Companies & teams

Team outing

A company outing in the Bergisches Land.

A team event does not have to mean ropes courses and team games. Sometimes all you need is a place where everyone sees the same thing and leaves everyday life behind. The Wiehler Tropfsteinhöhle (Wiehl Dripstone Cave) is such a place: you descend 26 steps, walk through narrow passages, marvel at dripstones and end up about 30 metres underground. Down here there is no hierarchy, just stairs, torches and curiosity.

For companies in Wiehl, Gummersbach, Cologne or the Bergisches Land, the cave is reached in a little over an hour, by car or coach. Free parking is right at the site. The tour takes about 45 minutes, and the rest of the day is yours.

Because it is about 8 °C down below all year round, the date does not depend on the weather. For companies that have to plan months ahead, that is an advantage.

Achsenschmiere

The “Achsenschmiere”.

Groups can book the special tour “Achsenschmiere” (literally “axle grease”): a drink is served at the deepest point of the cave before the way back up. Until now it cost €9 per person including a drink (provisional). The venue gives current prices and dates on request.

The name comes from the trades: when the axle is well greased, the cart runs. A conversation underground over a drink is a good way to “grease” a team – without slides and without a facilitator.

Christmas party

The Christmas party with a difference.

Every year many companies look for an idea for the Christmas party that does not sound like a restaurant with place cards. A tour of the cave followed by a meal at the Waldhotel is one such idea. Because of the winter break, however, the date depends on the season: the cave is closed from the end of October or beginning of November until spring, with exact dates to follow. Whether and when special tours in Advent are possible is clarified by the venue on request. (provisional)

If you bring the party forward to early autumn, you have a good chance of a free date. For December the Waldhotel remains a place for the party, even without a cave visit.

Meetings

Meeting in the morning, cave in the afternoon.

The Waldhotel Tropfsteinhöhle can provide rooms for a meeting or conference. Which rooms, times and prices are possible is something you agree directly with the venue. The combination is obvious: meet in the morning, have lunch, and in the afternoon go underground on the tour.

If you want to stay longer, you can stay overnight at the hotel. The next morning a walk through the wildlife park, which is free to enter all day, is well worth it.

To clarify

What organisers should clarify in advance.

A company outing usually has more participants than you expect, and almost always someone is not steady on their feet or has a fear of heights, claustrophobia or a cold. So ask your team in advance who can manage the steps and the narrow passages comfortably. The cave is not step-free; the way down is 26 steps. Anyone who prefers not to go down can wait at the kiosk above or stroll through the wildlife park.

Also plan for clothing: it is about 8 °C down below, with high humidity. Colleagues in a suit or business dress should bring a jacket, and sturdy shoes are wiser than court shoes or slippery soles. This applies especially if the tour comes straight after a meeting at the hotel.

The schedule is simple: a tour takes about 45 minutes, so allow 15 minutes beforehand for arrival, the ticket desk and the meeting point, and afterwards there is time for a meal or a walk. Tours start punctually on the hour, and latecomers can no longer join. That applies to stragglers from the department, too. So give your team a meeting time 15 minutes before the tour.

If you are arriving by coach, please clarify access in advance. There is free parking at the site, and line 302 stops at the “Tropfsteinhöhle” stop. By car it is roughly an hour from Cologne/Bonn Airport and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Düsseldorf (approx., depending on traffic).

Enquiry

A date for your team.

Groups are asked to register in advance so that a suitable time slot is free. On the phone, give the team size, preferred date and whether a meal or a meeting should be added.

Book a tour Call +49 2262 7920

Goes well with

• Clubs, seniors & groups
• Advent & Christmas
• A day out in the rain

Dining, celebrating and overnight stays: Waldhotel Tropfsteinhöhle, right next to the cave.