Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GUIDES, RESERVATIONS & FEES
For almost all caves, walks and treks in
Gunung Mulu National Park
( 085-792300;
www.mulupark.com
)
,
visitors must be accompanied by a guide licensed by Sarawak Forestry, generally supplied either by the park or by
an adventure tour agency (eg those based in Kuching, Miri or Limbang). Prices in this chapter are for tours
booked directly through the park, as are the time frames for making reservations; agencies charge considerably
more but also supply extras, such as meals, and can often offer more flexibility when it comes to advance book-
ing.
If you've got your heart set on adventure caving, or on trekking to the Pinnacles or up to the summit of Gunung
Mulu, advance reservations - by phone or email (enquiries@mulupark.com) - are a must. They're doubly import-
ant if you'll be coming in July, August or September, when some routes are booked out several months ahead, and
are absolutely crucial if your travel dates are not flexible. If this is your situation, don't buy your air tickets until
your trek or caving dates are confirmed.
Bookings are not a zero sum game: if the park has sufficient advance notice of your plans, they may be able to
reassign guides to accommodate you. And if you can spend a week or two hanging out at the park (this usually
means staying in a basic guesthouse outside the park's boundaries as in-park accommodation is in very short sup-
ply), trekking and caving slots do sometimes open up.
The park's own trekking and caving guides are well trained and speak good English but there are only about 15
of them. Park administrators have been working to improve the quality of the guides but this process has excluded
- and thus angered - some locals who used to earn a living as (semi-qualified) park guides.
Some travellers hire freelance guides unattached to a tour agency, eg from a nearby village. Despite being li-
censed by Sarawak Forestry (they wouldn't be allowed to operate in the park if they weren't), such guides' nature
knowledge and English skills vary widely, from excellent to barely sufficient. In addition, they may lack state-of-
the-art safety training and equipment (eg two-way radios, which the park supplies to all of its own guides) and,
perhaps most importantly, are unlikely to have proper insurance, a factor that could be crucial if a helicopter evac-
uation is necessary.
A caving group must consist of at least four participants (including the guide) so that if someone is injured, one
person can stay with them and the other two can head out of the cave together to seek help.
Park prices for caving and treks are now on a straight per-person basis (minimum three people).
Activities Without Guides
Visitors are not allowed to go inside any of the caves without a qualified guide, but you
can take a number of
jungle walks
unaccompanied so long as you inform the park office
(or, when it's closed, someone across the path in the Park Security building). For instance,
you can walk to the
Bat Observatory
near the entrance to the Deer Cave and to
Paku
Waterfall
(3km one-way), where it's possible to swim.
Mulu Discovery Centre
MUSEUM
