Reichenbach Falls

The Reichenbach Falls are a waterfall cascade of seven steps on the stream called Rychenbach in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They drop over a total height of about . At , the upper falls, known as the Grand Reichenbach Fall, is by far the tallest segment and one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps, and among the forty highest in Switzerland. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of the falls to the valley floor of the Haslital. Today, a hydroelectric power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, reducing its flow. In popular literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave the Grand (or Great) Reichenbach Fall as the location of the final physical altercation between his hero Sherlock Holmes and his greatest foe, the criminal Professor Moriarty, in "The Final Problem". Location The falls are located in the lower part of the Reichenbachtal, on the Rychenbach, a tributary (from the south bank) of the Aare. They are some south of the town of Meiringen, and east of Interlaken. Politically, the falls are within the municipality of Schattenhalb in the canton of Bern. The falls are made accessible by the Reichenbach Funicular. The lower station is some 20 minutes walk, or a 6-minute bus ride, from Meiringen railway station on the Brünig railway line that links Interlaken and Lucerne.