Gunung Mulu National Park

Hi all readers.  How are you? Christmas is just around the corner.  For those who celebrate it have you all finished all the planning and preparation?  Anyway, in this entry I will tell all of you readers about Gunung Mulu National Park.  Gunung Mulu National Park is located near Miri, Sarawak.  You can see the map here.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers caves, and karst formation in a mountainous rainforest setting.  The park is famous for its caves and expeditions that have been mounted to explore them and their surrounding rainforest.  The most well known expedition in this place was the Royal Geographical Society Expedition of 1977 to 1978, which saw over 100 scientists in the field for 15 months.  This national park is named after Mount Mulu, the second highest mountain in Sarawak.  Gunung Mulu National Park is famous for its limestone karst formations.  Features include enormous caves, vast cave networks, rock pinnacles, cliffs and gorges.  Mount Mulu is a sandstone mountain rising to 2,376m.  Gunung Mulu National Park has the largest known natural chamber, the Sarawak Chamber, found in Gua Nasib Bagus.  It is 700m long, 396m wide and at least  70m high.

The view inside the cave.

It has been said that the chamber is so big that it could accommodate about 40 Boeing 747 jets.  The nearby Deer Caves is one of the largest single cave passages in the world.  Other caves worthy of visiting in this area are Benarat Cavern, Wind Cave, and Clearwater Cave.  The Clearwater Cave contains one of the world's largest underground river systems and is believed to be the largest cave in the world by volume at 30,247,540 cubic meter.

View inside Clearwater Cave.

In addition, there are many species of animals live in this area.  About eight species of hornbill such as Rhinocheros Hornbill which can be seen on Sarawak state emblem and about 27 species of bat.  Moreover, you also can found some mammals species like moonrat, shrews, Bornean Tarsier, long-tailed Macaque, gibbons, squirrels and deers.

The Sarawak emblem.

Cute little sun bear cubs.

The most practical way to reach here is by air.  There are flights between Mulu and Miri, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.  Alternatively, it is possible to travel by river from Miri, which is about 100km away,using a boat which will takes long 12 hours.  For your information, before the opening of the airport and the opening of a helipad in 1991, this was the only way to reach the national park. Alright readers.  I think that's all I wanna share.  Until next time.  Stay raw and ready for more Fantastic+Merapu Adventures :D