Jomblang Cave — Attraction in Semanu

Loved the experience. We booked through the jomblang cave tour group. They sent a driver to pick us up at the hotel. The cave is located around a very rural area. So there are no roads. The jomblang cave tour guides are the only ones authorised to do this, and take only 80 registerations (max 80 people) down to the cave on any given day - they only make one trip down to the cave, once every day. The trip down includes being lowered. Down manually by a pulley into the pit with the cave opening, then hiking down to the mouth of the cave, then walking about 300m through the dark interiors of the cave and bring led out into the part of the cave wherr you can see the mouth of the cave with the rays shining through. Then you walk back through the cave back the way you came in, and are lifted up by the pulley system again. The timings are perfectly coordinated so that the customers are slowly lowered into the pit 2 at a time (depending on weight limit) lowered at 9AM, then escorted by the guides through the cave to the mouth in time for noon when the rays are directly above the mouth so you can take plenty of pics. It was very rainy when we went this feb 2019. The cave was also very humid, and the mud was very slushy (the tour guides provide helmets and rubber boots). So we had to take care and tread with caution. You can also see a little stream at the very bottom of the cave when you reach the skylight. Afterwards you are given some lunch(chicken or other meat with rice) and a water bottle. Cost was around 160SGD. Do note that the helmets smell. So i suggest carrying a shower cap to protect yourself, and a torch light. Must...

An adventure not for the faint of heart.

Our trip began with a 60m descend via rope to the starting point of our descend into the cave. No climbing experience is required as the crew will be the one lowering u. Plus you will be descending in pairs, so do not fear.

After the rope, is a descend to the entrance of the cave. It got gradually more muddy and steeper. Take note, it is only muddy after heavy rain.

Once in the cave, do stick to the path, which has concrete slabs as steps for stability. There are certain spots which were difficult to cross, but there were guides to assist us. It is very dark inside with few lights inside accompanying the guides' torch lights. I would recommend bringing your own, preferably headlights to keep your hands free to avoid falls.

At the heart of the cave, is the spectacular view, but it is solely based on the weather. The photos look best on a sunny day. It was raining when I went, but I was still quite happy with the view.

After some photos, we turned back and walked back all the way to the spot we entered. There, we were harnessed up and pulled to the top by a group of men, no less than a dozen.

My only gripes were that the cave seemed to be commercialised, with not much natural wildlife, and it was made easier to explore (good thing for most visitors) though it did not feel natural. Other than that, it was an amazing experience. The highlight of the trip is definitely the view.

Overall, it is an amazing experience full of fun and adventure. Rubber boots are provided, but do expect to get muddy if it rains heavily...

They cap the number of people who can get tix and group then about 30 each smaller group to go down and proceed to the spot to take pix. The lowering down and coming up of the 60 or so meters was not as scary but the letting go of the metal structure to go down or trying to reach out to grab it was more unnerving. The ride up/down felt very safe. Ropes were well kept (didn't see any fraying in the ropes). 42 persons pulled us up 2 at a time.

Wear socks to protect from blisters in the boots they provide as it can get muddy below. Wear shower cap so that the helmets provided (if smelly) doesn't get to you. The helmets looked in good shape but it does get hot when U are down and waiting for others. Hence best to wear disposable shower cap.

The cave was dark, best to bring your own torch/head lamp - suggest to keep it in your hand so you don't shine in people faces. It was dry season, so the walk was on solid ground.

The spot for taking pix was lovely, people were at each spot to take pix and shine their torch to see you in the pix with your camera. They will wait for the shaft of light to breakthrough before taking the pix. The pix taking places though, due to the plants growing overhead was dripping water, causing the ground to be a little muddy. There is a small water stream gushing at the bottom which you can hear and see a little.

As you finish the pix taking, you can make your way back on your own (lights are helpful then) to be harnessed back for lunch. Lunch is a piece of chicken with rice and a piece of...