Rosenlaui Glacier, Reichenbach Falls, Sherlock Holmes in Meiringen

Wednesday July 23, 2025 -- This was to be the final relatively nice day (at least till about noon) before a longer period of rain, so I really needed to take advantage of this. Wednesday is Urs' day off, but he had a previous commitment, so I went alone. My choice was to head into the Reichenbach Valley (which connects the Hasli Valley with Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland) to walk out to Meiringen on an exactly two-hour walk, which should have offered me the forecast sunshine. (Urs had done this once before, so wasn't wanting to do it again). 

As it only takes a little over two hours to get there, I started at before 10 a.m. at the bus stop called Gschwandenmad, where Urs and I had once ended a hike from the popular Grindelwald First station on the other side of Grosse Scheidegg Pass (fabulous photos HERE). 

For most of the way, a narrow trail follows the Rychenbach River, mostly through forests, until the river drops about 110 meters as the Upper Reichenbach Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps. (A cute little funicular takes tourists up to the falls, and there were a good number of people as I got there). Unfortunately for me, the "weather gods" blessed me with only a small window of sunshine for a view of the fantastic Rosenlaui Glacier, but otherwise the sky was overcast with low cloud so you couldn't even see the mountain peaks. As luck would have it, the skies actually cleared after noon, after I had already reached Meiringen...

Additional note: The Reichenbach Falls feature in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mystery stories as the last place that Sherlock was seen alive (by Dr. Watson, naturally) in his pursuit of his deadly enemy Professor Moriarty....

As the train heads out of Zug at 7:30 toward Luzern, I can just make out the mountains of the Bernese Alps. Not as clear as oftentimes, but certainly no clouds there!

Just before the Brünig Pass and the descent to Meiringen, Lake Lungern looks fabulous in the early morning light (This is on the stretch of the popular Luzern-Interlaken Panorama Express line). In April of this year (photos HERE), we did a walk along the eastern shore of this lake, but the water level was very, very low. 

As the train reaches the valley bottom on the south side of the Brünig pass and nears the town of Meiringen, I can see into the Reichenbach Valley where I will first ride the bus up toward Rosenlaui, and walk back out via the Reichenbach Falls (which are not visible from here). 

A zoomed view of the beautiful Engelhorn Peaks, which were covered in cloud later when I walked out of the valley.

Getting into Meiringen at 9:15, you change onto the bus which heads up into the Reichenbach Valley. The road is barely wide enough for one vehicle, but here is a bit of a tangle as the two buses (and a truck) have to pass each other in a "corner". Somehow, they all managed!

Sitting at the front near the bus driver, I get a view of Mt.Wellhorn as we head up the valley toward Rosenlaui. (With the Rosenlaui Glacier on the left). 

At 9:45 I get out at Gschwandenmad, as the bus continues up to Rosenlaui and Schwarzwaldalp. Unfortunately, the cloud cover was pretty thick up here, clouds low on the mountains on all sides. (As per webcams of Grindelwald, the skies were pretty clear on the south side of the Grosse Scheidegg Pass!)

This was a relatively "short" hike which I did, just over 7 kilometers, starting at Gschwandenmad where we had ended a previous hike in June of 2019, and walking all the way to Meiringen via Reichenbach Falls. I spent quite a bit of time at the start and at the falls, reaching Meiringen at about 12:45.

I was just in time to get one look at the stunning glacier on the north flank of Mt. Wetterhorn. 

The glaciers on Mt.Wetterhorn on the right are just disappearing behind clouds, but I am lucky to still get a good look at the Rosenlaui Glacier to the left of Mt. Wellhorn. 

Walking around the pastures a bit, taking photos of Mt. Wellhorn and the Rosenlaui Glacier from different angles. The best view, in the end, was when I started heading north on my hike out of the valley! In just a few minutes, the summit of Mt. Wellhorn also disappears. 

After heading back toward the bus stop, the angle of view to the Rosenlaui glacier is much better, and the clouds have not yet covered my view of this fantastic glacier. 

A close-up view of the Rosenlaui Glacier. In September of 2022 we had the good fortune of seeing this glacier up close on a hike via the Rosenlaui gorge as we hiked to the Engelhorn Hostel. Those photos are HERE. 

At 10 a.m. I finally started on my hike along the right side of the Rychenbach River, heading north. According to the sign, it should take less than two hours to get to Meiringen, but I took a bit of a longer trail via the Reichenbach Falls. 

This trail is part of both Trail no.38: "Via Berna", and Trail no.1: "Via Alpina". 

A final look behind me at Mt.Wellhorn and the Rosenlaui Glacier as the clouds move in. 

Most of the rest of the trail is through the forest, an easy trail. 

30 minutes along the trail, you get that view of Mt. Wellhorn to the south, the one we saw from the bus on the way up. The clouds are already pretty low and dark. 

A detour to the river... 

This is a short interesting section along a cliff!

Also some nice meadow trails on the way. 

Then there was a long stretch of stone-paved trail, probably originally a mule trail. This was a bit harder to walk on!

A cute little mountain house along the way. 

In a curve in the road near the waterfall is a restaurant called Zwirgi. 

At 11:20 I headed down the trail toward the waterfall and the little funicular station. 

The Rychenbach River drops down over various small waterfalls. 

VIDEO:

Rychenbach River near the waterfalls

From the bridge over the river, I can look straight down where the water drops over 100 meters down a steep cliff. 

The bridge over the Rychenbach River. 

The trail zigzag down to the Funicular station through the forest. 

From a look-out point along the way, we can see the town of Meiringen below. 

Also from the look-out point, straight below is the summit station of the Reichenbach funicular. You can also see how deep the gorge is. The first part of the waterfall falls 110 meters to the level of the funicular station, and then another 200 meters to valley bottom where the river joins the Aare River. 

Also a look up the Hasli Valley from the look-out point. 

Various views of the Reichenbach Falls as I make my way down to the funicular station

Here at the station, the first 110-meter section of the waterfall ends in a small pool, before continuing via a power plant into the gorge below. 

The little Reichenbach funicular has been remodeled after the original, and travels several times every hour to bring Sherlock Holmes fans up here. 

According to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's popular novels, this is where Sherlock Holmes was last seen before his fight to the death with his mortal enemy Professor Moriarty. (From the novel "The Final Problem" published 1893)

Another view up the Hasli Valley

Photo shoot with this little guy! This is a plant the butterflies seem to be crazy about. 

At 11:50 I watch the 11:45 funicular heading up to the summit station. 

VIDEO:

The Reichenbach funicular heads up to the summit station.

A short time later, the next funicular was on its way (by now I am further down along the trail). 

And even further down the trail was a bridge near the point at which the two wagons cross, so I waited here to watch the next run of the funicular. 

At the valley bottom the trail passes through the outskirts of Meiringen (called Willigen), where there were some very nice chalet-style houses. 

As I continue into Meiringen on the main road, a look behind me shows the waterfall and funicular station higher up on the mountain, where I walked down from. 

At 12:36 I crossed the Aare River. (The next train leaving the Meiringen station was 12:41, and it would take over 10 minutes to get there, so I did not hurry at this point). 

I found a bench and sat for a while, wondering why the sky has now cleareing up at Mt. Wellhorn! (Original weather forecast was for sunshine till noon, and then overcast. It was the reverse, though!)

On the main street heading to the train station, I pass this beautiful house typical of this region. There is a date of 1786 inscribed in the wood, as well as the name of the builder: Simon Jaggi, Master Carpenter. There is a bar inside the house, called "Sherlock Lounge". 

It's always nice to see newer houses built in the traditional style. (The Social Services office is located in this building!)

Then I came upon this little "church building" which is actually the Sherlock Holmes museum! (This is close to the train station, and I sat here in the shade for 40 minutes till the next train left Meiringen).

A statue of Sherlock Holmes adorns the park. A sign nearby says that Sherlock Holmes is an honorary citizen of Meiringen, and this 1988 sculpture depicts Holmes in a pensive mood, a few hours before his fateful encounter at the Reichenbach Falls. 

In the park around the Sherlock Holmes Museum are several information placards with snippets of the story of the final confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty. Panel 2) Train trip from France to Geneva, then up the Rhone Valley. Panel 3) Heading to Meiringen via Gemmi Pass. A mysterious rock falls toward Holmes' group, and he believes it is Moriarty shadowing them. Panel 5) Holmes and Watson climb to the Reichenbach Falls. A boy runs to Watson with a letter that a sick lady needs him in the town. It's the last time Watson sees Holmes. 

At 13:41 I caught the next train back to Luzern for the two-hour trip home. By the time we crossed the Brünig Pass, it was overcast.

What my walk in the Reichenbach Valley looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

These are the walks we have done near Meiringen, i.e. from Grindelwald via Grosse Scheidegg, down the entire Reichenbach Valley. And the trail in orange is the hike we did via the Rosenlaui Gorge and the Engelhorn Hostel in September 2022

Location of the Reichenbach Falls within Switzerland.