San Bernardino Pass — Local services in Mesocco

For a more northeasterly direction, the San Bernardino highway (A13) begins just North of Bellinzona and links Ticino to Eastern Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria. The pass crosses idyllic landscapes with a mysterious character, dotted with tiny water mirrors and glacial striations. The San Bernardino Pass is 2065 meters high.

The Northern base of the San Bernardino route is the Grisnons cantonal capital of Chur, the oldest city in Switzerland. After Reichenau the A13 runs through the Domleschg valley, the region with the highest castles density in Europe – which was a strategic point of reference in the Middle Ages for the Alps.

The Bernardino Pass has been in use since Roman times. The main difficulty was not the pass itself but the tricky route through the 300 m deep Rhine gorge between Thusis and Zillis, which does not bear the name Via Mala ("Bad Road") for no reason.

To get to the San Bernardino Pass follow the main road from Chur via Thusis, through the valley of the Posterior Rhine (Hinterrhein) and the Grisons holiday region of Splügen/Rheinwald to Hinterrhein. The mountain pass goes over a high, mysterious moor with sparkling pools and polished glacial rocks up to summit at 2065 m. s. l.

On the southern side man speak Italian, even if it is still Grisons Region, where the main language is Romansh. From San Bernardino there are 50 kilometres to Ticino’s capital, Bellinzona, with the three majestic UNESCO castles. The A13 (from San Bernardino) meets the A2 (from Gotthard) a just few kilometres north from Bellinzona.

San Bernardino Pass

Altitude: 2065 m.s.l. Region: Grisons Talorte: Hinterrhein and San Bernardino Built: 1823 Max. gradient: 9,7% Winter closing: December - April / Tunnel A13 open all year...

A beautiful pass and very peaceful to drive as there was no traffic during the trip. The north side of the pass is more challenging to drive with sharp turns and limited visibility. Not recommended if you get car sick. The southern side is more friendly to drive and genuinely a recommendation if you own a sportcar or a motor. It is approximately 30 minutes additionally to the tunnel.

At the top there are not a lot facilities like on the Gotthard, so bring your own food to pinic and enjoy the view of...

Bel Passo alpino appena oltre il confine italiano...vi si arriva da est attraverso la famosa Via Mala ( davvero suggestive le sue strettissime gole..), o facendo prima il Passo dello Spluga salendo da Chiavenna...bella strada, larga quanto basta, la salita comincia in corrispondenza dell'entrata del traforo autostradale ( proprio accanto..), una bella serie di tornanti a gomito, fino ad arrivare al valico e al suo caratteristico laghetto ( dove si può fare tappa all'Ostello/Bar/Ristorante )...la lunga discesa verso S.Bernardino, Mesocco e Bellinzona è tortuosa nella prima parte ( ma la strada è sempre larga e piacevole..), e poi usciti da Mesocco scende dolcemente e velocemente ( tanti lunghi "drittoni", molto rilassanti in moto..) verso la periferia di Bellinzona...paesaggio alpino molto molto bello, coreografici perfino i piloni e il percorso dell'autostrada che scende parallela nella valle dopo il...