EXPLORING AROUND PARK HQ .......................................................................................................................

Besides exploring Mulu's underground world there are many other activities which can be enjoyed as short day trips out from Park Headquarters. They include trekking without a guide, longboat river trips and guided walks. Bookings can be made at the Park Office If you are staying outside of the Park then each day that you enter the park you must register and pay the Park Entry Fee.

Mulu Canopy Skywalk

Dense vegetation clings to every surface and trees are draped with orchids, ferns and creepers. Insects, lizards and squirrels dash up and down the tree trunks with butterflies and dragonflies adding a burst of colour as they glide by. Peculiar insects buzz past in search of a mate and a wild perfume wafts down from the canopy where tropical flowers bloom.

How do you discover all this and understand why Mulu is one of the World's biodiversity ‘hot-spots’? Try one of our rainforest activities.

Guided tours leave the office daily; the return trip will take approximately 2 hours. Bookings are essential and group sizes are limited to 7.

The Mulu Canopy Skywalk at 480 metres is the longest tree-based walkway in the World. As you walk among the ferns and vines 15 – 25 metres above the forest floor and river you will enjoy this unique opportunity to get closer to the rainforest ‘web of life’

Discover and understand:

• Why there are more birds, squirrels, monkeys and insects found in the forest canopy.
• Why some trees are covered in plants and mosses and others have smooth bare trunks.
• How plants get food and moisture even if they don’t have roots in the soil.
• Why some plants have invited insects to make themselves at home and how others ward them off.

Led by a World Heritage Guide this 2 hour tour leaves the office at 7.00pm, bookings need to be made before noon each day.

The 2km walk winds its way through Kerangas and Lowland Riverine Forest.  Unique Pitcher Plants hang in the under-growth and fluorescent fungi glow in the dark.  Your Guide who is so familiar with the forest will help you discover giant insects that hide among the leaves, frogs calling a mate and show you where Bearded Pigs have recently passed by.  If you are lucky and very quiet then you may spot a Moon Rat (not a rat but a beautiful white insectivore) – if he has been there in the last few hours you will certainly smell him.

Medicine Plant Trail

Paku Waterfall - unguided

Time	4 - 5 hours

If you want to walk by your self and just enjoy being along in the forest this is for you.  Walk at your own pace to discover the rainforest and follow your particular interest looking for birds, insects, ferns or just the chance to be alone.

Enjoy a refreshing swim in the cool waters of the Paku river and a picnic lunch before returning to HQ.

This walking trail begins on the plank walk but after about 1.3km you climb down to the forest floor and follow the clearly marked trail of white and red lines on the trees. It is an easy walk but there are streams to cross and water levels can rise quickly so you must check at the office and register when you are leaving and later inform Park Security of your return.

You need good walking shoes and it is often a very muddy trail so be prepared to get dirty.

Do not proceed to Camp 1 without a guide you will get lost and search parties are expensive!

The guide is not only a treasure chest of information about this environment but essential for your safety to ensure that you return to Park HQ.

This is the site of one of the camps used during the 1977 Royal Geographic Society Expedition and is located on the Mulu Summit Trail. The trail continues past the Paku Waterfall and passes near one of the best examples of our famous ‘strangler figs’.

You have a choice of a day trek or you may like to stay overnight in the rainforest.

A basic forest hut provides overnight shelter. If you would like to stop here, discuss an overnight stay with the guides at the office.

You would need to have a sleeping bag, bed roll and protection from the insects.  The camp has basic cooking equipment.  Wood fires are not allowed but we provide small gas stoves so all you need to do is buy the gas cartridges from the park shop and some food.

The Summit

Click here for trail map MAP OF TOURISM ZONE

The mountainous nature of Mulu sets the scene for one of nature’s most spectacular rainforest vistas. The mountains leap out of the surrounding plains rising vertically in places with sheer cliffs and exposed rock faces. Upon seeing the park from the air, visitors are awed by its inaccessible steep mountain sides, plunging gorges and collapsed caves, all covered is an impenetrable sea of rainforest. Most imposing of all is Gunung Mulu itself, which dominates the landscape.

This is 4 day/3 night, 24 kilometre trek.  The climb begins at Park HQ which is around 40m above sea level rising to the Summit at 2,377m; it is perhaps the most difficult challenge Mulu has to offer.

A great variety of habitats, montane forest with pitcher plants, conifers, orchids and colourful rhododendrons through to the stunted Summit plants and magnificent views are your reward on this climb. The leeches are just a bonus!

You can book this trek through a local Tour Operator who will provide a fully escorted and private trek with food catered for you OR

As an independent traveller making your own arrangements you can book direct with the park.

When travelling with a World Heritage Guide you need to provide and carry your own food, water, sleeping mats and bags and share the camp cooking jobs.  Be prepared to sleep in basic forest huts with basic cooking facilities provided. 

If you want help to carry the load, local porters can be hired. Enquire at the office when making a reservation or upon arrival in the park.

You can book this trek through a local Tour Operator who will provide an escorting Guide from Park HQ and back with food catered for you OR

As an independent traveler making your own arrangements you can book direct with the park, meeting the World Heritage Guide at Camp 5.

The pinnacle formations of Gunung Api and Benarat are spectacular examples of this limestone feature.
Mulu’s Pinnacles tower above the surrounding landscape, some reaching heights of 40 to 50 metres.  Centuries of water have eroded and dissolved the rock into razor sharp spikes which knife skywards through the surrounding rainforest.

After visiting Clearwater and Cave of the Winds and enjoying a picnic lunch climb back into your longboat for another 40 minute ride to Kuala Litut. If you are in luck and the river level is high you will arrive without pushing the boat too many times.  Your boat operator leaves you at the beginning of the trail to Camp 5, he will return in 2 days to pick you up again.  You will be walking on flat ground most of the 8km and will arrive in Camp 5 before dark where your World Heritage Guide will meet you and brief you on your stay and tomorrows climb.

Camp 5 sits besides the Sungai Melinau and faces the spectacular Benarat cliffs. This comfortable jungle accommodation has fully equipped kitchens, dining room and bathrooms.

You need to take your own food with you and the staff will allocate you a kitchen space, please keep it clean and tidy.  Settle in for the night on a sleeping mat provided in one of the 5 open space rooms and look forward to getting up at dawn.

The trail to view the Pinnacles is only 2.4 km long but rises 1,200m and the last section is near vertical with ropes and ladders to climb. Slow down, take time to enjoy the limestone forest, glimpse the tree shrews running past and as you reach the higher altitudes see some spectacular pitcher plants and rare orchids.

Fit, experienced trekkers may reach the top in 2–3 hours, the not so fit around 4–5 hours. For many, the descent is more difficult and can take 5 hours or more. Back at camp relax, cool off in the river and rest those weary legs in preparation for the return walk to Kuala Litut in the morning.

Essentials to bring –

Kerangas Forest Walk an alternative to climbing

Please check at the Park Office before leaving for Camp 5 if you plan to do this – we need to be sure there is a Guide available.

Consider exploring the Kerangas Forest or Melinau Gorge both a short walk from Camp 5 and both require a guide.
The poor sandy soils of the Kerangas are the ideal habitat for pitcher plants. Also see the ‘dancing grounds’ of the Great Argus, hear their calls and hopefully catch sight of one. Take your time to look around this 4.5km loop walk (allow about 4 hours).

Walk beside the Melinau River, a short (30 minute) walk takes you to the ‘pools’, another 1 hours walk in the river and over the rocks (careful they are slippery) and you arrive at the spectacular Melinau Gorge.

The Headhunter’s Trail
Details of the trek if you want to book the Park HQ/Pinnacles/Camp 5/Head Hunters direct with the park.

Board a longboat and visit Wind and Clearwater Caves on the way to Kuala Litut which is the head of the 8km (3 hours) walking trail to Camp 5 you do not need a guide for this walk. At Camp 5 there is sleeping accommodation for a maximum of 50 persons and fully equipped kitchens. Camp 5 is often fully booked so reservations are essential.

The next day you can either begin the walk along the Head Hunter’s Trail, or climb the Pinnacles with our Park Guide who is stationed at Camp 5 and begin the HHT the following day.

HHT WITHOUT A GUIDE

The 11.3km trail from Camp 5 to Kuala Terikan is a 5 hour walk through an isolated area of Borneo and a guide is not essential but you can hire a private freelance guide. If you elect to go without a guide then we will organize a Long Boat operator who will walk down the trail towards Luban China from Kuala Terikan to meet you.


At Kuala Terikan you board his longboat to take you downstream to a local longhouse for an over-night stay. Depending on river levels the long boat trip is about 3 hours but expect to push the boat at least a few times. The next morning another 1 – 2 hour ride takes you to Medamit to catch the van or bus to Limbang (1 hour) where you should arrive around lunch time.

WE TRY TO ENSURE THAT WORK IS EVENLY DISTRIBUTED TO THE LONGHOUSES AND BOATMEN AND WILL BOOK THIS ON YOUR BEHALF

COSTS PAID AT THE PARK HQ OFFICE BEFORE LEAVING

If there are 6 in the group then 2 boats are required this is a safety rule and cannot be changed.

The following is paid direct to the longhouse community and the van driver
These prices are a guide and may change slightly without our knowledge pay these amounts direct to the person providing the service.

The guides listed below have successfully completed the Sarawak Forestry Corporation Guides License and the Mulu Product Course and are therefore able to guide in Gunung Mulu World Heritage Area. Only Licensed Guides can work in the park. Guides are required for - Show cave tours, Pinnacles climb and Summit Trail

If you elect to hire a freelance guide please direct all your future questions to him