LightChance (beta)
LoginStart free

Photo locations · Zurich · Switzerland

Albis Hochwacht: sunrise 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.

Sunset tomorrowSunset TuesdaySunset Wednesday

Will tomorrow's sunrise 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 8h 58m

Partly lit cloud edges

Exactly at sunrise: Fair

Little usable low-sun light expected

Sky colors

Golden hour
Sunrise
Glow before

Light corridor: partly open

Why: Some cloud sits along the sun's path, so light may get through only in places.

  • Light path: partly blocked (31% blocking cloud at the ray's height)
  • Sun: likely hidden. Low cloud fills the horizon (72%); the sun will probably stay behind it.
Viewer's line of sight, tangent to the Earth at your locationNear-ground relative humidity20% cover — too thin to draw as cloud6% cover — too thin to draw as cloud19% cover — too thin to draw as cloud13% cover — too thin to draw as cloud6% cover — too thin to draw as cloud14% cover — too thin to draw as cloudConnected cloud layer · 42–42% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–100% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 20–35% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 42–42% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 0–100% cover · 10–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 56–56% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 53–58% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 46–100% cover · 25–25% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 56–56% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintyConnected cloud layer · 100–100% cover · 10–10% visual uncertaintymid cloud · 43% reported, 3% resolved on a pressure surface — 40% is somewhere between 3 and 8 kmmid cloud · 45% reported, 0% resolved on a pressure surface — 45% is somewhere between 3 and 8 kmmid cloud · 89% reported, 61% resolved on a pressure surface — 28% is somewhere between 3 and 8 kmlow cloud · 57% reported, 0% resolved on a pressure surface — 57% is somewhere between 1.52 and 3 kmmid cloud · 76% reported, 30% resolved on a pressure surface — 46% is somewhere between 3 and 8 kmlow cloud · 72% reported, 6% resolved on a pressure surface — 66% is somewhere between 1.8 and 3 km-5 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch orange light-5 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light0 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch orange light0 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light5 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch orange light5 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light20 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch orange light20 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light50 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light100 km · the model says the lowest depicted cloud underside may catch red light

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 sunrise.

Know the light
before it happens

€3.33 /month

Billed annually — €39.99

Try 14 days free

Card required, nothing charged for 14 days. Cancel any time in the trial and you pay nothing at all. EU/EEA consumers: see the right-of-withdrawal section in our Terms.

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

Other photo locations