The Average Traveler's Guide to Gunung Mulu National Park

(Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo)

Why Mulu?

How to Get There

There's no real road that goes to Mulu Park. Most people travel there by plane. Our flights went from Johor Bahru to Miri in northern Sarawak, where we spent the night. (It would have been faster to take a flight from Singapore to Miri. If you start out in Singapore, I don't actually recommend driving to Johor; it looks close on the map, but the traffic backup on the causeway is terrible.) We took the short flight to Mulu the following morning. The plane was not large -- only Twin Otters (propeller planes) fly into Mulu. Keep this in mind when deciding how much luggage to bring.

Even if you're coming from West Malaysia, Sarawak has its own passport control, which you'll encounter in Miri (or Kuching, if you fly through there instead). You don't need a visa, though.

The airport at Mulu was just a strip with a small terminal building -- I don't think there was a baggage carousel or anything. It did have a surau, a lunch counter, and a small souvenir shop. No air conditioning, though. The Royal Mulu (see below) provides a shuttle for hotel guests.

I think it's also possible to get to Mulu by (open) boat along the rivers, but that's about all I know about it.

What to Expect

• rainforest
• not a lot of land animals, although you can hear frogs
• (there are orangutans in Borneo, but you're unlikely to see one here)
• unique plants, such as the "one-leaf" plant that lives only in the Mulu area
  
• cave animals: swiftlets and bats
• Some bugs (giant millipedes, walking-stick insects, large butterflies) but not that many mosquitos
• heat, humidity, and rain!
• The outdoor trails are mainly boardwalks. They're often wet and can be slippery.
• Inside the caves (and outside the Wind Cave) are a large, large number of steps.
• Helpful park rangers, some of them from the local Dayak people
• Boat rides on the river to get to the Water and Wind Caves
• Local Penan people selling crafts

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Royal Mulu Resort, which is right on the river and not too far from the airport and the park headquarters. (I don't recommend walking there with your luggage, however. It's hot and you are likely to be rained on. Use the hotel shuttle van.) They give you free orange juice when you arrive. The rooms have individual air-conditioning, hot and cold running water, and are mosquito-free. The rooms have electric pots with which you can boil water and make tea or coffee. Complimentary bottled water was also provided. The food is OK. The resort has a pool. Prices are pretty reasonable by US standards.

There's guesthouse and hostel accommodation by the park headquarters that may be cheaper, but I have no firsthand experience of it. I think that package tours often make arrangements at guesthouses instead of the Resort.

What to bring: Clothing and Shoes

• Shoes for wet hiking. Inside the caves it's wet and slippery. Be prepared for puddles and bat guano.
  
  • My hiking boots worked pretty well. I worried that my feet would be too hot, but actually they were fine.
    
  • People who wore sneakers ended up with wet feet. If you must wear sneakers, at least bring extra socks! Also, make sure they have good traction.
    
  • Water-resistant sandals, such as Tevas, would probably also be good, if you don't mind your feet getting a bit dirty from the guano-laced puddles.
• Raingear. The best would be a poncho
• NOT a raincoat. Even during a rainstorm, it's too hot and you won't want to put it on.
  
• Note that at the time of our trip, the hotel shop carried raincoats, but no ponchos.
• NOT a short rainjacket (won't stand up to the torrential rains)
• Probably not an umbrella (it's awkward to carry through the jungle)

Other Essential Items

• A bottle of water (possibly from the hotel). The trails have faucets by them, but a lot of them don't work, and drinking the local water is not always the best idea.
  
• Flashlights -- one per person. The paths inside the caves (and in the rainforest) are lined with electric lights, but the maintenance of the light system seems to be erratic, so you often pass by stretches where the lights are out. Also, if you stay at the entrance to Deer Cave to see the bats come out at sunset, it's likely to be dark by the time you exit the forest.
• Kleenex or toilet paper. There are outhouses in the rest shelters by the entrances to the show caves, but they are not well equipped.
  
• A day pack to put it all in

Optional Items

• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses. Obviously you won't need them inside the caves, and actually I was fine without any, but if you're usually sun-sensitive you may appreciate these on the boats.
  
• A hat. The trails are largely shaded by leaves, but I still recommend a hat. It's good to keep the sun off your face during boat rides, and in the caves sometimes water will drip onto your head. (Make sure your hat is washable!)
• Insect Repellent. Even in the evenings, we did not have any trouble with mosquito bites at Mulu, but then again, we used insect repellent. Also, if you stay at the Royal Mulu, the rooms are well-built and air-conditioned, so you're unlikely to need a mosquito net. If you stay somewhere else, ask them whether you should bring one.
• Cheap washable gloves. We didn't have these, but they might have been useful inside certain of the caves -- specifically, the ones in which the handrails were coated with guano. If you feel that at any time you might want to hold on to a handrail inside a cave, definitely bring the gloves.
  
• Hand sanitizer, hand wipes, etc. See Kleenex above.
  

The "Show Caves": Deer, Lang's, Clearwater, and Wind

The show caves are the main attraction at Mulu and can make up a worthwhile two-day itinerary all on their own.

Deer Cave and Lang's Cave are close by each other. The entrances are a one-hour walk (on a boardwalk) through the rainforest from the park headquarters. A van from the lodge drops you off at the entrance.

Deer Cave is enormous and, well, cavernous, whereas Lang's Cave is deep, but narrow and intimate. The main attraction in Lang's Cave is the great variety of fantastic limestone formations inside. The interior of Lang's Cave was actually fairly stuffy as well. (Deer Cave was cool and windy.)

We didn't see any sign of bats inside Lang's Cave.

Beyond the Scope of This Webpage: Other Stuff to Do in the Park