There doesn’t seem to be much unexplored places around the world anymore. But Gunung Mulu National Park, in Malaysian Borneo’s Sarawak province, probably comes close.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is tucked behind Brunei, on Borneo’s west coast. While well-known, it’s still quite underdeveloped and hard to get to. As such, facilities are somewhat lacking, but that just adds to the feeling of stepping back in time to the days when headhunters roamed the region. Besides, if you are bringing your children here, it’s to expose them to nature and a different culture.
The area is famous for the pinnacles of Mount Api, an amazing site but one difficult to access and not really recommended for kids. The area features stunning limestone caves hidden in the dense rainforest. The highlight is heading out to watch the millions of bats, some dozen different species, take flight from Deer Cave just before dusk. It’s a one-hour walk to the cave, which means your walk back consists of a night walk, offering great opportunities to hear and see some of Borneo’s night life, such as centipedes, frogs and even jumping spiders.
You can also visit Clearwater Cave, Cave of the Winds, Lang Cave and Fastlane Cave, among many others. Most require a guide, but there are also a number of trails in the park that are self-guided that take you up close to the rainforest and its animals, if you are lucky. A number of the trails are via boardwalk, so easy for kids, and some require a boat ride in a dugout canoe. Kids loved that! The hikes are mostly forest, but some take you to beautiful waterfalls, most of which you can swim into. More adventurous souls can go on deeper cave exploration tours as well.
There are a number of homestays available near the entrance of the park, and some lodges and rooms inside the park as well. There’s also a 5-star Marriott resort nearby, which provides guests with free shuttles, but we’d recommend staying in one of the many homestays. This benefits directly those who call Mulu home. We stayed at Mulu Village, whose owners, James and Brenda, offer a wealth of information about the region and can help you book local guides for all your excursions.
Mulu is only accessible by flights from Kuching, Miri or Kota Kinabalu, or by a lengthy boat ride from Miri. As such, prices are higher than elsewhere in Sarawak. In addition, you have to bring cash, and lots of it, as there are no ATMs or banks to be found. Bring some fruits and some snacks with you as well. We stayed in Mulu for 3 nights and brought 1,000 RM, and it wasn’t close to being enough to fully enjoy the surroundings.
