Splügen Pass (Passo dello Spluga, 2,114 m / 6,936 ft) and San Bernardino Pass (Passo del San Bernardino, 2,066 m / 6,778 ft) sit about 12 km / 7.5 miles apart in Graubünden and give you two very different crossings toward Italy. Splügen drops 1,789 m / 5,869 ft over 21 km / 13 miles to Chiavenna on a road built between 1818 and 1823 that is not kept open in winter. San Bernardino runs between the Hinterrhein and Mesolcina valleys and is open from May to November, with most of the traffic now taking the road tunnel beneath it since 1967.
Two passes that traffic forgot
The best thing about both of these roads is what happened to them in 1967. That was the year the San Bernardino road tunnel opened, and from then on the through traffic between northern Europe and Italy went underground. The pass roads above kept their tarmac and lost their lorries.
Splügen came off best. Once a major trade route — in use in the Roman era, rebuilt as a proper carriage road between 1818 and 1823 at the behest of the Austrian authorities then ruling Lombardy–Venetia — it is now quiet enough that substantial portions of the historic road survive alongside the modern one, which is why the Via Spluga hiking route works so well. San Bernardino keeps a little more traffic, but nothing like the volume the tunnel carries below it.
Both cross meaningful lines. Splügen is the water divide between the Rhine, flowing to the North Sea, and the Po, flowing to the Adriatic. San Bernardino's summit marks both the same kind of watershed, between the Po and Rhine basins, and the Italian–German language frontier — ride over it and the signs, the food and the architecture change within a few kilometres.
Route at a glance
| Item | Splügen Pass | San Bernardino Pass |
|---|---|---|
| Summit elevation | 2,114 m / 6,936 ft | 2,066 m / 6,778 ft |
| Connects | Splügen (Graubünden) with Chiavenna (Italy) | Hinterrhein and Mesolcina valleys, Thusis to Bellinzona |
| Distances from the summit | 5 km / 3.1 miles and 675 m / 2,215 ft down to Splügen; 21 km / 13 miles and 1,789 m / 5,869 ft down to Chiavenna | road tunnel beneath the pass since 1967 carries the through traffic |
| Season | not kept open in winter | open May to November |
| Road history | Roman era route; modern road built 1818–1823; 312 m / 1,024 ft avalanche gallery added 1843 | mule track from the 15th century; wheeled road 1770, rebuilt 1821–1823 |
| Crosses | Rhine / Po watershed | Rhine / Po watershed and the Italian–German language frontier |
| Landmarks | Montespluga village on the Italian side; Pizzo Tambo and Surettahorn above | Marscholsee at 2,053 m / 6,736 ft; Laghetto Moesola at the summit |
Send the two-pass run to your device with the Chiavenna–Splügen–San Bernardino directions.
Splügen, the southern descent is the main event
The two sides of Splügen are wildly unequal, and that asymmetry is the whole point of the pass. From the village of Splügen in the Hinterrhein valley the summit is only 5 km / 3.1 miles away and 675 m / 2,215 ft above — a short, businesslike climb. From the summit down to Chiavenna is 21 km / 13 miles and 1,789 m / 5,869 ft, through the Valle San Giacomo.
That descent is one of the great pieces of road engineering in the Alps. It was cut into the walls of a gorge, threading through galleries carved from the rock and crossing from one side of the ravine to the other on single-arch bridges. Mary Shelley travelled through in the 1840s and wrote about it in Rambles in Germany and Italy, describing a road built on the face of a precipice with the Rhine running far below. Riding it now, the sensation is largely unchanged.
Just below the pass on the Italian side is Montespluga, a village of about three streets that is cut off from both Italy and Switzerland during the winter. Above the pass rise Pizzo Tambo to the west and the Surettahorn to the east.
One piece of history you can still see: the 312 m / 1,024 ft avalanche gallery designed by the Swiss engineer Richard La Nicca and added in 1843. It is out of use now but largely preserved.
San Bernardino, the pass above the tunnel
San Bernardino is the gentler of the pair and, because of the tunnel, one of the quietest main-line crossings in the Alps. The route was important as a mule track from the fifteenth century — the section between Thusis and Splügen was the notorious Via Mala — and a road for wheeled vehicles opened in 1770. It was substantially improved between 1821 and 1823, financed in part by the Kingdom of Sardinia, which wanted a trade route linking Genoa and Piedmont to Graubünden that Austria did not control.
The summit is a broad saddle with lakes: Laghetto Moesola sits at the pass, and Marscholsee lies within it at 2,053 m / 6,736 ft. There is a hospice building and parking. Southward the road descends into the Mesolcina, Italian-speaking Ticino, toward Bellinzona — the language change at the summit is abrupt and one of the more enjoyable things about the crossing.
The riding is straightforward: well-surfaced, decently wide, more sweeping than hairpin-heavy. It is the pass to take when the weather is poor or when you have a passenger and luggage.
Putting them together
The natural shape of a day here is a loop. From Splügen village, cross Splügen Pass south to Chiavenna, then head back north over San Bernardino — or the reverse. The two summits are only about 12 km / 7.5 miles apart in a straight line but the roads between them run the long way round the mountains, so the loop is a proper day's riding rather than an hour.
Northwards, this area connects toward Andermatt and the Grimsel and Susten passes, with Furka beyond. Eastwards from Chiavenna, the road along Lake Como and up the Valtellina puts you at the foot of Stelvio and Gavia in a few hours.
Practical information
Season. The San Bernardino pass road is open from May to November. The Splügen Pass is not kept open in winter at all — its loss of strategic importance after the tunnel opened means nobody is ploughing it. As of August 2026 those are the published positions. Both are high enough that late spring and early autumn snow can close them at short notice, so check live pass status before travelling; alpen-paesse.ch is the service Swiss road operators themselves point visitors to.
Border crossing. Splügen takes you into Italy at the pass. Carry your documents, registration and insurance. Customs facilities exist but are usually quiet.
Tolls. Neither pass road is tolled. Switzerland requires a motorway vignette for its motorways and expressways, which matters on the A13 approach through the Hinterrhein and for the San Bernardino tunnel route; buy it before you need it and check the official current arrangements. On the Italian side, autostrada tolls and town access schemes (ZTL, low emission zones) apply on the approaches to Chiavenna, Como and Milan. Charges change, so check the operators directly rather than trusting a printed figure.
Fuel. Splügen village, Thusis, San Bernardino village and Chiavenna. Nothing at either summit.
Weather. The southern side of Splügen is markedly warmer than the northern side, and fog forming in the Valle San Giacomo while the Swiss side is clear is common. The gorge section is narrow, damp and shaded, which means it stays wet long after the rain has stopped.
Gear notes
The specific challenge on Splügen is the 1,789 m descent to Chiavenna through galleries and tunnels. That is a lot of continuous braking, a lot of light-to-dark transitions and a road surface that holds moisture in the shaded sections.
Sustained descending puts heat and load into tyres that started the day cold at 2,100 m, and pressures move a long way across that range. The tyre pressure guide covers setting a baseline for a loaded bike, and a TPMS sensor shows you what is actually happening rather than what you assume is.
Navigation matters more than usual here because of the border and the tunnel. It is easy to end up funnelled into the San Bernardino road tunnel when you meant to take the pass above it. A route loaded onto a bar-mounted unit with offline maps, such as the JADO S6 riding system, keeps the correct turn visible where phone coverage cuts out — and the GPS navigation setup guide covers getting a cross-border route onto the bike cleanly.
Finally, this is a long day away from sockets in two countries with different plugs. A 100 W bi-directional fast charger avoids arriving at a hotel in Chiavenna with a flat phone and a dead camera.
FAQ
Is the Splügen Pass open in winter?
No. Since the San Bernardino road tunnel opened in 1967 the pass has lost its former importance and it is not kept open in winter. Montespluga, the village just below on the Italian side, is cut off from both countries during that period.
When is San Bernardino open?
The pass road is open from May to November. Outside that window, the road tunnel beneath the pass carries traffic year-round. Check current conditions before travelling in May or November.
Which pass should I ride if I only have time for one?
Splügen. The southern descent to Chiavenna — 1,789 m / 5,869 ft over 21 km / 13 miles through rock galleries and single-arch bridges — is the more memorable piece of road by a distance. San Bernardino is the better wet-weather or two-up option.
Do I need a Swiss vignette?
Not for the pass roads themselves, but yes if your route uses Swiss motorways or expressways, including the A13 through the Hinterrhein and the San Bernardino tunnel. Buy it before entering and check the official current arrangements.
What can I combine these with?
North toward Andermatt for Grimsel and Susten, or south-east from Chiavenna via Lake Como and the Valtellina to the foot of Stelvio. Both are comfortable next legs.
Sources
- Splügen Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splügen_Pass
- San Bernardino Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bernardino_Pass
