Stage 7: Disentis - Andermatt

Before collecting all those records, the Glacier Bike Tour starts its 7th stage in peace and quiet. After leaving Disentis, the route runs on a secluded, beautiful forest road along the Rhaetian Railway. The view is amazing and you can hardly see or hear the street down in the valley. Instead you pass quaint, small railroad stations, the original “Maiensäss” Milez and cross the jaw-dropping, 24-metre-high Bugnei Viaduct. 

You hardly realize that you gain quite a bit of altitude on the way up to the Oberalp Pass. You should also stop in Sedrun at the bakery of Reto Schmid, who has invented a record-breaking “little something” in his La Conditoria: it weighs 19g, is 4cm in diameter and is made at 1,405m in Sedrun - the smallest nut cake in the world. 

The scenery along the route, on the other hand, is majestic and spectacular. Soon you are no longer looking down to see the Rhine, but up into the mountains. Here, the torrents cascade down the steep, green slopes. A little further up, at an altitude of 2,344m, lies the source of the Rhine, Lake Toma. The first Rhine drops will travel 1,233km before reaching the North Sea. 

The Glacier Bike Tour route takes a beautiful gravel road up to the Oberalp Pass. However, after the train station in Tschamut, there is a short, more challenging uphill section. It is narrow, quite steep and a little sloping.  

At the Oberalp Pass at 2,044m, it’s time for the obligatory "pass photo" at the sign – with the only lighthouse in the Alps in the background. It actually stems from Rotterdam, where the original lighthouse can be found in the Maritime Museum. It once stood in Hoek van Holland, at the mouth of the Rhine in the North Sea - thus closing the circle from the source to the sea. 

The route now heads west of the road along the lake (please be considerate of anglers and walkers) to Uri. From here, it is all downhill, bend by bend, to Andermatt. On the way, you already have a fantastic view on what is to come on the next stage: the beautiful Uri valley and the next pass – but now it's time to enjoy the descent and Andermatt. 

The Ursern Valley was one of the major "traffic hub", even before Medieval times, as there are pass routes crossing from north to south and from east to west. There is, of course, the Oberalp Pass in the east, which you have just passed, and the Furka Pass in the west, the highlight of the next stage. And the Gotthard Pass to Ticino, which was an important trade route. You just have to visit the Schöllenen gorge – the views are awe-inspiring and the site itself of historical significance. The Twärren bridge was built around 1200 and the "Stiebende Steg" was first mentioned in 1306. The infamous Devil's Bridge followed in 1595 - the current structure dates back to 1956. You can read more about the legend here.

• In the bakery La Conditoria in Sedrun you get the world’s smallest nut cake – and a lot more…  

• In the Gasthaus Tell in Andermatt, local Sandro and his wife Charlene (who hails from South Africa) serve delicious, creative cuisine from locally sourced ingredients. 

• Originally, Reto Schmid thought of the idea of the 19g nut cake as a marketing concept to help save his struggling La Conditoria bakery. Today, the tiny cake is exported to places such as Dubai and China. 

• Find the alp’s one and only lighthouse at the top of the Oberalp pass. 

• The Urnerloch near Andermatt was the first Swiss transportation tunnel and one of the earliest Alpine tunnels ever used for transport purposes. 

The Oberalp Pass has a transit history dating back centuries. The Disentis monastery held possessions in the Ursern Valley, and during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, the Walser people migrated over the pass into the Surselva region. Initially, only small mule tracks existed, but in the 1860s, the road was constructed. The Furka-Oberalp Railway track, connecting Andermatt to Disentis, was completed in 1915, though it didn't operate until 1926 due to wartime challenges. The beginning of electrification in 1942 marked the end of the steam locomotive era.

The rugged Schöllenen Gorge with the Reuss flowing deep below, has always posed a challenging obstacle on the Gotthard Pass route. Apparently, the Walser attempted to open up a mule track to the south with daring bridge constructions around 1200. Building a bridge across the Reuss failed several times over the centuries - until, according to legend, a pact was made with the devil. The devil himself erected the Devil's Bridge overnight demanding that he would claim the first to cross it. The people of Uri outsmarted him by sending a goat. Enraged, the devil attempted to destroy the bridge with a massive boulder, but an elderly woman made the sign of the cross, rendering the stone immovable – and the devil retreated towards hell. 

The Schöllenen Gorge also witnessed battles between the Napoleonic and Russian troops under General Alexander Suvorov in 1799. As part of a coalition against France, the Swiss anticipated support from Russia, Austria, and England. To impede the Russian progress, the French destroyed the Devil's Bridge. Suvorov ingeniously repaired it with wooden beams, ensuring a successful crossing. The Suvorov Monument, carved into the rock in 1899, stands as a commemoration of this historic battle. 

The River House, a charming boutique hotel, has a rich 300-year-old history, filled with stories and tales. It seamlessly blends modern comforts with authentic charm. 

You can find more accommodation in the region here.