Neandertal-Düssel valley and Neandertal game reserve 6.4 km

We did this hike just before visiting the great Neanderthal Museum (https://www.neanderthal.de/en/home.html/). It offers great views of the Düssel valley, the pasture and forests surrounding it and the ‘Eiszeitliche Wildgehege Neandertal’ (ice age game reserve Neandertal; https://www.kreis-mettmann.de/wildgehege/), where you can find European bison (Wisent), Aurochs (Auerochs, Heck cattle), and Tarpan horses. The latter two species are extinct, but the animals here are from attempts to rebreed them. The European bison is not extinct (we did however not spot them during our trip). You can find something to eat and drink only at the start. There is paid parking at the start.
From the start you take minor road from the parking transiting into the unpaved forest track Treckhauser Quall. You pass by the Memoria Mundi monument and the stone age workshop (Steinzeitwerkstatt). You then take a path uphill through forest covering the flanks of the Düssel (the river giving Düsseldorf its name) valley. The path ends up at an enclosure of European bison. You walk past it and arrive to another enclosure with a nice views towards the valley. You then walk around the Aurochs enclosure where there was a large herd of Aurochs. I also saw a wild roe deer on the fields opposite the enclosure. You then go down in the forested Rehbockbach valley, down and up steps. When you are back up you pass by other enclosures, but we did not see animals here. You follow an unpaved field track on the hill crest towards the Höhenweg. You follow and then descend this paved road through forest towards the valley. In the Düssel valley you pass by pasture and the hamlet Steg before crossing the river. You then pass by the hamlet Am Eigen and a large pond before following a path through the valley on the edge of forest and pasture. In places you have a good view of the meandering river. After some time you get to the Treckhauser Quall, and you pass by other enclosures of the Wildgehege. We did see Tarpan horses near a stable. Before the Treckhauser Quall crosses a bridge, you take a path following the Düssel back to the parking lot, passing some artwork from the “Kunstweg MenschenSpuren”, the Neanderthal Hecke and a playground for kids. Do not forget to visit the museum, and the spot where the Neanderthal bones were first recovered.