Timmelsjoch, Tyrol: drive guide, map & corners

Hairpins climb from green Ötztal meadows into bare, snow-streaked high country, tipping you over from Austria into Italy at 2,474 metres. It’s a toll road, and the tarmac shows you where the money goes.

The Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstraße climbs from Hochgurgl in the Ötztal over the crest into Italy’s Passeier valley, a smooth, dramatic toll road to 2,474 m with sweeping ramps and a stark high summit. Open only in summer; mind the toll, the altitude, and the descent on the Italian side.

Hairpins climb out of green meadows into bare, snow-streaked high country, then tip you over from Austria into Italy. Smooth tarmac, relentless rhythm.
Why we picked it

On the road

The road runs from Sölden to Moos in Passeier. The B186 follows the Ötztal up through Zwieselstein and past Hochgurgl to the border at the summit. It then becomes the SS44bis for the drop into the Passeier valley. The toll is run by the Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstraße company, which collects it at a station near Hochgurgl, and one ticket covers both sides.

The two sides drive very differently. The Austrian climb is the gentle one, averaging under 5 per cent. The Italian side is steeper and narrower, with around 30 hairpins on the way down to Moos. So the Italian side bars vehicles over 8 tonnes, wider than 2.55 metres or taller than 4 metres. Trailers longer than 4.5 metres are banned too.

The road opens for the summer season only, usually from late spring or early summer into October, with dates set by the snow. Even then it is open only from 7am to 8pm, and night driving is banned. At the toll station, Top Mountain Crosspoint has a restaurant and a motorcycle museum billed as Europe’s highest. The Timmelsjoch Experience, six stations designed by the architect Werner Tscholl, includes a pass museum at the summit and the Granat viewpoint near Moos.