Gunung Mulu National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 2000; Holds The Sarawak Chamber, The Largest Known Cave Chamber In The World By Area, And One Of The Great Bat Exoduses On Earth · Mulu, Sarawak

MULU IS A LIMESTONE MASSIF IN THE MIDDLE OF BORNEAN RAINFOREST WITH SOME OF THE LARGEST VOIDS ON THE PLANET INSIDE IT. THE SARAWAK CHAMBER IS THE BIGGEST KNOWN CAVE CHAMBER ON EARTH BY AREA - a space you could lose several aircraft in, and it is not open to ordinary visitors. DEER CAVE HOLDS ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT CAVE PASSAGES AND SOMETHING BETTER: MILLIONS OF WRINKLE-LIPPED BATS LIVE IN IT, and at dusk they leave to feed in long spiralling ribbons that unwind out of the cave mouth for half an hour or more. CLEARWATER is among the longest cave systems anywhere. ABOVE ALL THIS STAND THE PINNACLES - blades of limestone fifty metres high on the flank of Gunung Api, reached by one of the most punishing climbs in Southeast Asia. THERE IS NO PRACTICAL ROAD: you fly in from Miri, which is why so few people do. Every cave is a guided tour booked through the park and the popular ones sell out, and rain routinely keeps the bats in - give yourself more than one evening for them.

Gunung Mulu National Park, Baram, Sarawak, Mulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

MULU IS REACHED BY AIR FROM MIRI, and effectively only by air - the river route takes days and there is no practical road. FLIGHTS ARE SMALL AND LIMITED, SO BOOK WELL AHEAD AND LEAVE SPARE DAYS. ALL CAVES ARE VISITED ON GUIDED TOURS BOOKED THROUGH THE PARK, and the popular ones sell out - RESERVE BEFORE YOU ARRIVE. THE BAT EXODUS AT DEER CAVE HAPPENS AROUND DUSK AND IS WEATHER-DEPENDENT: if it is raining the bats often do not come out at all, and no one can promise you otherwise. THE PINNACLES IS A THREE-DAY TRIP with a brutal climb and has MINIMUM FITNESS REQUIREMENTS AND TURNAROUND TIMES that are enforced. THE SARAWAK CHAMBER IS NOT OPEN to general visitors. Accommodation is in the park or at the nearby lodges and is limited.

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