Visit Gunung Mulu National Park to discover remarkable limestone pinnacles, rainforest-covered mountains, rivers, canyons and spectacular caves full of bats.
Praised for its unique biodiversity, the 130-acre (nearly 53,000-hectare) rainforest park has been 60 million years in the making. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
Mulu’s high concentration of gigantic caves shows a geological history of some 1.5 million years. The Sarawak Chamber, within the remote “Good Luck Cave," is the largest ever found, but can only be explored by very experienced cavers with a local guide.
Most visitors opt for the far less dangerous public cave tours. The Deer Cave has the world’s largest number of bats species ever found in a single cave. Seeing millions of free-tailed bats burst out of this cave around sunset each night is a highlight.
Clearwater Cave, believed to be the longest cave in Southeast Asia, has a river and requires a scenic longboat ride to get to.
Hiking options range from a short Canopy Skywalk or a 2-hour walk to the Paku Waterfall, to adventurous multiday hikes. The most challenging hike of all is the Gunung Mulu Summit Trek, to the top of the nearly 7,800-foot (2,377-meter) peak that gave the park its name. Enjoy the views of Gunung Api (“Fire Mountain”) with its collection of knife-like pinnacles along the way.
Gunung Mulu National Park is in the state of Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo. While you can reach it in a four-wheel drive, it’s easier to fly there with Maswings from Miri, Kuching or Kota Kinabalu. A 5-day pass gives you unlimited entry to the park but you also pay for cave visits and other guided tours.
The park’s headquarters has a discovery center, gallery shop and a café. There are no grocery shops or ATMs, so bring your own gear and supplies and a well-stocked safety kit.
Accommodation options in the park range from basic wooden huts to modernized longhouses. A luxury resort with restaurant sits just outside the park.
