Julierpass - Passo del Giulio

The Julierpass, or in Italian Passo del Giulio, is a pass located in Switzerland, in the Canton of Grisons.
Its proximity to Sankt Moritz, on the south-eastern side, makes it a pass with a great vehicular traffic, thanks also to the fact that it is not subject to winter closures. The existence of a carriage road has been present since the beginning of the 1800s.

Altitude: 2.284m
Length: 15km
Colleague: Silvaplana (CH) with Bivio (CH)
Google Maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/eCBYHa1p3EH2

The south-east slope starts from the town of Silvaplana and has been accessible for a few months now through a tunnel which allows you to avoid passing through the town.
Here the beginning of the climb, immediately after the tunnel, presents itself with a fairly steep stretch on the side of the mountain, to then enter a wide and not very steep valley, where the road runs through it with wide and fast curves.
The roadway is in impeccable condition, wide, with perfect asphalt and an excellent view of both the continuation of the road and the surrounding landscape.

On the northwest side, the ascent to the pass starts from Bivio, a hamlet of Surses, where there is also a ski resort. The road here too is wide with some wide hairpin bends and very fast straights.
The whole road from Tiefencastel up to Brivio along the Val Sursette is also very interesting.

Reaching the pass from Italy can be done via the Malojapass, therefore passing through Chiavenna, or via the Bernina Pass, therefore passing through Sankt Moritz.
The northern slope of the pass then gives the possibility to reach the Albulapass to the east, or the Passo dello Spluga to the west.

In our opinion

A truly stupendous step, above all from the point of view of the panorama and road perfection. Unfortunately, as mentioned, it is a pass that finds a large vehicular transit so it is difficult to find it cleared.
Do we recommend it? Surely. In fact, it can also be part of an itinerary that starts from Chiavenna, runs through the Maloja pass, then reaches the Julierpass and then goes east to reach the Albulapass, a destination that we highly recommend. From the albulapass the choice will then be whether to return to Chiavenna again via the Maloja or to travel the Bernina pass to reach Tirano (SO).