Which famous fight happened here?

This remarkable 800ft mountain waterfall is the site of a famous fictional showdown. Just outside Meiringen, Switzerland, the Reichenbach Falls are the backdrop for The Final Problem, the 1893 Sherlock Holmes story where, on a precipice near the falls (which in the 19th century gushed with far more power than our recent image shows), the genius detective enters a death duel with the criminal Professor Moriarty. In the end, both men plummet to their presumable doom.

Though the action in The Final Problem was set on 4 May, it's 22 May which is celebrated as Sherlock Holmes Day, as that is author Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday. The doctor-turned-writer created Holmes with A Study in Scarlet in 1887 and intended to kill off his famous protagonist with The Final Problem, to move on with his literary life. But pressure from Doyle's anguished, sleuth-starved public led him to 'resurrect' Holmes (but not Moriarty) a decade later with The Adventure of the Empty House. In all, Doyle wrote four novels and more than 50 short stories starring Holmes over four decades. They've gone on to inspire other books, plays, radio dramas, movies, TV shows, comics and video games featuring the super-sleuth.

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Where's this amazing waterfall?

Sunwapta Falls is one of several waterfalls in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, formed by hanging valleys. These valleys were created 8,000 years ago when glacier ice receded. Sunwapta Falls is actually a pair of waterfalls, a lower and upper one. The water comes from the Athabasca Glacier and there is more of it in the summer than the winter, due to seasonal glacial melting. Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, with more than 4,000 square miles for camping, hiking, water sports and other activities. Wildlife in the park includes elk, grizzly bears, moose, bighorn sheep and caribou.

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A view of Sutjeska National Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bears, boars, wolves and Balkan chamois roam through a dramatic and sweeping landscape of ancient forests and jagged limestone mountains. There’s plenty of room for them to wander: Sutjeska covers some 43,000 acres in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Established in 1962, it’s the country’s oldest national park and protects Perućica, one of Europe’s few remaining primeval forests. (A 207-ft Norway spruce tree here is said to be the world’s tallest.)

Sutjeska Park’s creation was not only inspired by environmental concerns, but historic ones as well. A decisive battle of WWII was fought here in 1943, in which a small Yugoslav army defeated the much larger German invading force. Standing in the park is an enormous stone monument commemorating the fight.

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Morskie Oko lake in Tatra National Park, Poland

Wouldn’t you love to just walk right into this photo? If you could, you’d find yourself on the shore of Morskie Oko, a deep lake in the hills of Tatra National Park in Poland. The Tatra Mountains form a natural border between Poland and Slovakia, with each side of the border having its own Tatra National Park. (This photo was taken in the Polish park. But the Slovakian park has the same name.) Morskie Oko means Sea Eye, which is thought to be a reference to the old belief that there was a hole at the bottom of the lake, connecting it to the sea.

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What type of rocks are these?

Welcome to the coastal rocks of Pemaquid Point, in the US’s easternmost state, Maine. With roughly 5,000 miles of jagged, rocky coastline, Maine boasts dozens of charming lighthouses but the light at Pemaquid Point is one of the most celebrated. US President John Quincy Adams commissioned the lighthouse in 1827 but it needed to be rebuilt in 1835 after the original began falling apart. (Lesson: Don't use saltwater when mixing your mortar.) At the top of its 38ft tower is the beacon's original Fresnel lens, which is still in use. Below, the ancient metamorphic coastal rock has stripes of lighter igneous rock, creating banded ledges and lots of scenic drama.

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Bioluminescence in the surf near Shirley, Vancouver Island, Canada

Day or night, the shores of Vancouver Island in British Columbia offer striking views. This is especially true when the light show arrives. Pick a moonless night, venture out to a part of the coast far removed from city lights, and cast your eyes seaward. When ocean conditions are just right, bioluminescent ‘sea sparkle’ will glow as the waves churn. The single-celled plankton (called Noctiluca scintillans) is one of the many organisms capable of bioluminescence, or the emission of light. The behaviour has a number of purposes, including attracting a mate or luring prey. Or it could be to scare away predators, as some scientists believe this sea sparkle is doing while the waves jostle the microscopic critters around.

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Why did this castle fall into ruin?

Welcome to Seacliff Beach in East Lothian and its enviable view of the last of Scotland’s mighty medieval fortresses, Tantallon Castle. Spectacular by day or by dusk, Tantallon has perched high on the cliff edge here since it was built for nobleman William Douglas in the mid 14th century. The house of Douglas split into two branches, the Black and the Red, and it was the Red Douglas dynasty which owned the castle for three centuries, occasionally clashing with the Crown. Tantallon saw off sieges in 1491 and 1528 but was finally left in ruins by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1651.

Its imposing 50ft red sandstone wall was built to withstand trebuchets, battering rams and arrows in the days before gunpowder. These days you can walk along the top for fabulous views over 98ft cliffs, the Firth of Forth and the Bass Rock - an internationally renowned seabird colony. There’s also plenty to see in the remains of the castle itself, including a spooky pit prison - if you are feeling brave (there has been at least one reported ghost sighting at Tantallon).

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