As you walk slowly along the creaking, wooden floor, surrounded by almost pure darkness, you turn your flashlight up to the massive stone ceiling, and are greeted by dozens of bats that you just awoke from their daytime slumber, who then pounce straight in your direction, screeching, as you turn your flashlight away into the dark. Welcome to the massive caves of Borneo.
Those afraid of the dark, beware!
Borneo’s caves are world famous, and rightly so, some of them are absolutely huge! There is something primeval about entering into these massive chambers. Some of the caves are slightly lit up, while others you need your own flashlight as they go almost pitch black. The caves are populated by massive colonies of bats, lending them an eerie feel. Getting through with not humming the Batman theme at least once, is an admirable feat.
Deer Cave in Mulu National Park
There are many caves to discover, but Deer Cave in Mulu National Park, in Malaysian Borneo is the most impressive. This is the big kahuna! It’s said you could fly a jumbo jet into here, it’s that big.
The cave is reached by a 45 minute walk through rainforest, where you will be greeted by huge limestone cliffs, surrounded by jungle.
Entering inside you will be in awe. The ceiling stretches far above you, as you crane your neck to take it all in. Walking along a wooden walkway, you enter further and further inside.
You can wander around deep into this cave, seeing various limestone formations.
Apart from the size of the cave, the thing that will really strike you is the size of the bat colony there. There is estimated to be around three million bats living inside Deer Cave! As you stroll around at evening time, when the bats are slowly waking up, you can hear the symphony of screeches overhead.
As the sun sets, the bats all leave together in massive groups. Streaming out of the cave to go feed for the night, it is one of natures great shows. They can keep coming out for a long time. After 30 minutes of watching, the neck gets a little sore, and it’s still not finished!
Clearwater Cave in Mulu National Park
In the same national park as the Deer Cave, is Clearwater Cave. Named for the river that runs through it, this is one of the most beautiful caves to view.
Copyright © 2014 by Backpacking Man. This article was written by Jonny Duncan and originally published at backpackingman.com
