Niah National Park — Attraction in Borneo

First of all, the journey from Miri or Bintulu to Cave entrance car park will took around 2 hours due to current Trans Borneo Highway under construction. If you go from Bintulu, don't take the inner road, will be better to take the coastal road which is more safe But longer journey.

Park at the entrance and walk to the jetty, a boat transfer will let you cross the river.

The hike path started with concrete walkway, then will be a long walk thru wooden platform. If you have kids or old parents coming with you, from jetty to cave entrance, it will be exhausted walk due to humidity, rain, up and down hill. They are 2 pondok thru out the walk path journey and the final one is before trader cave with toilet.

After walk thru trader cave, a short walk will reach main cave entrance. Usually it have 2 option, either choose the left side uphill slope or choose the right side walk way with stairs. The left side slope is OK but old people might find it difficult. The stair will drain more of your energy. The wooden walkway in the cave is really slippery, so you will loss more energy to get the balance and grip.

Water, Torchlight/head lamp, rain coat and hand glove are needed. Bring more towel and shirt for exchange, most likely you will sweat like hell until your underwear also get wet. Wear high socks and spray insect repellent.

Trust me, if you are big size and less excersize, you will sure be suffer. Do not force yourself to go all the way to painted cave. It will be like 10km walk feel like due to the stairs and slippery walk way. Muscle cramp usually happens and along the walkway, not much place for you to stop, sit and rest.

If you bring kids, I will suggest to just walk around the main cave, if you feel like your kids have little bit tired, stop and go back. You need to assume your kids got exhausted and you need to carry him/her all the way from main cave to car park, trust me, it is one way to hell. If you have more than 2 kids, and only you and your husband/wife, I will suggest you think twice before coming. Either you stop and return at the right time or bring along one fit adult with you.

Please start your journey from main cave back to jetty no later than 3pm. The sunlight will getting darker after 3pm. Please consider fatigue management if you are the sole driver, due to tiredness, road accident often happen on pan Borneo highway. Please consider as well PBH currently under construction and the road is having a lot of lane changes and pot hole. Some of the stretch of highway do not have phone signal coverage, so if you drive fast and hit something, to get help will take ages.

My personal experience 20,000 steps, 30 floor up Countless of near miss fall down due to slippery walkway Finish up 2 liter of water Shirt wet from top till bottom Raining when on the way walk back to jetty

*Please be remind that the main cave walkway is leading you to painted cave. After painted cave, you need to return back to main cave entrance follow back the original path. The feeling of walking from main cave entrance all the way to painted cave is like running full Marathon with up...

Crazy adventure. We had 16km walking distance. We start walking around 8am, only both of us were there at that time. Use a boat to cross small river cost you rm 2 return tickets.

Walking about 3.7km to cave intersection. There are small stall, but when we were there the stall not even open yet.

Keep walking 2 km more to trader cave and great cave. Somehow decided to return since walkaway to painted cave is so dark, we are not bringing the torch light and phone flashlight is not bright enough. We walking back to jetty passing thru the stall which they just start put al their stuff to sale like canned drink, drinking water, handicrstt things. We just past by since we decide to go back to jetty, not dare to go dark cave since only 2 of us.

After walking more for about 1.5 km from the cave we met with singaporean tourist. Father and son, asked them if they ever going inside the cave before, they said no. Tell them our situation and asked if they are ok if we joined them together into the cave. Lucky they said yes. They bring proper touchlight. We were walking back to the cave and pass through the stall again. One of the staff recognise us since he was the one inside the boat at the morning. He asked, u walking back, we told the reason, he is laughing said there was rental in stall. So dumb of us not asking. We were rented the headlamp torchlight with aunty and continue the journey. The staff did tell us the trick and fast route. However we could not understand properly end up we make wrong direction. And has to make few return to intersection.

At entrance of great cave, there is archelogical site, beside the pagar, there is road but we did not notice since there is not pathway. We learnt the hardway. The path cost us to walk more than 2km to go back the right path to painted cave.

So total 10.5km walking distance from jetty to painted cave. Then the return about 6km.

We had 16.5km walking distance with more than 18k steps. What...

I read in the internet before I went and it almost cause me to cancel my family trip to this place; because the internet keep on telling about how hard the trip and the long walking that you have to go through especially when you bring your kids. turns out it is only just one hour walk one way (maybe less if you are adult).

I will write in such a way that no one will be hesitate to go anymore. if you are able to go through all the window shopping at the mall, you will be able to make this trip.

If you bring infant with you, bring along baby stroller will ease your journey...but you must have a partner that carry the stroller up the stairs, bring a foldable stroller type.

Bring torch light if you would like to explore deeper in the cave even though enjoying the view from a distance is sufficient imo. Gloves is a must if you plan to go deeper into the cave as it get more slippery and you have to hold the rails that are full of birds/bats dropping. Sandal might work if you are careful but not if you plan to go deeper into the cave (sport shoes is better).

The scenery along the trails heading to the cave's entrance is so breathtaking so you might want to take your time and stop to take pictures which is why the total journey might take longer than 3 hours (back and forth). Spare total 4 hours for this journey.

I brought so many food and drinks in my bag pack which is unnecessary. You might survive the journey with just a small bottle of mineral water as there are some local sell drinks and tidbits at the cave entrance. It is pricy but I think it would be a good idea to support their business as they keep the place alive.

I will not write about the facility as so many people talk about it already...go read other...