Borneo Adventures In The Mulu National Park

Borneo Adventures In The Mulu National Park

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Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo is one of the most beautiful parks of Sarawak. It is renowned for its extensive system of limestone caves that run for hundreds of miles. One of the best known of these caves is the Deer Cave, the resting place for over two million bats that create an amazing spectacle when they fly out of the huge cave mouth, up into the air in a funnel shape before scattering through the forest for a nights hunting.


Kota Kinabalu Sabah
We arrive in Kota Kinabalu, the resort town on the west coast, facing the South China Sea and backed by Mt Kinabalu. The city, affectionately known as KK or Api Api by the locals, is the gateway to the magical Sabah region of Borneo.

There are many places of interest around Kota Kinabalu. The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park is a cluster of islands perfect for adventures such as snorkelling and watersports. There is a climbing route to Mt Kinabalu and, for nature lovers, interesting walks in Kinabalu National Park. The accommodation in the rainforest may be basic but the resorts in Kota Kinabalu, such as Shangri-la Rasa Ria and Bunga Raya Island Resort and Spa are world-class luxury retreats.

Kinabalu National Park
Kinabalu National Park has something for everybody. Climbers will notice dramatic changes in vegetation every few hundred metres and, on clear sunny days, majestic views from the top.

Below, the scenery is straight out of Jurassic Park, with your usual houseplants grown to gigantic proportions. The variety is enormous: from tenmetre-high ferns and thick jungle, threaded through by clear streams, to insects that look like sticks, huge grasshoppers, frogs and butterflies in vibrant colours and the extraordinary pitcher plants, the carnivorous plants whose pitfall trap, a deep cavity filled with liquid, is a super-efficient mechanism for catching prey .

Gunung Mulu National Park Sarawak
The next day we take a local flight to Miri (it is cheaper if you book early) and from there to Mulu National Park. We had travelled to Kota Kinabalu on a tour with AwimAway.com after a stopover in Brunei Sultanate from London. The two week tour to Borneo is one of the many tours this adventurous company organises.

Gunung Mulu National Park is in the Sarawak region of Borneo, south of Sabah and close to Brunei Sultanate. The park is a national heritage site and well protected, so travellers have to book tours in advance and must have a licensed local guide.

There is much to do. The Canopy Walk is fascinating as it allows views of the forest from above. Far above the Mulu region tower three mountains - Gunung Mulu, Gunung Api and Gunung Benarat. Yet the true glory of the region lies deep underground, where rivers constantly shape and sculpt one of the largest and most celebrated limestone cave systems in the world, as they have been doing for five million years.

The Mulu trek is one of the most popular of many activities on offer. The three-day adventure includes an easy walk to the camp, a boat ride, offering wonderful glimpses of the wildlife, such as hornbills, a long walk over some suspension bridges before you get to an uphill trail. The trail is short but it rises over 1,000 metres and because of the humidity, it requires some exertion. During the climb you may have to use ropes for support and at other places you need to be careful not to step on a viper. But once on top, the view will reward you for your troubles a hundredfold: a huge sea of green with 30-metre limestone pinnacles poking through the forest.

Deer Cave with the largest cave passage
Almost 3 km from the entrance gate the jungle thickens. You walk through the huge Deer Cave, which has the largest cave passage in the park, and go back out before sunset to witness the awe-inspiring sight of three million bats flying out of the cave on their nightly forage for insects.

Rainforest
Photography is not allowed inside the cave, so set your sights on details outside. The rainforest assails all your senses. The first thing that strikes you is the noise: birds squawking, monkeys shrieking and cicadas singing. As the vegetation is so thick, you may not see much large wildlife, but you may see butterflies, beetles and birds and, if you are lucky, ring-tailed monkeys.

Sarawak Chamber the world's largest natural chamber
Sarawak Chamber is the largest underground chamber in the world. It measures 700 by 400m and its height is estimated at about 100m. The Chamber is in the Melinau Paku Valley, about three and half hours walk from the Park HQ. Access involves crossing an active stream passage not impossible for an experienced traveller but the trip is difficult to arrange because of frequent flooding of the entrance passage.

Clearwater Cave the longest cave in Southeast Asia
A 20-40-minute boat ride brings us to Clearwater Cave. This 118-km-long cave (it is still being explored) has a fast-flowing river running through it, which empties into a deep pool, perfect for a swim and a picnic. Wind Cave is remarkable for the apparently bottomless pit in it and the opening at the top overhung with trees. The stalactites and stalagmites in Clearwater and Wind caves are unmatched anywhere in the world.

Where to Stay Royal Mulu Resort
Enjoy the air-conditioned luxury of the Royal Mulu resort, a beautifully designed, single-storey hotel, with rooms built longhouse-style as stilted bungalows on promontories connected by boardwalks. As there is no shortage of water in the rainforest the hotel, has a gorgeouspool, but beware of being dive-bombed by moths and bugs the size of sparrows.

Indian Headhunters
The local inhabitants, sometimes known as Indians, were formerly nomadic forest dwellers and headhunters, now resettled in longhouses. At first, when the government built a longhouse for a tribe, they would burn it down, as it was alien to their culture, but most have now settled peacefully and have adapted to a new way of life, although they still like hunting and both men and women often go back into the jungle.

About the Author:
Harish Kohli is an adventurer, explorer and author of Across the frozen Himalaya. He is presently CEO of AwimAway.com Adventure holidays company. He is a travel expert on Borneo holidays. Check what is new on http://www.awimaway.com.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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