Gunung Mulu National Park - Crown jewel of Sarawak's protected areas

Year of Declaration:  1984
Area (hectares): 52,865
Area and Location:

100 km inland from the coastal port of Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia.

 

Description:

Gigantic limestone caves,  tropical karsts, and very high biodiversity; 2nd highest mountain peak in Sarawak;  its tropical karsts are the most studied in the world; its large limestone caves  are the roosting areas of millions of swiftlets and bats; also a World Heritage Site; has one of the most extensive limestone cave systems on earth.

 

Habitat Types:

Varied geological formations dominated by a large sandstone mountain and two smaller limestone mountains; limestone scree forest; limestone cliff; upper mountain limestone forest; tropical heath; peat swamp; and riparian forests; heath, kerangas and mixed dipterocarp forest; mossy and stunted upper montane forest.

 

Unique Flora:

Quercus subsericea; Rhododenron and Vaccinium species; insectivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes lowii, N. tentaculata and N. muluensis);  slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum sanderianum); one-leaf plant (Monophyllae pendulum) in mossy forest.

 

Unique Fauna:

Free-tailed bats (Nyctinomops sp); wrinkled-lipped bats (Charrephon plicata); Savi’ pygmy shrew (Suncus etruscus), the smallest mammal in the world; wrinkled hornbill (Rhyticeros corrugates);  regal python (Phyton reticularis); Philautus sp. , a frog that breeds only in the fluid of the pitcher plant; Bornean gibbon (Hylobatus muellen); Bay cat (Catapuma badia); Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa); and Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).

 

Ecotourism Destination and Activities:

Its steep ridges, escarpments and karsts; spectacular limestone cave systems (19 major caves and over 89 km of huge cave passages); Sarawak Chamber, which can accommodate 8 Boeing 747 aircrafts lineup nose to tail; Clearwater Cave System, which  is the longest in Asia; longest cave system in the world; Deer Cave is considered the world’s largest natural cave passage; Good Luck Cave has the world’s largest natural chamber within a cave; Gua Ajaib is the most beautiful cave system.

 

Biological Richness: • 3,500 species of plants
• 75 species of mammals
• 262 species of birds
• 74 species of frogs
• 52 species of reptiles
• 76 species of amphibians
• 47 species of fish
• 281 species of butterflies
• 458 species of ants
• 20,000 invertebrate species