The small Pahang town of Merapoh, popularly known as the entry point for Taman Negara Sungai Relau, is also surrounded by iconic caves that make Merapoh a ‘caving paradise’ for adventurers.
During our Gunung Tahan via Merapoh trip, our licensed nature guide, Abang Sabri, introduced us to Merapoh caving activities and stoked our interest. A few weeks later, we signed up with Abang Sabri to take us to the exciting caving adventures!
Merapoh Caving Package (Price and Itinerary)
The general package below was offered by our guide but we made a few modifications, such as replacing the second night’s accommodation with a jungle stay in one of Taman Negara’s hide to observe wildlife. We have also exchanged the activities between day 2 and 3, while some activities were also replaced with something else. If you are interested, you can book with Abang Sabri directly at his number +6014 290 5289, and mention you got his number from ‘Blogger Jenn’ ;). Below package as of February 2022 is for your reference and can be modified:
Merapoh Caving (Full Package - 3 Days 2 Nights)
Price as of March 2022: RM250 per pax (minimum 6 pax)
Includes:
- Guide
- 4WD Transportation
- Food & Drinks
- Helmet with headlight
- Lifejacket
- Forest Permit
- Accommodation (Homestay)
5pm: Check in at Merapoh Adventure Guesthouse
7pm: Program Briefings
7am: Breakfast
9am: Introduction to Caving Experience
- 4WD ride
- Medium Adventure Cave: Gua Jinjang Pelamin
- Archeology Cave: Gua Seribu Cerita
- Wet Adventure Cave: Cave Tubing at Gua Air Mata Dagang
- Lunch
5pm: Return to accommodation
8pm: Dinner
10pm: Free & Leisure
7.30am: Breakfast
9am: Full day Gua Hari Malaysia adventure (River Caving Experience)
- 4WD
- Jungle and river trekking
- Botanic sighting: the smallest Rafflesia species in the world
- Gua Hari Malaysia river cave explorations (trekking, climbing, crawling, abseiling, swimming)
- Bonus activities, subject to timing: Traditional gold panning
- Lunch
2pm: Return to accommodation
4pm: Check out
Our modified itinerary:
Day 1: Check in at Merapoh Adventure Guesthouse
Day 2: Gua Hari Malaysia -> additional archaeological site -> Bumbun Rimau overnight stay and wildlife watching in Taman Negara
Day 3: Gua Tahi Bintang -> Gua Jinjang Pelamin -> bonus bat cave -> Gua Seribu Cerita -> Gua Sisik Naga
Gua Hari Malaysia (Gua Padang Kawad)
Known as both Gua Hari Malaysia and Gua Padang Kawad, this cave was the most adventurous caving activity we did in Merapoh. The name Gua Padang Kawad (Marching Field Cave) comes from its history of being a hideout for the communists. On the other hand, the name Gua Hari Malaysia (Malaysia Day Cave) comes from a more recent history of discovering the cave on Malaysia Day, amidst the climax of the ‘Save Merapoh Caves’ campaign. Gua Hari Malaysia was one of the limestone outcrops that almost got blasted away, literally, by cement companies. More history and details can be found here.
This was the 4WD vehicle that will be taking us around Merapoh for the two days.
We were among the first groups to enter the trailhead to Gua Hari Malaysia, hence our guide had to chop his way through the trail and we followed behind.
10 minutes later, we went through some steep paths down to the river.
After that, most of the time we were walking on the river or at the side of it. There were quite a lot of big and tiny leeches around the forest floor, and walking in the river avoids them.
Along the trail is where you can find Rhizanthes Iowii, the smallest species of Rafflesia in the world (cousin species). This flower is a rare parasite that lives on the roots of the tetrastigma vine. It can even produce and regulate its own heat! The flower could expand up to 45cm in diameter in full bloom, but we only got to see some small wilted flowers and new buds that were yet to bloom.
Gua Hari Malaysia Cave Entrance
After about 1 hour of trekking in the forest, we found the entrance of Gua Hari Malaysia / Padang Kawad Cave.
This is a superb river caving experience. Adventurous yet suitable for anyone who can crawl low on the floor and climb ropes with flowing water. We navigate the one-way dark cave with flowing river by walking, squatting, crawling, climbing and abseiling. In some parts, the cave ceilings are so low that we had to crawl flat and half-submerged on the cave river floor. On the other hand, a couple sections had deep pools of water to slightly swim across. The highlights were definitely climbing up two waterfalls in the cave by using a rope, and pushing our body against the cave walls to reach the top (and also to come back down).
Other than the many bats hanging on the cave ceilings, we also encounter other cave dwellers, such as toads and crabs.
We spend around 2 hours trekking in the cave, before reaching and exiting from the other end of the cave. After taking our break, we headed back into the cave to make our return trip, which took us another 1 hour plus.
You can watch my Gua Hari Malaysia caving video footages here, though it’s very dark with my camera:
Return route from Gua Hari Malaysia
The fun didn’t just end after we exited the cave. We had our packed lunch before trekking back to the vehicle using a slightly different route. Our guide spotted various species of flora along the journey and shared his knowledge of jungle medicine with us.
To our surprise, we even found a tree covered with Sun Bear’s claw marks! The tree hole was dug by the sun bear to extract the beehive in the tree.
Some honeycomb leftovers around the tree.
A striking wild ginger flower.
A massive pile of fungus growing on a tree log.
Additional Archaeological Site
With an archaeologist in our group, we got the opportunity to tag along for her mini recce to an archaeological cave yet to open for public tours.
With her expertise and sharp eyes, many skeletal remains of prehistoric humans were found and identified. We also found many seashells embedded in the exposed layers of the soil, which were believed to be the food source of the colonies used to live here a very long time ago.
Bumbun Rimau | Wildlife Watching in Taman Negara
After a full day of adventure, we ‘checked in’ to Taman Negara to spend the night in one of the wildlife observation hides in the forest. The forest permit was covered in our guide’s package but we had to pay an additional RM5 for each camera (including smartphones).
We took a short hike to Bumbun Rimau. It is a tall structure built in the forest to do wildlife watching; tall enough to avoid our scents being detected by the animals. There were wooden double-decker bed frames for us to sleep with our sleeping bags and mattresses.
The observation hide strategically overlooks a salt lick spot where animals frequent to get their dose of vital minerals. It is possible to observe wildlife such as deers, tapirs, elephants, wild boars, or even the rare ones like panthers and tigers.
The view inside and outside of Bumbun Rimau. There was no electricity or water supply here, so we had to prepare our own torchlights. At night, we occasionally flash the salt lick area with our lights to see if there are any animals there. Unfortunately, it was raining very heavily that night and we didn’t get to see any wildlife. The next morning, however, we managed to see a couple of orange wild dogs around the salt lick.
Gua Tahi Bintang
Day 3 morning: We started our multi-caving day with the first cave, Gua Tahi Bintang (Shooting Star Cave).
Right away, we spotted many nectar bats on the cave ceilings.
A dead scorpion that seemed to be torn apart by something.
Gua Tahi Bintang is considered a show cave for visitors to enjoy the beauty of the cave formations.
It is from this shooting-star-pattern wall that the cave got its name.
Glow worm’s strings hanging down on the cave ceiling.
At a section of the cave, you can find various sea life fossils, such as those of sea shells and aquatic plants.
Interesting cave wall and ceiling formations.
Gua Jinjang Pelamin
Our second cave of the day is Gua Jinjang Pelamin. This is considered as a medium adventure cave, and some sections were surely adventurous! The entrance reminds me of the Trader’s Cave in Niah National Park. In the beginning it seemed okay, and then…
We climbed a super slippery and tall cliff in the cave.
Next, we swam across a deep lake in the cave.
After that, we visited the twin cave columns that gave Gua Jinjang Pelamin its name. Pelamin means the sitting place of the wedding couple during the Malay wedding party. Our guide said this is a good place to ‘cari jodoh’(find your second half) haha.
And lastly, after returning back down to the slippery cliff, we took another way out of the cave. This other water path involves crawling and wading through tight cave passages.
And… we’re out. Look how tight are the passages and how we had to squeeze through!
Bonus Bat Cave
This wasn’t a part of the itinerary, but there was one bat expert and researcher who tagged along with our guide. He offered to show us a small cave he recently discovered. He was surprised by the large colony of bats living in such a small cave.
While in the cave, the bat researcher lounged out and caught a bat on his first attempt, what a skill! He explained that bats are the courier of many strands of coronavirus but they don’t infect humans.
Gua Seribu Cerita - Archeology Cave
Next up, we visited a small archeology cave called Gua Seribu Cerita (Thousand Stories Cave). This is where you will find many ancient cave drawings on the cave wall. The paintings were estimated to be 500 to 3000 years old. Unfortunately, the cave walls were also vandalised with ‘modern’ paintings.
Gua Seribu Cerita is considered as a ‘living cave’ because it is still constantly changing. Here you can see a stalagmite and a stalactite going to connect and turn into a column, probably in another 10,000 years.
Gua Sisik Naga
Lastly, we visited our last cave, Gua Sisik Naga (Dragon’s Scales Cave). It got its name due to the scale-like shapes on the cave ceilings, resembling a long dragon’s back.
At one part, I saw a nice spot in the ceiling that looked blueish and crystally when being shined on.
Epilogue
Here ends our 2-day Merapoh Caving journey. However, there are still many more caves in Merapoh to be explored. If you are interested in exploring Merapoh Caves, Taman Negara, or even climbing Mount Tahan via Merapoh, just hit up Abang Sabri (+6014 290 5289) and he will cook up a trip for you.
If you like exploring other caves by yourself, do check out Niah Caves and Gua Musang Cave!
*Captain Planet passing by* Remember, please take care of our environment, and please don’t destroy the Nature. Leave no trash behind and take back only photos and memories (and also some trash if you can). Walk on the designated path and stay in the middle as much as you can, so that the exposed soil doesn’t spread/corrode further. BE ONE WITH NATURE *flies away*
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Hi
seems like some pictures not loading for this Merapoh caving article
Oh thank you very much for letting me know!
I have fixed the pictures. Cheers!
Hi, this is interesting! Is it open for regular people to visit like visiting main entrance of Taman Negara? How does it work if want to go solo?
Hi Fara, an approved nature guide is required for these activities within the national park and caves 🙂