Visiting the Caves and Mulu National Park

We are finally back into the realm of phone data and wifi. After leaving Brunei, we stayed in Miri for one night (and had the world’s best Indian food at Khan’s Islamic Restaurant) and then flew out on Monday to Mulu to see Gunung Mulu National Park, the home of the second largest cave passage in the world! We left yesterday (Thursday) and headed to Bintulu for the night to prep a bit for the rest of our time on Borneo. So, let’s break down what we did at Gunung Mulu National Park! You can also skip ahead if that’s what tickles your fancy!

• So, Why Mulu National Park?
• 3-Day Itinerary at Mulu National Park
  • Monday: Deer and Lang Caves
  • Tuesday: Clearwater and Wind Caves, The Botanic Trail, and Tree Top Tower
  • Wednesday: Canopy Walk and Paku Valley Loop
• Where to Stay
• Overall Impression of Mulu National Park

So, Why Mulu National Park?

We read our Lonely Planet guidebook and decided on Mulu National Park since we wanted to see some big caves. Since these caves are very famous (we did not know this before arriving), this will be quite a touristy place. We went from seeing a maximum of 1 foreigner per day to 50 foreigners within a day.

We also wanted to walk around and see the rainforest, which is known for its diverse botanical life—so, it will not be a place to spot an orangutan.

Many blogs mentioned that the prices are very inflated here (about double the price), but we wanted to see caves that can’t be found anywhere else in the world!

And most importantly, we read about the daily flight of 2-3 million bats! Who wouldn’t want to see that?

3-Day Itinerary at Mulu National Park

 

Monday: Deer and Lang Caves

Daniel and I arrived at Mulu Airport at 2:30 pm on Monday and were greeted by our driver from D’Cave Homestay. We hopped in the car for about 2 minutes, and bam, we arrived at our accommodation for the next 3 days.

The propeller plane we took over, snacks on the plane, and the view from the window as we flew into Mulu

Another couple, a really nice pair from France, had arrived a few hours before us and were waiting for us to arrive so we could start right away with the Deer and Lang Cave Tour. Our homestay was hosted by Robert and Dina, who are locals in Mulu. Robert had worked at Mulu National Park for 20 years before quitting 6 years ago, so he is very knowledgeable about the park. Tours can be booked at the head office, but for the same price, we did the tour with Robert since he was very experienced and this way, the money went straight to the local community instead of the company that runs Mulu National Park.

We had to buy a 5-day pass (there is no daily option) to enter the park as often as we liked while we were there. The pass cost 30 MYR (9.30 CAD/65.50 SEK) per person. Then we walked in our small guided group made up of us 4 that were staying at the homestay.

The entrance to Mulu National Park

Deer and Lang Caves

We had our flashlight, rain jacket, and water with us, and then we headed down the trail to Deer Cave. The walk takes about 45 minutes from the main office. Along the way, there are many plants, insects, and lizards to find.

First, we went into Deer Cave, which was the largest cave in the world until Son Doong Cave was discovered in Vietnam.

Deer Cave is massive. The entrance is so large, that it lights up 2/3 of the cave. Deer cave is home to 2-3 million bats, belonging to a handful of different species.

We walked around the cave and learned about how they were formed. We also learned about stalactites and stalagmites. As a teacher, I am always glad to learn new things!

Formations in the cave

This cave was a bit stinky due to the copious amounts of bat poop.

Then we headed to Lang Cave, which is a much smaller cave than Deer Cave. Lang Cave was fine enough, but after Deer Cave, it was just a flicker in my memory.

The tour for the Deer and Lang cave costs 35 MYR (11 CAD/76 SEK) per person.

Bats Observatory

In a built-up arena, a bunch of tourists, including ourselves, waited for the bats to come flying out for their nightly hunt. About 10% of the time they don’t come out, so I was hoping that they would come out today! And they did!

I am not sure how long you think it should take for 2-3 million bats to fly out of a cave, but I was nervous when they first started flying out that I would miss filming it on my phone.

It turns out, I did not need to be worried. The bats continually flew out for 20 minutes. 

View before and after the bats started to fly out

It was really cool to watch. I have never seen anything like it. Almost every night the bats fly out to catch food. Scientists are unsure about why the bats do not fly out 10% of the time. Apparently, it has nothing to do with the weather. The good news is if the bats decide they don’t want to fly out, you can walk to the bat observatory the next night. The observatory is free to visit with your Mulu Pass.

Tuesday: Clearwater and Wind Caves, The Botanic Trail, and Tree Top Tower

After a great breakfast at our homestay, us 4 went on another tour hosted by Robert to the Clearwater and Wind Caves. Dina, his wife, also decided to join us for the day. This tour costs 67 MYR (21 CAD/146 SEK) per person.

Locals use the river for transport and bathing

Clearwater and Wind Caves

After meeting at the head office in the park, we queued up to take a longboat (also known as a jetty) to the caves. The boats are long, surprise surprise, and the journey goes quite quickly.

The journey over via jetty

Before arriving at the caves, we stopped at Batu Bungan, a village made up of the people who used to reside as nomads within the park. They were forced to leave and are now residing in a fixed location.

I did find the village a bit hokey. The women in the settlement make handicrafts which they sell to tourists. Daniel and John (one of our coinhabitants at our homestay) did try the blow dart. Without any poison, of course. However, after talking to Dina and Robert, we found out that some children in Batu Bungan did not have the opportunity to go to high school since the only available high school in this rural region is a boarding school 3 hours away via boat. These people really required on the tourism and laboured away long hours to produce an item which they sold quite cheap. I guess that’s the problem when a place becomes so popular. It negatively affects the local populations while the company running the park makes a lot of money.

Then we hopped back into the boat and worked our way down the river to the Cave of the Winds. This cave did have a light breeze at one point, but I was so warm so I felt like I needed a lot more wind!

The outside as well as some formations within the Cave of the Winds

After that, we took the boat 2 minutes further to Clearwater Cave which is one cave in the Clearwater Caving System. After climbing 200 steps, we were greeted by the entrance of the cave.

We discussed a lot about how the cave was formed and about the water that ran through it and provided a small swimming spot outside of the cave. Once more, we saw impressive cave formations.

The river as well as formations within Clearwater Cave

Finally, we ate some snacks and drank Milo, a staple in Malaysia. Then we went swimming the clear water. It was really refreshing to swim since I was so warm. I really needed to cool down after that climb.

We made our way back by boat and said goodbye to our French companions since they had a flight to catch.

The Botanic Trail and Tree Top Tower

Now that we had finished our paid tour of the day, we took advantage of the free walks available at Mulu National Park. Since we were quite tired from climbing all those steps, we decided to take an easier path.

First, we walked around the Botanic Trail. The best way to describe this trail is green. It is very green. The path is only 1.5 km long, so it went by quite quickly. There are many informational signs to read along the way.

 

Finally, we headed up to the Tree Top Tower. We needed to sign out a key from the security desk with a 50 MYR deposit.

This tower helped me achieve a lot of steps according to my smartwatch. We arrived at the top where we had could look out of special camouflaged holes for animals. However, there are not a lot of animals in Mulu Park so our attempt to see cool birds was a failure.

Well, at least we looked like we knew what we were doing

 

Wednesday: Canopy Walk and Paku Valley Loop

On our last full day at the national park, we decided to get exercise and spend time walking.

Canopy Walk

We did our last paid tour by booking it at head office. Robert does not do the Canopy Walk, but we did get quite a lovely guide.

We were in a group of 4 and placed with a couple from the Netherlands.

The Canopy Walk is a suspended walk through the treetops that lasts for 480 metres. It is the world’s longest tree walkway. The tour cost 42 MYR (13 CAD/92 SEK). It ended up lasting about 2 hours since we had to walk to where the canopy walk starts.

I really enjoyed the Canopy Walk. I am afraid of heights, so I found it a bit thrilling. However, I have to admit that I was most afraid for my phone’s safety rather than my own.

Paku Valley Loop

This is another free walk that we decided to do. It is about 8 km long on a rougher trail. This means that due to the intense rainstorm during the night, we had to hike a bit around the trail to avoid, well, swimming.

Danne being a stud in the scenery, the waterfalls, and me admiring some mushrooms

The Paku Waterfalls were small but nice. We did the trail to get some exercise and take in more of the flora available in Mulu.

Where to Stay

You should stay at D’Cave Homestay. I read many blogs before arriving in Mulu to help me decide which homestay I’d like the most. There are around 12 homestays now, so there are many to choose from. D’cave Homestay has a very homey feel.

Robert and Dina were very accommodating. We spent the evenings chatting about how life is in Mulu for locals while sipping hot drinks.

The rooms are basic. We were in the middle of tropical rainforest though, so the insects were noticeable at night.

Robert’s tours were really well done. He has so much experience and it was good to put money into the local’s economy instead of the park’s pockets.

Dina is a sweetheart and the best cook. Her breakfast is the best in Borneo. We had fresh fruit every morning, which is something I was really missing from other accommodations. We even had two dinners there which cost us 12 MYR (4 CAD/26 SEK) each. Her food was really good.

We loved staying there. We could relax if we needed to or chat with them in the evening and actually get to know locals in Malaysia. They were really genuine people so Daniel and I left with extremely good impressions.

 

Overall Impression of Mulu National Park

We are glad that we decided to make Mulu part of our itinerary in Borneo. However, there were some things that bugged us. There were a lot of tourists there, so we did not get that “real travelling” feeling. There are many charter trips that take place from Australia.

Another thing that we did not like is that there are no animals. Robert explained the people who lived there before it was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site had driven out most of the animals. Of course, animals are smart, and with so many tourists coming every day, they are bound to be elsewhere. I love animals and the setting felt like they should be there. So, it was sad that we were just surrounded by plants.

It is a bit annoying that you have to do tours to see the caves. However, it makes sense. All it takes is a few dumb tourists and the caves won’t be beautiful anymore.

Overall, we liked it. The caves were huge and beautiful. They really were amazing. We also thoroughly enjoyed watching the bats fly out at night. In addition, it was really pretty to walk around big old trees and just be quiet in nature.

So, overall impression: we liked it but wish there were fewer people and more animals.

 

We spent Thursday night in Bintulu. Our plans were to take a car from here to Belaga to visit longhouses. However, due to the heavy rain, there are no vehicles that are making the trip. So, now, we have been spontaneous and headed down to Sibu so we can hopefully find some longhouses to stay at tomorrow!

 

Would you like to see the second largest cave in the world? If you have been, what were your impressions of Mulu?

 

xx

Jasmine

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