Umbrail Pass, Mountain pass and border crossing at Santa Maria Valley, Switzerland
Umbrail Pass is a 13.4 km paved road from Santa Maria in Val Müstair to the 2,501 m pass on the Swiss-Italian border, where a sign reads 2,503 m and 8,212 ft. The road, fully asphalted since 2015, passes the Piz Umbrail and joins the Stelvio Pass road on the Italian side. Its hairpin bends cross a treeless valley of dry grass and rock.
In the Middle Ages the route, then called Wormser Joch, was the main link between Tyrol and Lake Como and carried a postal course between Milan and Innsbruck. In 1499 Duke Ludovico Sforza fled over it to Tyrol. Graubünden let the path decay from the 16th century, and the modern Stelvio road of 1820 took its traffic. The winding road from Santa Maria was completed in 1901.
Local people on both sides have used this route for centuries as a vital connection between regions. It links the Swiss customs of Müstair Valley with the Italian traditions of Valtellina, creating a meeting point for alpine cultures.
The pass road is generally open from late May to late October, with a winter closure the rest of the year. Since Switzerland joined the Schengen Agreement in 2008 the border post is unstaffed, with only spot checks, and the former 22:00–6:30 night closure no longer applies. A PostBus from Müstair and Santa Maria Val Müstair crosses the pass once a day in summer, making the summit Switzerland's highest served bus stop.
The sign at the summit reads 2,503 m, but Swiss elevation reference levels changed after it was erected, so the current official height is 2,501 m. The summit also holds Switzerland's highest bus stop, served once a day in summer by the PostAuto line toward the Stelvio Pass, Bormio and Tirano.
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