The scenic road with its tight switchbacks curving up the picturesque mountainside attracts countless tourists.
The Furka Pass even played a brief cameo in the 1964 James Bond movieGoldfinger.
Over the decades Hotel Belvedere became one of the most iconic hotels of the Swiss Alps.
The number of beds during the same period increased from just under 4,000 to over 15,000.
The number of beds in 1907 rose to ninety.
Hotel Belvedere at an elevation of 2,429 meters on theFurka Pass.
Photo credit: Diriye Amey/Shutterstock.com
The tongue of theRhone Glacier.
On the right corner is the car park of Hotel Belvedere.
Hotel Belvedere has never been the same since.
What the glacier has lost is its length.
According to the hotels website, the grotto isscheduled to opennext summer on time.
This two comparison photos, a century apart, shows how much the Rhone Glacier has retreated.
As the glacier retreated the lower grotto disappeared.
The present grotto near Hotel Belvedere dates back to at least 1894.
So a new grotto is carved every year at the exact same spot.
The hotel iscurrently operatedby the Carlen family, who also oversees the digging of the grotto.
Photo credit:nullplus/Shutterstock.com
Inside the ice grottoof the Rhone Glacier.
Photo credit: Ian Grant/Shutterstock.com
Photo credit:will_cyclist/Flickr
Hotel Belvedere located at Furka pass.
Photo credit: Benoit Bruchez / Shutterstock.com
Hotel Belvedere located at Furka pass.
Photo credit: Juergen_Wallstabe / Shutterstock.com
Photo credit:Diriye Amey/Shutterstock.com
