Niah Caves Adventure
Written: May 02 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: nature, interesting cave environment of bats and birds
Cons: A longer and harder walk than anticipated, but worth it.
The Bottom Line: A nice day trip, with great wildlife and interesting history, as well as cave system.
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| zengeos's Full Review: Sarawak |
My mother and Irecently took a day trip to Niah Caves from Miri. The day was fascinating and exhausting.
The picturesque ride from Miri took abut two hours and ran partly along the coast, then moved inland to reach the Niah Caves park. Since we visited in late March, the heat was, at times, oppressive, hovering around 100 degrees fahrenheit. All the same, the 3 mile walk to the caves along the boardwalk was beautiful. Mom, being an avid birdwatcher, enjoyed observing several species of birds new to her. Our guide also pointed out several interesting millipedes and other wildlife and indigenous plants. He was quite knowledgeable of medicinal plants and studied herbs and other medicinal plants.
Back to the Niah Caves. We reached the caves after about a two hour walk along the boardwalk, with frequent stops to observe the wildlife. The caves are very interesting. An Archaeological dig in the main cave dates human settlement/use of the caves back about 14,000 years, possibly the oldest known human settlement in South East Asia.
The boardwalk and steps within the Niah caves goes on for about 1.5 miles, with around 400-500 steps. areas of the boardwalk and steps were slippery from water dripping from the ceiling, so we had to step very carefully.
The final cave of the system is the Painted Cave. We were a little disappointed in this cave as the cave paintings are very faint and almost invisible due to their age and lack of protection until relatively recently.
There is also an Iban long house village near the caves. This village derives much of it's income from bird nest collecting as well as a little tourism sales.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
zengeos
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Member: Mark
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 7 members
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