Niah National Park | Miri
Known for the site where a 40,000 year old human remains were discovered, Niah National Park offers jungle walk, Iban longhouse and cave experiences.
Niah National Park provides some interesting and impressive sights. The area was a major centre of human settlement as early as 40,000 years ago, and features one of the world’s largest cave entrances, Palaeolithic and Neolithic burial sites and iron-age cave paintings.
The nearby Painted Cave houses wall-paintings depicting the boat journey of the dead into the afterlife, along with remnants of “death-ships” on the cave floor – boat-shaped coffins (its contents have been transferred to the Sarawak Museum).
Visitors leaving its Great Cave around sunset will see two great black clouds intermingling – the nightly ‘changing of the guard’ as hundreds of thousands of swiftlets return to their nests, whilst an approximately equal number of bats fly out to forage in the forest. A variety of luminous fungi can be clearly seen from the plankwalk at night.
The surrounding area is covered in dense primary rain forest and is home to many species of plants and wildlife.Even today, the caves remain important for local communities, with birds nest and guano collection providing valuable employment and income. The national park runs a swiflet conservation programme in ‘Gua Perintah’.
Niah Caves is a very pleasant place to spend a few days, although most of the major attractions are accessible to the day visitor. An Iban longhouse – Rumah (house) Patrick Libau – homestay experience can be had and it is accessible through the national park.
The park has a visitor centre and good accommodation, and is very easy to get around, thanks to an extensive network of plankwalks.
A flashlight and good walking shoes are absolutely essential – the caves are unlit, and the plankwalk can become slippery from the constant dripping of water and bat guano from the ceiling of the cave. A wide-brimmed hat is desirable, for obvious reasons.
The Park is located on the Sungai Niah, about 3 km from the small town of Batu Niah, 110 km south-west of Miri.
Related Reading:
https://chinese.sarawaktourism.com/blog/exploring-niah-caves/
MY SARAWAK ADVENTURES | NIAH NATIONAL PARK (1)
My Sarawak Adventures | Niah National Park (2)
Address:
Batu Niah, Miri, Sarawak.
Park Opening Hours:
8.00am to 5.00pm
Monday – Sunday including Public Holidays
Contact:
Niah National Park
Tel: (+6) 085 737450/736648/737454
Tel: (+6) 085 737918
Website:
Getting There
TaxiThe most convenient way to get to Niah National Park is by taxi which takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to reach from Miri city. Cost of a one-way fare is about RM150.00
Bus
Take Bus No.33A from city centre to Pujut Corner Bus Terminal. From here, one can take any bus that goes to either Bintulu, Sibu or Kuching. Get off at the Niah Rest Stop. Bus fare is RM15.00 per person. From the here, take private taxi (about RM30 one-way) to reach Niah National Park HQ.
