Mulu National Park is located in Sarawak, Malaysia and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia.
With an excellent variety for trekking, exploring, caving, adventure, flora and fauna, this makes the national park one of the must-visit places in Sarawak and Malaysia.
With an excellent variety for trekking, exploring, caving, adventure, flora and fauna, this makes the national park one of the must-visit places in Sarawak and Malaysia.
Travelling to Mulu will be easiest done by booking ahead with the Mulu Marriott Resort and Spa or at any National Park lodgings.
I usually book my trips with my local travel agent in Kuching where I travel by flight from Kuching to Miri and then change my plane to Malaysia Airlines MAS Wings smaller planes to Mulu.
The flight time from Miri to Mulu is about 30 minutes. Other places you can travel to Mulu are from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.
There are no direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore of Bangkok. Once you arrive at Mulu National Park, you are totally cut off from modern civilization except for the Royal Mulu Resort.
Do not expect shopping malls or streets and shops in Mulu. There are also no taxis, buses or highways here.
Mulu National Park Review
I usually book my trips with my local travel agent in Kuching where I travel by flight from Kuching to Miri and then change my plane to Malaysia Airlines MAS Wings smaller planes to Mulu.
The flight time from Miri to Mulu is about 30 minutes. Other places you can travel to Mulu are from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.
There are no direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore of Bangkok. Once you arrive at Mulu National Park, you are totally cut off from modern civilization except for the Royal Mulu Resort.
Do not expect shopping malls or streets and shops in Mulu. There are also no taxis, buses or highways here.
There is an alternative method of getting to Mulu for the hardcore naturalists and adventure seekers. It is a 10-hour long boat ride from Miri to Mulu.
If you are gain for this adventure, then you need to check carefully as the boat system can be unreliable due to water levels along the way.
Before you reach the park or if you step out of the park, you will see one or two local restaurants and bars. They serve local Sarawakian food and drinks there.
Some even serve you a cold beer and all this for a price. Remember, there are no malls or supermarkets in Mulu.
I tried several of them and found the food quite interesting compared to the Resort food, which is also quite good. In the park itself, there is a local restaurant and information center.
Getting to the Mulu National Park is easy as the Royal Mulu Resort organizes daily tours or if you are staying at the park itself, you can just register for the various nature-related activities from the park headquarters.
The main mode of transport at the Mulu National Park is via trekking or longboats. So you will be seeing a lot of longboats along the Melinau River which serves as the main waterway to all the sightseeing.
The sites include stopovers at some of the local tribe villages like the Penan at Long Iman or the Berawan villages.
If you stay at the Royal Mulu Resort, they have a shuttle bus or tuk-tuk to take you to the park and back.
General lodging/accommodation is also available at the park with rooms from RM20.00 to RM150.00.
The cheaper ones without air conditioning and dormitory styled while the more expensive ones have single rooms with an attached hot/cold shower.
Check the type of accommodation you will want. Of course, luxury living would mean staying at the Royal Mulu Resort.
Park registration information |
At the Mulu National Park, all guests are required to pay a Park Entrance Fee of RM10.00 (US$3.30) for each day you visit the park.
The park also hires local guides who know the parks and its surrounds pretty well. They are highly trained and speak English.
The park rangers or guides are from the ethnic tribes or Berawan, Murat, Penan, Kelabit, Lun Bawang and even Ibans.
So you have a fantastic mix of cultures there and they are very friendly people. For your added info, you cannot enter the park without a park guide here.
My park guide was very friendly and informative. I had a great time talking to him and asking him about his tribe and also about the Mulu park in general.
In the picture above, you see me and the park guide in deep conversation. As mentioned, they are very friendly and knowledgeable about the National Park and related matters. No tipping is required but if you think they deserve it, why not.
Upon entering the Mulu National Park, you will come to the main walkway entrance where there is a list of dos and donts for the park.
You should read it or ask your guide about it. Your park guide will be with you at all times during your exploration at the Mulu National Park.
The park information |
You will see the railed wooden walkways raised above the ground to conserve the floor of the rainforest here. From the walkways, you can observe nature at its best.
The wooden platform curving along the trail |
The wooden walkway at the park |
Thorns on one of the trees |
On occasion, you may even spot the great Hornbills as I did on one of my visits there. Your Mulu park guide will also inform you if he or she hears the local Sarawak Hornbill around the area.
There is the main bridge in the park where the path is divided into two. On the left, you get to explore the Canopy Walk and the right takes you all the way to the Deer and Lang Cave while at the end, there is the Bat Observatory.
If you are already here, I would advise that you take the canopy walk experience as it will be one to remember.
My guide stopped at one part of the park and showed me a little cave. According to him, there are bone fragments of human remains left in there.
How true this is, I cannot be sure as I am no expert. So, we ventured into that came to see it with our own eyes.
Usually, the park guides will not let you do that, but we allowed to do so as we had a special park permit while there.
After carefully climbing into the cave, we found the bone fragments. Above is a picture of it. It could have been human then again, animal.
So it is still a mystery till this very day though some claim that these are indeed animal bones.
Rainforest information at the national park |
Also every few hundred meters, there are shelters for you to rest. It also serves as a rain shelter. Do ask your park guide about this when you are there.
Exploring the Mulu National Park |
The best part about the Mulu National Park is that you can just walk for hours and hours admiring the natural beauty of the rainforest taking in the fresh smells and listening to the jungle sounds. Peaceful and bliss.
At the end of the main walk in the park, you will come across a couple of caves and signs indicating what cave it is. There are 2 main caves here which are the Lang Cave and Deer Cave.
The Bat Observatory is also located here. The place is covered and there are some locals who sell drinks and snacks. Nothing heavy, chips and some chocolate bars.
The Bat Observatory which is the most popular areas also has a Bat Viewing TV mounted on the wall in a metal casing where a live feed is linked to the Bat Cam located in the Deer Cave. On rainy days, a replay is shown to the visitors here.
The picture above shows a Binuang Tree, it spans over 8 feet across the base of the tree and is over 100 feet tall which is over a hundred years old.
Trees like this can be found throughout the national park. Please check with your local guide about them.
A jungle fern called Ekor Kuching or translated as Cats Tail fern.
At the end of the day, you will be lead to the Bat Observatory to view the millions of bats that fly out every evening for their food. This is one spectacular sight you must see.
When the sun is almost down, you will be lead out of the park by the guides. And they make sure everyone leaves the park before closing it.
There is also a night exploration conducted by the park and you can inquire about this at the park headquarters.
Other places of interest found here are also the Clearwater Cave and the unique Wind Cave. There is also a review of the Royal Mulu Resort.
Things to bring on your exploration (in no order);
1. Poncho or small umbrella
2. Torch Light or Head Torch for the caves
3. Light snacks and mineral water
4. A mini first aid kit
5. Bug Repellent if needed
6. A basic camera stand for the cave pictures
7. Good walking or trekking shoes
8. Toilet paper or wet wipes
9. Binoculars for bird or critter watching
Things you should not do in the park;
1. No smoking
2. No littering
3. No shouting/cussing
Conclusion
If you have to smoke, there are places you can do so like the huts or the Bat Observatory but please bring your own ashtray and do not litter your buds.
I would advise keeping your addiction till you really need it as there are many people there who came all the way to enjoy the fresh rainforest air.
With this, I do hope you enjoyed my article on the Mulu National Park. If you plan a trip there, make sure you visit all the interesting places and do drop me a note about your trip.
I would advise keeping your addiction till you really need it as there are many people there who came all the way to enjoy the fresh rainforest air.
With this, I do hope you enjoyed my article on the Mulu National Park. If you plan a trip there, make sure you visit all the interesting places and do drop me a note about your trip.