The stone eagle

At the top of the pass, 2,005 metres up, stands a nine-metre-high eagle carved from stone as a symbol of vigilance. It commemorates the Wacht am Simplon, the guarding of the pass during the Second World War when Switzerland kept its borders defended. You can drive right up to it and walk around. It's the image that stays with everyone who has ever driven this road. In winter it stands black against the snowy plateau, in summer against a blue sky.