All activities / Trekking / Hiking / Gunung Mulu
Trekking / Hiking in Gunung Mulu
Gunung Mulu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the highlands of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, famous for the greatest concentration of caves and limestone karst in the region. Its signature trek is the Pinnacles, a punishing climb up Mount Api to a forest of 45-metre limestone blades, while the park also holds vast show caves and the nightly bat exodus from Deer Cave.
Why here
The Pinnacles are one of the most striking treks in Borneo and one of the hardest days most walkers will ever do. Gunung Mulu, UNESCO-listed for its caves and karst, hides on the flank of Mount Api a field of razor-sharp limestone spires up to 45 metres tall, rising straight out of the rainforest. Reaching them is a three-day, two-night trip: a river journey and jungle walk to Camp 5, then a brutal 2.4-kilometre ascent that gains around 1,200 metres up roots, rock and ladders, using fixed ropes and rungs near the top, before turning around at a viewpoint over the spires and climbing all the way back down. It is guided-only and seriously tough, for fit, sure-footed hikers with a head for heights. Mulu rewards the effort beyond the Pinnacles too: Deer Cave releases millions of bats in a spiralling exodus at dusk, Clearwater Cave is among the longest cave systems in the world, and the Sarawak Chamber is the largest known cave chamber on earth. Come for the Pinnacles, but leave days for the caves and the canopy.
Best months
Mulu is wet rainforest year-round and there is no real dry season, though the months from about March to September tend to see slightly less rain and firmer going for the Pinnacles. The Pinnacles climb is offered only as a guided three-day, two-night trip and is not suitable for children 16 or under; it demands real fitness, as the ascent gains around 1,200 metres in 2.4 kilometres. Expect heat, humidity, mud and leeches. Book the trek in advance through the park, as a licensed guide is compulsory and a minimum group size applies.
Getting there & around
Mulu is effectively road-free and reached by a short flight to Mulu Airport from Miri, Kota Kinabalu or Kuching, followed by boat and walking inside the park. Park accommodation and a booking desk sit near the airstrip. The Pinnacles must be booked ahead with the park, which supplies the licensed guide, boat and camp; independent trekking of the route is not permitted. Fly in with time to spare, as the small aircraft are weather- and demand-sensitive.
Skill levels: intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (1)
Gunung Mulu National Park
OutfitterGunung Mulu National Park is the UNESCO World Heritage authority that manages access and guiding within the park in Sarawak. The Pinnacles is offered only as a park-run three-day, two-night trek with a compulsory licensed guide, and the park books the guides, boats and Camp 5 accommodation directly. It also runs the show-cave visits, the Deer Cave bat-exodus viewing and adventure caving. As the managing body it is the single official operator for the Pinnacles climb.