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Photo locations · Zurich · Switzerland

Albis Hochwacht: sunset photography forecast

The tower on the Albis ridge is the closest thing Zurich has to a proper Alpine outlook. From the top you get Lake Zurich on one side and the Alps running toward the Bernese Oberland on the other. The catch is the roof, which crops the sky — so this is a long-lens location more than a big-sky one.

Sunrise tomorrowSunrise TuesdaySunrise Wednesday

Will tomorrow's sunset be worth it?

Simplified forecast from the open model run. The full forecast — a second model, your exact viewpoint, the hourly cloud timeline — is in the app.

in 19h 16m

Blocked grey lid

Flat grey light · moody close-ups at best

Sky colors

Golden hour
Sunset

Light corridor: blocked

Why: Cloud covers every point we sampled, so no direct light gets through.

  • Light path: blocked (60% blocking cloud at the ray's height)
  • Sun: likely hidden. Thick low cloud toward the horizon (84%) will likely block the sun.
  • Cloud: thick cloud between you and the low sun (80%); no real golden hour expected.
  • Rain: likely near you, which blocks most direct light
Viewer's line of sight, tangent to the Earth at your locationNear-ground relative humidity8% cover — too thin to draw as cloud10% cover — too thin to draw as cloud16% cover — too thin to draw as cloud6% cover — too thin to draw as cloud18% cover — too thin to draw as cloud13% cover — too thin to draw as cloud6% cover — too thin to draw as cloud9% cover — too thin to draw as cloud11% cover — too thin to draw as cloud19% cover — too thin to draw as cloud16% cover — too thin to draw as cloud11% cover — too thin to draw as cloud10% cover — too thin to draw as cloudConnected cloud layer · 23–64% cover · 10–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 54–100% cover · 45–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 44–44% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 24–46% cover · 65–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 49–64% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 49–49% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 37–37% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–65% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 44–54% cover · 45–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 54–100% cover · 45–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 44–44% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 46–46% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 64–64% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 45–100% cover · 45–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 54–54% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 54–100% cover · 45–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–45% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintylow cloud · 75% reported, 38% resolved on a pressure surface — 37% is somewhere between 0.4 and 3 kmlow cloud · 82% reported, 32% resolved on a pressure surface — 50% is somewhere between 0.82 and 3 kmlow cloud · 84% reported, 64% resolved on a pressure surface — 20% is somewhere between 0.5 and 3 kmlow cloud · 59% reported, 21% resolved on a pressure surface — 38% is somewhere between 0.74 and 3 kmlow cloud · 33% reported, 13% resolved on a pressure surface — 20% is somewhere between 0.63 and 3 km

Terrain is drawn for illustration only — it is not used to calculate underlight or obstruction.

cloud-cover fieldinterpolation uncertaintysun directionnear-ground humiditycloud at unresolved heightmodelled underlightunderlight · height uncertainunderlight · lit on one readinglit but hidden behind nearer cloud

Forecast refreshed a few hours before sunset.

Know the light
before it happens

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For photographers: shooting Albis Hochwacht

Best months

All year. Winter often gives the cleanest air for the distant Alps, but the approach can be icy.

Suggested focal lengths

100–400 mm for the distant Alpine chain; wider framing is limited by the tower roof

Composition

Work the compression: pick one massif and let the haze layers separate it from the foreground ridges.

Recommended arrival

Allow 30 minutes for the walk plus the 153 steps, then 30 minutes to settle before the light.

Access planning

Car or bus to Albispass, then a 20–30 minute walk through forest, then the tower stairs.

Parking: Albispass parking, then a signed forest path

Approach: 20–30 minutes on foot, plus a 153-step tower climb

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