Deep within the rainforests of Malaysian Borneo lies a place that looks less like a travel destination and more like the setting of an adventure movie.
Cue the dramatic music.
Welcome to Gunung Mulu National Park. A mysterious wilderness of underground rivers, colossal caves and razor-sharp mountains piercing through the jungle.
A Forest of Stone
Mulu’s most recognizable sight is the Pinnacles: hundreds of limestone spires rising as high as 165 feet above the rainforest.
They’re sharp. They’re dramatic. And they’ve been sculpted by rain and erosion over millions of years.
Reaching them requires a river journey, a night in the jungle and a steep climb through the rainforest—which seems appropriate. A place this extraordinary shouldn’t be waiting beside a parking lot.
A Cave Large Enough to Swallow an Airplane…or 40
Then there’s Deer Cave, one of the largest cave passages on Earth.
Its chamber is reportedly large enough to hold approximately 40 Boeing 747s. Walking into it feels like entering another world, a dark cathedral carved by nature over millions of years.
But the cave’s most unforgettable moment happens just before sunset.
That’s when millions of bats emerge from the entrance, twisting and swirling together above the rainforest like a giant ribbon dancing across the sky.
It can continue for more than an hour.
Apparently, rush hour looks a little different in Borneo.
A World Still Wild
Gunung Mulu is also home to underground rivers, towering waterfalls, rare plants, colorful birds and one of the world’s longest tree-based canopy walks.
It’s remote, wonderfully untamed and filled with the sort of scenery that makes you stop and wonder…how have I never heard of this place?
