Our decision to visit Atta-Höhle in Attendorn began with a simple question from my 8-year-old son after school one day. “Can we visit a cave sometime?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said, and soon found the Atta-Höhle website on the Internet.
With beautiful pictures of stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations, it looked like a perfect place to take the children for a day trip during summer vacation.
Our visit on a rainy Sunday afternoon in July proved my impressions from the website accurate.
One of the advantages of the cave tour is that it is well designed for children. At 40 minutes in length it is not too long and not too short, and it is packed with amazing, lit-up formations. “Mom, is that frosting?” my wide-eyed, 6-year-old son asked me early on in the tour, pointing to a glistening sheet of rock that looked as though someone had spilled a bucket of sugary glaze down a wall of the cave.
On the day we visited, tours of 25 people started approximately every 15 minutes, but the wait could be longer on busier days. The tour started with a walk down a sloped tunnel roughly 150 feet long, and our tour guide met us at the bottom of the tunnel to explain the ground rules — make sure you have suitable shoes for walking and no taking pictures.
The terrain inside the cave goes up and down in parts, but most children as young as 3 could walk it.
No matter what time of year, the cave is at a constant temperature of 48 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the cave’s website, so it is a good idea to bring a light jacket or sweatshirt.
The tour is in German, but the cave’s formations are so beautiful, the added information is unnecessary to appreciate the cave. Anyone interested in the cave’s history and the science behind the formations can find that information on the cave’s website in English.
The 119-mile drive north from Wiesbaden to Attendorn takes between an hour and a half to two hours, and the green scenery along the way makes it a pleasurable drive.
Entrance fees are €7.50 for adults and €4.50 for children. The ticket office does not accept debit or credit cards, and there is no ATM at the site, so bring cash. There is a gift shop and a restaurant at the site.
The cave is open year round, but is open varying hours depending on the time of year, according to the cave’s website. From May 1 to Sept. 4 it opens every day of the week at 10 a.m., and the last admittance is at 4:30 p.m.
For more information visit www.atta-hoehle.de.