To the Rhine source: Oberalppass - Tomasee

The Tomasee, the Rhine source, is a special place. The wandering Benedictine monk from the Disentis monastery, Father Placidus A. Spescha (1752 - 1833), mentioned the location in his description of the Tavetsch valley as follows: “This 200 steps wide and 400 steps long lake is the basin from which the anterior Rhine originates. It is a beautiful area and thus worthy to be the original source of such a river.”

At the Rhine source begins the 1,230 kilometer long journey of the Rhine. The mighty anterior Rhine glacier covered the entire Surselva during the last ice age. The ice stream has long melted; what remains is a firn hollow in which the Lai da Tuma, embedded at the foot of Piz Badus, lies. A jewel among Swiss mountain lakes at 2,345 m above sea level - unique in its beauty, magic and significance. 

Lighthouse: The former lower light from Hoek van Holland, namely that 14-meter high lighthouse which served for seventy years at the Rhine mouth at the other end of the Rhine, stands as the precursor of the Rhine source on the Oberalppass. The replica creates a first bridge to the other end of the Rhine, in Rotterdam. It delights the many pass travelers and hikers in summer.

Oberalppass: The Oberalppass - called “Alpsu” in the Romansh language - is the connection between Disentis in the canton of Graubünden and Andermatt in the canton of Uri. The highest point of the pass road is at 2,044 m above sea level. In the Middle Ages, the pass enabled the people of the canton of Graubünden access to the pig and goat markets in the cantons of Uri and Ticino.

With the construction of the current road in the years 1862/63, traffic over the Oberalp experienced a great revival, first with carriages, from 1925 with automobiles. The road is only passable during summer. In winter, travelers use the car shuttle of the Matterhorn Gotthard railway.

The railway was put into operation in 1926. During the first 16 years, trains ran with steam and only in summer. The slowest express train in the world also travels over the Oberalppass, the Glacier Express, connecting the Matterhorn village Zermatt with St. Moritz.

Hiking: Those who want to hike to the Tomasee must wait until mid-June. Until then, much snow still covers this altitude, and the lake is not yet ice-free.