Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From Pa' Lungan it's a two-minute walk to
Batu Ritung
, a 2m stone table (probably a
burial site), although no one is quite sure as the site was created outside of living memory.
Also near Pa' Lungan (15 minutes away) is
Perupun
, a huge pile of stones of a type as-
sembled to bury the valuables of the dead who had no descendants to receive their belong-
ings.
If you've got a bit more time, you could consider basing yourself for a day or two in
Pa' Lungan, believed by many to produce the very best Bario rice. Longhouse homestays,
including
Batu Ritung Lodge
( 019-805 2119; baturitunglodge@yahoo.com)
, serve
Kelabit- style dishes such as
pa'u
(fern) and
puluh
(bamboo shoots).
A scenic boat ride can be arranged to take you on the
Pa' Debpur
from a spot an hour's
hike from Pa' Lungan back to Pa' Umur (in Kelabit,
pa'
means 'river').
CROSSING INTO INDONESIA
Thanks to long-standing cultural and personal ties across the Sarawak-Kalimantan frontier, drawn in colonial
times by the British and the Dutch, a local trans-border initiative has made it possible for both Highland residents
and tourists to cross from Ba Kelalan into Kalimantan to visit nearby settlements such as Long Bawan, Lembudud
and Long Layu. All you need is a
pas lintas batas
(transboundary pass), issued locally according to an agreement
signed between the Malaysian and Indonesian foreign ministries. Passports are not stamped and you must return
to Sarawak within 14 days. To make arrangements, ask your guide or contact John Tarawe in Bario.
Malaysian ringgits are very popular in this remote part of Kalimantan but US dollars are not.
BARIO TO BA KELALAN
The three- to four-day trek from Bario to Ba Kelalan covers a variety of mostly gentle ter-
rain - some of it on the Indonesian side of the frontier - and gives a good overview of the
Kelabit Highlands. An alternative route, the Kalimantan Loop, which takes five to seven
days, goes deeper into Kalimantan, passing by Lembudud.
To avoid doubling back, you can trek from Bario to Ba Kelalan and then fly or take a
4WD down to the coast. Remember, though that you'll have to pay the guide for the two
days it will take him to walk back to Bario.
BATU LAWI
If you were sitting on the left side of the plane from Miri to Bario, you probably caught a
glimpse of the two massive limestone spires known as Batu Lawi, the taller of which
soars to 2040m. During WWII they were used as a landmark for parachute drops.
