass.
Once you've reached the peak to allow a few minutes to take in the visuals of Lake Davorsee and its surrounding area with beautiful mountain panoramas. Should you not have any specific needs for your break, carry on a little further than the Hospice to enjoy an even better view over the pass.
The southern side of the pass is not built in the same quality as the north side. Probably because most tourist only travel between Davos and the Flüela summit going in and out the same way.
AVIS — one of the biggest car rental firms worldwide awarded the Fluela Pass in the Swiss Alps to be number 4 of the 25 top driving roads in the world.
The assessment was held by scientific methods and with the help of so called experts — a track designer, someone called a scientist and a rollercoaster designer. Makes sense somehow.
However! Shockingly the Flüela Pass Road is the only Swiss road that was ranked! If you wonder what this scientific methods were.. curves, acceleration, driving and breaking are making the four stages of a good car driving experience.
The perfect balance between these stages make a road good or bad. Drivers must be able to enjoy the acceleration and speed and yet be able to enjoy beautiful landscape on straight sections. Also the level of needed driving skills are part of the formula. Makes sense again.
Since the opening of the Vereina railway tunnel in 1999 it also serves a car train, since the pass only remains open between May and October and the connection is important throughout the year. Thanks to that alternative route via the Vereina railway tunnel the Füela is usually not very busy with traffic.
A BIT OF HISTORY. Spear tips found on the Flüela Pass proof that it was already in use during the Bronze age. During the 13th century the region and the pass gained importance as a trading route.
Goods produced in the Engadine region were transported by mules as far as Tyrol to trade the mainly for salt.
The road as we know it today was built in 1867 to enable stagecoaches to make the passage.
When the Vereina railway tunnel with the ability to transport also cars was opened in 1999 the Flüela was almost shut down forever. But here it is still serving mainly tourism and driving enthusiasts.