Sarawak's Niah Caves National Park houses some of the largest and most impressive caves in Southeast Asia. Located near the coast south of Miri, the Niah Caves give evidence of the first inhabitants in Borneo some 40,000 years ago.
The caves are located in the jungle wilds across the Sungai Niah River. After a short trip across the river by boat, a long boardwalk path winding several kilometers through a beautiful rainforest leads to the caves. Iridescent multi-colored butterflies, flying lizards, wild orchids and strange fungi are some of the sights that captivate us on the way.
Upon reaching the first cave, the Trader's Cave, we are greeted by a long row of stilted bamboo structures lining the inner walls of the cave. This brightly lit cavern is more like an overhang rather than a cave and attests to the use of the cave by bird's nest collectors and traders, which gives it its name.
After stumbling through this cave, we reach the Great Cave. Nothing can prepare one for the size of this cave - it is enormous! The cavern mouth is a huge hole on the face of the cliff, enveloped by lush foliage and the cavity extends deep into the earth. The Great Cave is the most spectacular. Its vast interior is a huge labyrinth with tremendous shafts opening from the surface through the ceiling, which rises over 75 m. above. Water in dazzling spectacle pours down the largest of the shafts. Flocks of swifts swirl overhead, their cries echoing through the mighty cavern. Traces of archeological excavations are evident and the oldest human scull in Southeast Asia was discovered here. Bamboo ladders still hang from the cave ceiling where harvesters dangling precariously to collect swiftlet nests for bird's nest soup can occasionally be seen in action.
The vast expanse of the cave is covered with a slimy layer of guano and a set of slippery stairs lead to more slippery trails and complete darkness! To explore the interior of these caves, a torch is essential! In the recesses of the dark interior leading to the Moon Cave bizarre rock formations, stalactites, bird's nests and bats clinging to the cave ceiling can be seen.
Shortly after the Moon Cave, a plank walkway emerges into daylight and a short path through the jungle leads to the Painted Cave, where famous Niah cave paintings and the "death ship" burials are found. Here, 1000 year old rock paintings of small canoe-like boats are displayed. The pained wall points to some "burial ships" - boat-shaped coffins containing human remains and discovered on the cave floor.
As evening approaches, we make our way back to the river crossing and get a glimpse of the fascinating "change over" spectacle of swiftlets swarming back into the caves as bats head out in the opposite direction in a constant stream. The Niah Caves have certainly been a fascinating showcase of early Borneo life.
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