Simplon Pass (attraction on driving tour)

The Simplon pass (2,005 m/6,578ft; Hotel Bellevue and Simplon-Blick) is a ridge covered with Alpine meadows at the foot of the glaciated Monte Leone (3,553 m/11,657ft; seven hours, with guide) and the black rock walls of the Hübschhorn (3,192 m/10,473ft), lying closer to the pass. The road now crosses a fairly level stretch of ground, passing a large stone eagle on a mound to the right which commemorates the manning of the frontier by Swiss troops during the Second World War.

The road then descends the wide valley of the Krummbach, enclosed by snow-covered mountains, with fine views of the magnificent Fletschhorn. Below the road on the right can be seen the tall building of the Altes Spital (Old Hospice; 1,872 m/6,142ft), established about 1660 by Kaspar Stockalper, the great merchant prince of Brig.