Mulu National Park, Malaysia Plan a trip

The only way you can get to the Mulu National Park is by light aircraft but trust us, it’s worth it. As you approach, you’ll get a fantastic view of the thick rainforest that hides the world’s largest limestone cave system. You’ll also get a sense for the immense size of this national park. The park is at least five million years old. It’s barely changed in that time, so this rugged wilderness is as close as you’ll get to a primeval natural experience.

You get to the Mulu National Park by plane, but once you’re there you travel by foot or by boat. Explore the dense, green vegetation that covers this entire park. This area is not as quiet as you’d expect because the monkeys chatter, the hornbills squawk and the frogs croak (a lot). You’ll also probably hear the trees creaking; it’s an incredible sound.

The thing that really makes this park special is the labyrinthine cave network that sits beneath the trees. Head to Clearwater Cave and take a swim or visit Lang or Deer Caves to see the bats swarm out – you’ll never forget it. The park is also known for its peak: Gunung Mulu. People have been scaling it since the 1850s, trying to climb the 2,376 metres to the top. This is great, especially if you like climbing, but the collection of sharp, spiky, limestone structures known as the Pinnacles is even more impressive. They sit on another mountain, Gunung Api, and are about 50 metres tall.

The Mulu National Park is the only park in Sarawak that has been privatised and because of this it can feel a little more corporate. Tours are timetabled and formatted, so you can’t really go exploring on your own. However, this means you see a lot of what this beautiful park has to offer, which is well worth giving up a little independence.

Plan your trip to Mulu National Park today.