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international

Swiss hike of “four springs” - the sources of horse-drawn carriage like in the days of the
four major European rivers: the Ticino, the famous 19 century Gotthard Post. Only on
th
Reuss, the Rhine and the Rhone. this route can you feel the heart and the soul
of the Confederation, its cradle, its birthplace,
The birth of tunnels. Foot traffic has used this its main vital artery. Furthermore, if you take
pass since 1200, and the first carriage crossed the southern side from the Pass, you will have
in 1775. Less than a century later, after decades the privilege of travelling through time on a
of debate over routes and costs, work began nostalgic and a fascinating paved road called
on a rail tunnel beneath the pass. Over seven Tremola.
years and 277 lives later, the tunnels which
had begun simultaneously from Göschenen Tremola. Tremola is a marvel. This serpentine
and Airolo met midway on February 29, 1880. cobbled road - with 24 hairpin bends, each
The first trains ran through the 15km tunnel of which has its -own name – connects the
in 1882. This line is still a vital north–south Gothard Pass to Airolo through the Val
artery, at peak times carrying an average Tremolo (Valley of Trembling). This is an
of one train every six minutes: five million unforgettable journey through time, whether
passengers and 25 million tonnes of freight you are driving, biking or even taking a
carried each year. The Gotthard road tunnel horseride over this historic road, literally
was completed in 1980 after eleven years of “trembling” on the narrow cobblestone path.
construction. It is, at 16.3km, the longest In just four kilometres this tortuous road takes
road tunnel in the world, and although prone you via spectacular twists
to hideous kilometres-long jams at least it and turns to an altitude
remains open all year while the pass above is difference of 300 metres.
blocked in winter. Another tunnel is expected It is part of the first
to be built by 2030. The tunnels changed the carriage road through
view and approaches to the Gotthard Pass the Gotthard and was
itself, simplifying movement there. Taking built between 1828 and
the tunnels saves journey time, but misses 1832 by the engineer
something much more significant. The path from Ticino Francesco,
through the Schöllenen Ravine and the barren Moschini, to replace
Urseren Valley up to the Pass Heights can be the prior mule track.
taken on foot, in a nostalgic PostBus, or in a The total distance of the
climb from Airolo to the
Gothard Hospice is 13
km, almost all cobbles,
with 900 metres of
altitude gain. The whole
climb is very popular
with cyclists, who call it
“the little “Paris-Roubaix
of the Swiss Alps”. It
is like an incredible
porphyry snake, climbing

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