Few areas of Switzerland are as well known to the British as the Haslital, though many don't realise it. Part of the reason for its fame lies in a visit in 1893 by Arthur Conan Doyle, who decided to set the fatal struggle of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes with Professor Moriarty beside the Reichenbach falls near the principal resort of Meiringen, in the eastern Bernese Oberland. The town also gave its name to the meringue, created around 1600 by a local chef.
The name Haslital comes from the valley that runs south-east from Meiringen, and it is thanks to the hydroelectric power company using the waters of its surrounding mountains that visitors can enjoy some of the area's most exciting experiences. The company has created walks around the mountain lakes, one by opening up a funicular built to help the construction of a dam, and you can visit its incredible tunnels and power plants, including a crystal cavern that takes the breath away.
Close to Meiringen are some of Switzerland's most spectacular waterfalls and gorges, the country's most outstanding open-air museum, the only daily steam railway to a mountain summit, and the woodcarving village of Brienz on the shores of its pristine lake.
