SARAWAK > Miri Division > Miri City > Mulu National Park
Dense vegetation clings to every surface. Steep slopes and vertical cliffs
reach summit
ridges before dropping to hidden valleys.
Jagged limestone pinnacles, bleached white, pierce the lush green canopy
Cave passages wind their way through the mountains, opening into chambers
so large you are dwarfed to insignificance.
This is Mulu!
Map of Mulu National Park
- The Walks in and around Mulu National Park
Plants for Life Trial at Gunung Mulu
Plants for Life Walk (guide optional)
How do you live in an isolated rainforest without shops, doctors or hospitals?
You learn to understand the forest - what tastes good, what cures sickness, what
will hurt you and how to build using forest plants. Explore the plant world with
the local experts.
Garden of Eden (guided) in
Deer Cave, leave the regular tour route and climb down to the underground river.
Your destination is the glowing pool of light and water at the far end of the
cave.
Maybe you would prefer a half day rainforest walk to Pakll Waterfall and the
chance to be alone. Relax by the river, swim and enjoy a picnic lunch.
Turtle Cave (beginner)
If you have never tried adventure caving, exploring the Turtle Cave'
section of Clearwater Cave is a great introduction to visiting Mulu's
underground world. Your guide will lead you on an exciting trip into the river
to follow its pathway out of the cave. The 45 minute tour runs daily at 12.00,
costs RM20 per person but will be cancelled without notice if the water is too
high.
Lagangs Cave (beginner)
This is an ideal adventure for students and family groups. An easy hour
rainforest walk takes you to the cave entrance to begin your 1 hour underground
experience. Equipped with helmets and torches, discover the mysterious dark
world of cave insects and bats. Scramble over boulders where ancient rivers
carved their way through the mountain.
Total time 3-4 hours.
Lagangs Cave (intermediate)
Continue for another 1 hour to the challenging 150 meter climb over
boulders to the exit. You emerge on the mountainside to clamber down 100 meters
to the river level and a short trek to the cooling Paku Waterfall. Before
starting the 2 hour trek back to Park HQ relax, enjoy a swim and some food.
Total time 5-6 hours.
Drunken Forest (intermediate)
Drunken Forest is in the Clearwater Cave system but the entrance is
located near the Summit Trail. During your 3 hour jungle walk there are several
streams to cross so you will definitely get wet. This is a beautiful cave with
many white straws, stalagmites leaning at a 'drunken* angle and cave pearls.
Total time 8 hours.
Racer Cave (intermediate)
The walk to Racer is around 30 minutes or you can hire a boat to save
time and energy.
Your underground journey will be about 2 hours depending on the group size, the
more people, the longer it will take (maximum of 8). Your guide leads you
through the cave climbing up and down the passageways with the aid of ropes.
This cave requires some upper body strength but most people are successful. Life
in the dark will amaze you; see insects that have adapted into strange shapes to
survive in this underground world and Racer snakes that have learned how to
catch a meal as it flies past. Enjoy the great feeling that comes with
discovering your abilities and meeting a physical challenge.
Stonehorse (advanced)
After walking 2km along the Rainforest Discovery Walk, climb 80 meters up
the rough limestone cliff to where the 'horse-head* shaped rock marks the cave's
entrance. Your 3 hour adventure underground includes a 20m traverse and
negotiating between large 50m deep holes. The passages are large and open with
35m ceilings, interesting pebble sediments and beautiful speleothems.
Total time 4-5 hours.
Clearwater Connection (advanced)
A longer trip (4.8km) and depending on fitness it takes between 6 to 8
hours, (larger groups take more time)
Beginning in the show cave section of the Cave of the Winds adventurers leave
the tame pathways behind and venture into the 'wild* chambers. Your route is
over terrain strewn with boulders that require some climbing up and clambering
down many muddy slopes. Areas that are hazardous have fixed ropes and guides
carry personal ropes to assist you in sections that require climbing. For many
the 1.5km river section is the highlight as it is exceptionally beautiful and
refreshing after the hard caving. The Clearwater Connection tour is not
available when the water levels are too high.
Sarawak Chamber (advanced)
A particularly challenging tour even for fit visitors and experienced
cavers. Taking one very full day, beginning at 7.00am you will follow the Summit
Trail for about 3 hours. Access to the chamber is via Gua Nasib Bogus (Good Luck
Cave) along an 800 meter river channel with sheer rock faces rising to about 50
meters on either side. After a 200 meter traverse and a steep boulder slope you
come face to face with the inky blackness of earth's largest chamber. Enjoy a
short rest at the mouth of the chamber, before the return trip. If the water
levels are too high, the tour will be cancelled and the group returns to Park
headquarters.
Total time 10-15 hours depending on fitness.
Deluxe Longhouse Rooms: (Daily Service)
Large room with double and single beds, ensuite bathroom,
air-conditioning and ceiling fan.
• Rm 125 twin share
• Rm 145 triple share
• Rm 165 quad share
Standard Rainforest Rooms: (Not Serviced)
with double and single beds, ceiling fan and ensuite bathroom.
• Rm 66 twin share
• Rm 81 triple share
• Rm 96 quad share
Hostel:
A large dormitory with 21 beds, ceiling fans and shared bathrooms. Bed linen is
provided.
• Rm25 pp per night
After a year of black-out from the tourism map due to connectivity problem, things are getting better for Mulu after Malaysia Airlines' subsidiary MASWings took over the rural air service by end of 2007.
Located in the northern region ofMiri, Mount Mulu is the gem of Sarawak's eco
tourism attractions with its interesting cave systems and diverse flora and
fauna varieties.
Encompassing an area of 52,865 hectares, Mulu National Park is the largest
national park in Sarawak and is a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2000.
Only 300km of its extensive cave system have been uncovered and mapped out,
leaving vast areas still waiting to be explored. For visitors to the national
park, there are four caves which are open to the public. These are Lang Cave,
Deer Cave, Clearwater Cave and Wind Cave. Proper walkways have been built for
easy access to all these caves providing visitors a breathtaking sight of the
surrounding jungle.
Lang Cave offers visitors amazing limestone formation of stalactites and
stalagmites. The smallest of the four caves, Lang was named after a Berawan (a
local native) who discovered the cave during a hunting trip.
A short distance away is the Deer Cave which is home to an estimated 5 million
bats. Named after the animal-sake that came to the cave for the salt lick, Deer
Cave is famous for its magnitude that is reputedly able to hold five St Paul
Cathedrals, 40 Boeing 747 and four football fields.
Deer Cave is also famously known for its Abraham Lincoln profile made up of rock
formation near the cave entrance and an area near the rear end of the cave that
is overgrown with trees and shrubs.
Another attraction at Deer Cave is the bat exodus that occurs almost every
evening between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. About 2 million of the nocturnal creatures
will fly out simultaneously from the cave in search for food.
To allow visitors to have a closer look at the bats, Borsamulu Park Management
Sdn Bhd that manages the national park, will be installing infrared cameras at
strategic spots in the cave. Images captured by the cameras can be viewed at the
wide screen placed at the Bat Observatory and the Visitors' Discovery Centre at
the park headquarters.
Apart from the leisure tours of the four caves, visitors to Mulu can also
explore the many trails in the national park as well as go on the canopy walk.
They can also engage in adventure caving activity.
Suspended between 30 to 40 metres above the forest floor, the canopy walk has
the longest tree to tree skywalk in the world. The 480 metre skywalk is linked
by 15 tall trees mostly of the hardwood species.
As for the more adventurous souls, there are the Headhunters Trail and the
Pinnacles Trail to test your stamina and endurance. Both trails are popular
among visitors who are game for the adventure of going through thick forest
which is sometime infested with leech, muddy trek and limestone paths. There are
also several streams to cross along these trails.
Accommodations are aplenty in Mulu. The choice is from star-rated Royal Mulu
Resort to modest and comfortable lodges run by the national park management and
travel agents.
In the first eight months of 2007, more than 20,000 visitors have visited Mulu.
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