Mulu: beyond the caves

Everyone who comes to Mulu climbs the mountain, but there are other more rewarding things to do here as well.

It was with high expectations that I arrived at the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak.

I knew it was a Unesco World Heritage Site – one of only two in the country – and I had seen those pictures of a Krypton-like landscape of 50m-tall jagged limestone spears thrusting out from a lush forest canopy. This was also where one could find “the world’s largest cave chamber”, “the world’s biggest underground cave passage” and “the most spectacular bat exodus”.

I had six exciting days to see it all, but an hour into the Pinnacles trail, breathless, thighs burning, I began to think that perhaps I had been too ambitious.

The trek to the Pinnacles begins with what is supposed to be a leisurely half-day walk to Camp 5, the base camp for the ascent. I had imagined a lovely stroll in the woods but the rain made it a muddy, slippery affair. That evening, as we settled down at Camp 5, the sky emptied itself in a marathon downpour that lasted till dawn.

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