Niah National Park: 4 Intriguing Caves To Visit

With Malaysia less that a couple of kilometres from our doorstep, it is hard not to scratch the itch to travel. So when we finally got a weekend free, we decided to head out and explore some of the wildlife in Sarawak.

Our top choice for the weekend was the Niah National Park. Ironically, while the park is easily accessible and is ranked as the second best cave system in Borneo, you will find that it isn’t visited as much as it should be.

Tourists are few and far apart. You probably would run into a couple of local trekkers every fifteen minutes but that is if you are lucky. This underrated cave system definitely deserves a mention and I am here to tell you why.

Oh and pro tip! If you are passing through Miri, take a pitstop at Sau Pau Cafe. You can get your breakfast here and pack a nice picnic lunch for yourself.

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Getting To Niah National Park

The closest city to Niah National Park is Miri in Sarawak. While it isn’t exactly the largest city, it does have an airport with frequent flights in and out of it.

If you are based in Brunei, specifically in Kuala Belait or Seria, you will find that the Niah caves can be done as a day trip from there too. You would need to cross the border back and forth though. We chose to stay the night in Miri and head back the next day.

Route To Niah National Park

Directions to Niah National Park.

There are two routes that you can take towards the Niah caves. You can choose to head via the AH150 which is a highway or you can take the scenic route via the coast. Note that Google maps shows a number of different spots as the entrance to the caves.

Select the one that says Gua Niah (Niah Caves) Entrance. You will find that the quickest way to this spot is via the scenic route.

Entrance Fees And Timings To Niah National Park

At the entrance to the park you can purchase your ticket to get in. It costs just 20 MYR per person. You also have to pay 1 MYR per passenger every time you cross the river by boat. Once you get your ticket in hand, keep it safe.

It will be scanned by personnel just before you enter the main park. Once this is done, you can hail the boat man to take you across. The crossing fee has to be paid to the boat man. A large sign will warn you that there are crocodiles in the river and that you should not attempt to swim across.

As far as timings go, the official site says that it is open from 8 am to 5 pm. We however noticed a sign that mentioned that it closed at 3:30 pm but I guess that it was only the ticket counters that closed. So you need to reach before that if you want to enter.

All things said and done, you do need at least 4 to 5 hours for the trail so you definitely should head out earlier in the day.

Things To Do In Niah National Park

The most popular part of the park is definitely the Niah caves. In fact, that is what most of the visitors head to Niah National Park for. There are however other trials in the park that are worth exploring if you have the time and energy.

We personally haven’t explored them yet largely because we had just enough time and barely enough energy to cover just the main trail.

If we go back however, we would like to look at the other paths too. One thing that you should keep in mind however is that the main trail to the cave has a boardwalk for most of the way. The others are more dirt trails leading off to places with views.

Mind Blowing Facts About The Niah Caves

Let’s just spend a minute to talk about why the Niah caves are so fascinating and why driving all the way here is worth it. These caves are formed of the Niah Subis limestone massif and are located within the Niah National park.

If the geological terms do not impress you (they often tend to confuse me too!) then don’t worry. There are other facts that will. For example, the largest cave called the Great cave has a floor space of 10.5 hectares! Now that is huge!

The limestone massif that the caves lie in was formed 30 million years ago. I have to literally stop and ponder on how many zeros are in that number! The caves themselves however were formed 1 million years ago. Impressive right?

Here is another fact that blew my mind. Between 40,000- 11,000 years ago, the Niah caves were 100 kilometres inland. Today the very same caves lie just 16 kilometres away from the sea! This is because the sea levels rose due to warmer temperatures and increased rainfall. The increased rainfall was responsible for the fauna and flora that we see today.

What To Expect Inside The Niah Caves

The trek through Niah caves is actually quite easy. I did it when I was 23 weeks pregnant but I went really slow and I did get really tired. There are a number of reasons why we went slow, and tiredness wasn’t the only one.

1. It rains: If you are lucky, you may get a bright clear day but most of the time expect light to heavy showers. The boardwalk is elevated but it gets slippery so you will want to be as careful as you can.
2. It gets dark: Walking through pitch black darkness is unnerving. Water seeps through the caves and the planks that you are walking on become slippery which is like a double whammy. So you really need to be careful. That means walking slowly.
3. You have to climb a lot of stairs: Not everyone will have a problem with this. There are a lot of stairs to climb and being pregnant made that a bit difficult for me but not impossible. The entire trail has shade so that helps immensely.

The Different Caves Inside Niah National Park

The Niah caves have a number of different points of interest that you will cover along the trail. They are mainly different interconnected caves and each of them have differences in their size, structure and light in the cave.

1. The Traders’ Cave

The entrance to Traders’ Cave. You can catch a glimpse of the wooden structures here.

The first cave that you will find yourself at is the Traders’ cave. In a sense, this is more of a sheltered cove under an enormous overhanging rock. It is airy and a easy to wander around. You will notice wooden sticks propped at different angles.

This cave was excavated in the 1950s. The structures that you see are actually the remains of the roofless huts that were made of ironwood.

Bird nest harvesting is the profession that was popular here and these huts served as the home for the collectors and traders. In fact, it is said that these huts were in use till the 1970s.

Another thing that you should stop to look at in the Traders’ cave is the wells. The seasonal dwellers here had two wells built. The lower one was used for washing and bathing. The higher one was used for consumption of water. The wells are surrounded by a netted fence so that no one falls in.

The Archaeological Dig Site

Archaeological dig site in the Niah Caves.

The next interesting site that you will come across is the Archaeological dig site. The site is fenced to keep people out and protect it but you can still see through the netting. This archaeological site is called the ‘Hell Trench’.

It got its name due to the working conditions that the archaeologists were in. Namely, the heat and the humidity. The afternoon sun in particular was not very kind to them.

What makes this site special is the fact that the archaeologists found a skull here which was named the ‘Deep skull’. At the time of the finding, the oldest human remains (Cro-Magnon Man) were discovered in Europe and were dated as 33,000 years old. It was the oldest dated fossil of fully modern man.

The skull in the Niah caves however had been found in sediment that dated back to 40,000 B.C. and was that of a 15-17 year old, adolescent. Now, not only did this skull predate the Cro-Magnon skull in Europe, it also predated many Neanderthal specimens. This meant that humans had already evolved in Southeast Asia before they had evolved in Europe.

Like I said before, the Niah caves has a lot of very interesting facts to offer. While the skull isn’t at the site, you can still see how the archaeologists excavated the place. The finding of the archaeological deposits is the reason why the cave was gazetted a historical monument since 1972.

2. The Great Cave

Entrance to the Great Cave. Rather spectacular isn’t it? The cave itself is even more impressive!

The entrance to the Great cave is a slight walk away. In fact, the enormous cave has multiple entrances and in some places you will see gates that guard them.

Some of the names of the entrances are Lobang Tulang, Lobang Angus, Lobang Bulan, Lobang Gan Kira, Lobang Sempit and Lobang Tahi Menibum. Many of these entrances serve to bring in the natural light of the sun illuminating a large part of the 10.5 hectares that forms the floor space of the Great cave.

While the size of the cave is really noteworthy, take a moment to look around at the rock formations. The stalactites and stalagmites are gorgeous. You will also notice that ropes hang from the ceiling which were used for the collection of bird nests.

One of the most enchanting things about the cave however was the way the birds swooped in and out. It was mesmerizing. Make sure to watch your step as you. The path can get slippery.

3. The Dark Cave

You will eventually find your way into a dark cave like passage. The cave itself is pretty long and it is pitch dark inside. It is here that you will need a torch to illuminate your way.

If you switch of your torch, you will find yourself in pitch darkness which can be rather unnerving. The path here can get slippery so tread with caution.

4. The Painted Cave

The Painted cave is the last stop on the trail through the Niah caves. You exit out of the main cave complex, walk through a bit of forested path before you finally reach this cave.

The Painted cave is another highlight of the Niah National Park that visitors come to see. It is because the paintings in this cave. The area around the paintings is walled off for their protection and you need to give your eyes a while to adjust before you see the red marks on the wall.

The paintings depict the journey of the dead into the afterlife. Oh did I mention that these paintings date back to the iron age? And while they are more recent than the findings in the Great cave, they are no less fascinating.

I later learned that the boat shaped coffins called death ships were found here. These are now in the Sarawak museum in Kuching. I hope that some day I will have the chance to visit it and see them in person.

A lot of people do not make it to the painted cave in Niah National Park because it is at the end of the trail. I’m not going to sugar coat it. It can get tiring but all these titbits of information really made me enjoy the whole excursion.

Besides, if I can do it while 23 weeks pregnant (I’m not fit at all!), you definitely can!

Things We Missed In Niah National Park

We found ourselves in Niah National Park only at 11:30 am because we left rather late. That meant that while we did manage to take on the trail we missed out on some of the things to do. For example, we reached back only after the museum was closed and I would have loved to spend some time in it.

We also had heard but not followed up on the accommodation on site and in retrospect, I wish that we had as they looked really cool. The Niah National park is a very laid back and peaceful spot that would make a great getaway from busy city life.

Things To Carry When Visiting Niah National Park

One thing that became apparent during our trek to the Niah caves was that you do need to come prepared. Here are somethings that we think you really should carry.

Rainwear: The clouds tend to burst overhead with the least notice and you want to try and keep as dry as possible. We preferred to use raincoats instead of umbrellas because that kept our hands free.

Good footwear: Make sure that you have good footwear because the path gets pretty slippery when wet which is most of the time. I would definitely recommend keeping the sandals and slippers at home.

Water: Do not start out on the trek without it. Even if the weather is cloudy or rainy, you will find that the thirst is real. In addition to which, you really don’t want to get dehydrated or sick.

Mosquito repellent: We did not have much of a problem with mosquitoes, but we had sprayed ourselves rather liberally with mosquito repellent before we started out. I would suggest that you do the same.

A small snack: You may or may not want to take this. I have started carrying a small bar of something to eat just in case my sugars drop. You also take anywhere between 4-5 hours to complete the trek so you can get hungry.

We chose oranges but did not land up eating them as we ate an early lunch prior to starting out.

Where To Stay?

One of the questions that arises when visiting the Niah National Park is where should you look for accommodation. If you are passing through and staying in Miri, don’t worry, the park is driving distance away.

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Alternatively, you could try to secure some accommodation in the Niah National Park. It is a nice quiet place but rather isolated from the world around. I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

Take A Tour To Niah National Park

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Okay. So I admit. Not everyone rents a car and drives around Miri. Does that mean that you need to skip out on Niah caves? Nope! Luckily there are tours to the caves that depart everyday. The tour includes transport to Niah national park, a boat ride and a guided tour through the caves.

This way your local guide will be able to point out all the interesting features in the cave. Once you are done with the tour which takes half a day, you will have a drop off at the hotel that you are staying at. Makes it extremely convenient if you ask me.

Did I mention that a lunch at a local café is also included in the price.

Niah National Park FAQ

Which Is the Largest Cave In The Niah National Park?

The cave network in Niah National park is extensive. The biggest cave however is the West Mouth (Lobang Kuala). This cave is over 60 meters high!

When Were The Niah Caves Discovered?

The Niah caves were first discovered in 1954 by a man named Tom Harrisson.

How Big Are The Niah Caves?

Remember when I told you that the caves are extensive? Well to give you an idea of what I mean, consider this! The Niah caves cover over 10.5 hectares of land. Makes you stop and think doesn’t it?

All in all, our trip to Niah National Park was a success and I would definitely suggest it to anyone who loves the great outdoors.

Have you been to Niah National Park? Did you fall in love with the Niah caves like we did? Let us know in the comments below.

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