Gomantong Caves — Local services in Sabah

We definitely visited the cave to satisfy our FOMO. Was it worth it? In short - yes. Would I go again - no. The cave is fascinating (although smaller and has a lot fewer stalagmites / stalactites one would hope for) and it has a very interesting vibe. Part of this vibe is definitely connected with all the cockroaches & bats. As some other reviews mention, the place is literally crawling with cockroaches and a huge number of bats live there. But we didn't find it as gross as some reviews let us believe (and I'm definitely very squeamish when it comes to bugs). It turns out cockroaches will run away from you, so you don't walk on them (no crunchy sound), but we do suggest to keep a distance to the fence (since it seems that is their favorite hangout place). Boardwalks are slippery (combination of bat poop & rain) so wear proper shoes. We didn't experience any issues with stray dogs, we saw just one and he avoided us. 3 stars - feel like there is a lot of artificial hype about this location, but would recommend to visit if you...

Really interesting & well worth a visit but there are lots of things that are forgotten to be mentioned before you visit (unless you have done your research!) & definitely not for the faint hearted!! It is about 1km walk each way from the carpark on a boarded walkway through the rainforest, where we saw 5 orangutans at various points high up in the trees, great! When you get close to entering the cave the smell of ammonia from the bat guano starts to get stronger, when in the cave it is strong but not too overwhelming. The best bit is as you follow the walkway round squelching on the guano, (don't touch the handrail!!) You realise that is a living walkway with millions of cockroaches, millipedes, spiders and every creapy imaginable giving you the full Indiana Jones experience!! That's not soil in the middle & at the floor sides it's years of a build up of even more guano & when the guide sprinkled it with a bit of water you found out where all of the baby cockroaches were hiding all of this...

Agree with all previous comments on condition of place (which is a shame considering the entrance fees )

Worth hiring a car to visit so you can take your time.

However would I still recommend it? Yes I would. I highly recommend going up the steps to the viewing platform. A long set of stairs but worth it. As you walk to caves, go up the steps and at the fork go right up to the viewing caves after walking through the local few houses of the nest workers.

The views were amazing and we also met the mum and baby orangutang just a few feet away above us on the path. Plus a lone male in the trees on the way down. Totally made the climb worth it.

As for the caves all previous comments pretty spot on. If you hate bugs then defo just climb up the steps for the views !

Also elephant sanctuary close by if...