Lukmanier, Oberalp and Gotthard passes

The second Tour of this Collection always starts from Airolo, a beautiful town where you could make a base to learn about the various climbs in the area. The Tour is very long and with many climbs. You could think of dividing it into two days, stopping to sleep in Disentis, where you can find various accommodations. Throughout the Tour you will find many small towns where you can find food and drink.

The Tour of the three climbs starts downhill. In fact, the first 40 kilometers leading to Biasca are downhill or on a slight slope. Once you reach Biasca, turn towards the Lukmanier pass. Take the secondary road, which allows you to cycle on roads with little traffic and with spectacular views of the Ticino valleys.

The Lukmanier Pass has been used since the early Middle Ages. It lost its importance starting from 1200, when the San Gottardo became more used also due to its hospice. Even today, the Lukmanier is not as busy as the Gotthard. From a cycling point of view, the climb is never excessively steep, even if the altitude at the summit reaches 1,926 metres.

The summit of the Lukmanier pass divides the canton of Ticino with that of Grisons, famous for being trilingual. In fact, German, Italian and Romansh are spoken in the canton of Grisons. The descent leads to Disentis. This small town is home to a beautiful Benedictine monastery and is the ideal place to break the stage into two days.

From Disentis begins the long and at the same time easy climb that leads to the Oberalp pass. You thus enter the canton of Uri and a wide descent takes you to Andermatt and Hospental. All you need to do is the last climb of the day, that of the San Gottardo pass. In the final part of the climb, leave the new road to take the old one, characterized by cobblestones but without traffic. When you reach the pass, follow the panoramic road, as the so-called Tremola downhill could be dangerous.

The descent takes you back to Airolo. You have completed the second lap of the three passes of Airolo!