The Furka pass connects the Ursern valley (i.e. the upper valley of the Reuss river) in the canton of Uri with the municipality of Goms in the canton of Valais, on a height of 2,431 m above sea level. The water shed runs over this pass.
There is an underground base tunnel through which the railway crosses the Furka pass road. In winter, when the pass road is closed, you can have your car loaded onto the train from Realp in Uri to Oberwald in Valais. At Gletsch, a village in the western part of the valley, the road branches off to the Grimsel pass. On 2,272 m above sea level, lies the hotel Belvédère from where you have access to the Rhône glacier. Two centuries ago, the glacier reached down to Gletsch. Meanwhile, it has shrinked so much that one can hardly see it from the pass road.
