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Gemmi Pass is a high 
From Kandersteg a cable car gives access to the ''Sunnbüel'' area (1,934 m), 10 km north of the pass, allowing hikers to cross the pass on a wide and easy trail.
The trail over the Gemmi Pass is very popular with hikers both in summer and in winter.
The pass itself is also used as a vantage point, because of the view of some major peaks in the 
mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...
across the Bernese Alps
The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...
connecting Leukerbad
Leukerbad (, Walliser German: ''Leiggerbad'', although locally known as ''Baadu'') is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
The story of Leukerbad dates back to the 4th century B.C. Graves ...
(on the south) in the canton of Valais
Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
with Kandersteg
Kandersteg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. ...
(on the north) in the canton of Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. The pass itself lies within the canton of Valais, at a height of above sea level. The main trail reaches .
The pass lies between the Daubenhorn () in the west and the Plattenhörner in the east.
The pass is at the west end of the Aar Massif and at the east end of the Wildstrubel
The Wildstrubel () is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 15 km wide, extending between the Rawil Pass and the Gemmi Pass. Along with the Muveran ...
Massif. Near the pass is the Daubensee, which has no outlet above ground. The Gemmi Fault passes close to the pass.
The pass is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
story The Final Problem
"The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title " ...
. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...
cross the pass on their way to Meiringen
Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...
, where Sherlock Holmes has his famous meeting with Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
at the Reichenbach Falls
Reichenbach Falls () is a waterfall in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, which drop a height of . At , the upper Grand Reichenbach Fall () is one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of ...
.
The pass is described by Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...
in his short-story ''L'Auberge''. The American writer Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
also visited the pass in August 1878, and described it in a letter to his wife.Albert Bigelow Paine, ''Mark Twain's Letters, Vol. 2,'' Harper & Bros. Publishers. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3195/3195-h/3195-h.htm#2H_4_0003
Although the pass cannot be traversed by road, it is still directly accessible by cablecar from Leukerbad. Alternatively, the pass can be reached by a two-hour ''dramatic'' hike on foot. From Kandersteg a cable car gives access to the ''Sunnbüel'' area (1,934 m), 10 km north of the pass, allowing hikers to cross the pass on a wide and easy trail.
The trail over the Gemmi Pass is very popular with hikers both in summer and in winter.
The pass itself is also used as a vantage point, because of the view of some major peaks in the Pennine Alps
The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...
, such as the Dom, Matterhorn
The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...
, Weisshorn
The Weisshorn (German language, German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major mountain, peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Mat ...
and Dent Blanche
The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At -high, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps.
Naming
The original name was probably ''Dent d'Hérens'', the current name of the nearby De ...
.
See also
*List of mountain passes in Switzerland
This is a list of mountain passes in Switzerland. They are generally situated in the Jura Mountains or in the Swiss Alps.
Pass roads
Trails
Railway
See also
* List of highest road passes in Switzerland
* List of highest paved roads in Sw ...
References
External links
* Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Switzerland Mountain passes of Valais {{Valais-geo-stub