The Aar Gorge Walkway
The Aar Gorge, also spelled Aare Gorge, is a narrow gorge which has
been cut through a section of limestone ridge, by the Aar river, close
to the town of Meiringen, in Switzerland. The gorge was formed at the
end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, when torrential runoff
water from melting glaciers eroded a deep, narrow chasm through the
limestone hill. Over thousands of years, the Aare’s tumbling waters
continued to erode the limestone rock away, further carving out the
gorge, and getting a greenish tint in the process. The gorge is about
1,400 meters long, and only a few meters wide at its base but the cliffs
climb almost vertically upwards to a height of over 50 meters.
Since 1889 the gorge has been open to the public by a steel walkway
built along the bottom of the cliff wall. At times the walkway goes
through tunnels cut into the cliff. Before this walkway was built the
only way was to go through the dangerous river torrent and many hardy
souls actually made this journey. These travellers returned with fables
of large snakes and monsters. Since then, the gorge is a popular tourist
attraction. Nearby is the famous Reichenbach Falls, where the legendary
Sherlock Holmes is supposed to have met his end at the hands of the
evil Professor Moriarty.
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Sources: Wikipedia / Gorges-to-visit
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Sources: Wikipedia / Gorges-to-visit