Only 30 minutes away from the pulsating city of Cologne, which has the most influence on the region, you can recover splendidly from the "noise of the big city". But if you've had enough of the peace and quiet of the "Bergisches", you can also quickly drive the 40km by car via the A4, although bus (OVAG) and train (RB 25) also lead directly into the heart of the Rhineland metropolis.

More and more attractions are currently being added. The last spectacular addition found just before scarcely 1 year into the tourist offer, when with the "wind hole" the 35 million year old cave, which was discovered only in 2019, was reworked for tourism. While you won't be able to visit the cave directly (it's also currently being further explored), families will discover a lot about the formation and progression of caves in general and in particular via the 8.4km "cave trail". A "cave experience center" is to be opened in the course of 2022 in the cash area of the "Aggertalhöhle", which is located in the direct vicinity. And until then it is just 3km!

As mentioned at the beginning, hikers and cyclists will find a Dorado of different paths and routes in the Bergisches - and behind every bend there is a new, partly far-reaching and breathtaking view. The hiking and biking bus will then also take you back to the starting point of your excursion after the tour. Also some app providers have great tours that you can discover with the MTB - electric or conventional.

But also the sporty road cyclists get their money's worth in the Bergisch - and perhaps also to their limits: The short and fast, varied "up and down" is incredibly condition demanding and -enhancing. This is also noticed by professionals and amateurs alike during the annual day tour "Rund um Köln" (Around Cologne): In the Bergisch often separates the "wheat from the chaff", and not infrequently runaway successes were made possible by the cornerstone in the Bergisch. Who can drive fast here, can it everywhere. In this respect: wheel and spoke break!!!

A very special highlight, especially in summer, are of course the many dams. The Bergisch has a total of 12 reservoirs, whereby the most famous one from the "Krombacher advertising", the Wiehltalsperre, as a pure drinking water reservoir, may not be entered or used.

In Engelskirchen itself there is also the "Panorambad" on the Rommersberg. From the center of town, a narrow and admittedly quite steep path / trail winds its way up the mountain from Bergische Strasse (opposite Pizzeria Side). Of course, it is easier to go by car, but especially on hot weekdays, the many parking spaces at the panorama pool are sometimes too few - the view from the large sunbathing lawn over the Agger valley is too beautiful even for the most stressed Cologne residents.

Other highlights are of course the "Schloss Gimborn" in its slumber, the "Schloss Homburg" - and if you are already in Nümbrecht - let your eyes wander over the whole Bergische Land: The Trum and Wildwipfelpfad in the "Naturerlebnispark Panarbora" in Waldbröl.

In Engelskirchen you will also find - of course and logically =,o) the first German Engels museum in the premises of the old Engels spinning mill in Engelskirchen. The company Ermen and Engels, from which also Friedrich Engels, who was famous for his cooperation with Karl Marx, came from Barmen / Wuppertal in the 1930s. In the premises of the old spinning mill, which today houses the administration of the village, the fire department, police and the industrial museum of the LVR (Landschaftsverband Rheinland), in the "old locksmith's shop" of the factory has also found the home of the 1st German Engelsmuseum.

Carnival has always been very important in Engelskirchen!

The Shrove Monday procession attracts for decades - admittedly rather in dry weather - thousands of Oberberg and neighboring "Jecken" to the 2.5 - 3.5h lasting procession "through the village".

Even from Cologne the fools come to accompany a large, but still personal procession. As in Cologne, one calls "Alaaaf" - other calls should be at most "Kamelle!!" or "Bützcher!!" (kisses) or "Strüüühscher!!" ("Sträusschen"). Then everything is drunk at the roadside, which gives the cellar: Classically on Bollerwagen (sometimes also with big umbrella over it) and above all also with thick music system with the newest "kölschen Karnevalshits". Whereby also the classics of the "kölschen Fasteleer's" may not be missing.

Information about the "närrischen Treiben" with the dates of meetings and trains offers especially the website of the KG Närrische Oberberger.

Football
Since 1883/1913 football is played in Engelskirchen organized in the VFL of the same name.
In the 1930s, as many as 4 Remmels played in one team: My grandpa and 3 of his brothers were active in the VFL at that time. My father was more the judoka. I myself have kicked approx. from 1974 to 1983 in blue - white sometimes more, sometimes less successfully in the "Leppestadion" before and probably also sometimes over the ball. At that time still on the local red ash, since 2020 the place has an artificial turf.
But the VFL is not only active in football: the club currently has 10 departments.
If you want to watch once: VFL Engelskirchen

Trips with motorcycle / convertible / classic car / ...
The Bergisch has preserved its rural / village character, not least because of its hilly surface structure. The roads of the not particularly rich Bergisches Land have always been narrow, because apart from the so-called "Aggerschiene" there were and are no supra-regionally important trade routes that would have crossed the Bergisches. 

In this respect, the curvy, hilly little connecting roads are also a destination for cruisers of all kinds, and not only from the surrounding cities such as Cologne, Leverkusen, Bonn, Düsseldorf etc.

But unfortunately, not only the cruisers, but also the one or the other racer, 2-wheeled as 4-wheeled - especially on beautiful weekends on the road. That's why you can find in the Bergisch unfortunately also the one or other cross on the roadside, which reminds of a tragic event. For whatever reasons the accidents happen: It is best to enjoy the Bergisches relaxed with foot or hand off the gas, so that you arrive after your tour also again healthy and cheerful in grandma's vacation cottage!

Gastronomy
There are still a few rustic mountain pubs - but like everywhere else, they are becoming fewer and fewer. Usually you stand at the bar and drink your beer. In Engelskirchen, people actually drink Kölsch. However, there are still eating pubs, for example, the "Hardter Hof", which for a time from the late 1960s to the early 1970s even my grandfather operated (and in which my mother met my father), is still active. Without this "pub" / restaurant I would not exist - but we were lucky again =,o).

A selection of gastronomic establishments can be found at Trip Advisor 

"Meals on wheels" (so delivery services) also offer you 2-3 service providers from the nearby area.