Reichenbach Falls and Aare Gorge

When I was growing up I loved Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. When I found out that we are going to visit Switzerland, I knew that we would absolutely have to go see Reichenbach Falls. I wanted to see the place where Sherlock Holmes famously fought professor Moriarty and won.

The falls are located in Bernese Oberland and are about 1.5 hours away from Zurich. On the way there we stopped at Schoenbuehel viewpoint (Aussichtspunkt Chälrütirank).

The falls are very accessible and can be viewed without any real effort.

However, there is a path that can be taken over and around the waterfall. This is a must if you want to see the place where Sherlock Holmes staged his death. The waterfall views change as you climb up the stairs, and there are a lot of opportunities to stop for a picture. The place was not crowded at all.

There is also a nice view in the direction away from the waterfall.

The path took us up through some wooded area and at some point we crossed the waterfall over a small bridge. The view from there is not as dramatic but still pretty.

Finally, on the other side of the falls we found a plaque and a small ledge where the whole dramatic fight took place. It looked nothing like in a movie I saw when I was a child and nothing like I imagined when I read the book. It still felt very satisfying to see and experience Reichenbach Falls.

Aare Gorge

Aare Gorge is located just 10 minutes away from Reichenbach Falls and is totally worth a visit. We got there after visiting the falls. It was late afternoon, about an hour and a half before closing. It was not crowded at all.

The trail through the gorge was not long, about a mile, and conditions were very good. Most of the time it was either a boardwalk or a tunnel with openings for viewing the gorge.

One interesting place inside the gorge was a bunker (or military installation) constructed during WWII. It is still sealed and not accessible. The plaque about this bunker says that there are 2 caverns that were built to be barracks for 185 officers and a technical room. There is also a tunnel with railroad that connects the bunker with most likely an outside land. The place was never used but someone who saw it described it as a luxurious place with running water and flushing toilets.

The views at the end of the gorge are also very nice. Totally worth the walk to the very end. The final stretch (in the direction away from Reichenbach Falls) starts to slope up until it climbs up to a cafe where you can get something to snack on.