Sarawak adventure vacations

When thinking about far-flung places that instantly evoke ‘adventure’, it’s all too easy to bypass lesser known destinations such as Sarawak in favour of ‘big hitters’ – Nepal for trekking perhaps, or Canada for sea kayaking - but those that do are missing a trick. Sarawak, a Malaysian state that stretches along the northwest coast of Borneo, is a place of dense rainforest and vibrant green plateaus snaked across by the toffee-coloured waters of the Sarawak River; without question the luxuriant natural hothouse which British naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace studied and wrote about, and whose work famously inspired Darwin - it’s nothing less than an explorer’s dream.

What isn’t at the bottom of the pecking order, however, is protected land. Because Sarawak plays host to a whopping 30 national parks, opening up trekking infrastructures and jungle adventures to the type of travelers who go nowhere without their hiking boots. Gunung Gading National Park, for example, sprawls across four jungle-clad mountain peaks with a dense primary rainforest that’s traversed by crystalline streams and tumbling waterfalls. There are 16 colour-coded jungle trails in Bako National Park which should keep any hiker happy; proboscis monkey spotters should opt for the Telok Delima trail and follow the grunts, while those with a touch of the Indiana Joneses about them should take on the Telok Limau, a seven-hour trek through rich rainforest, scrubland and swamps. Perhaps leave your leather jacket at home though.

Gunung Mulu National Park also became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, because of its spectacularly dramatic karst limestone landscapes. And with karst comes caves. Not just poke your head in and shout for echoes caves, but seriously wacky 'Sarawackian' caves. Such as Clearwater, where only 12 people at a time are guided through 1.5km of subterranean scapes, with crabs, snakes, bats and all. Or Deer Cave which is one of the largest cave passages in the world, where your otherworldly expedition finishes with you not only coming back out for air, but the huge colonies of bats that inhabit them joining you, in search for their almost by clockwork evening feast of flying insects. Another gem is the Sarawak Chamber, accessible after a three hour hike, wading down a river canyon, then up a bouldered slope to one of the largest enclosed spaces on earth. Now that is a trip.

The Fairy Cave is also interesting because, like so many of Sarawak’s cultural heritage highlights, it comes under the stewardship of the local Bidayuh people, as it is of great ancestral importance. As is tourism now, of course, and kayakers may well find themselves under the trusty guidance of a Bidayuh, who have been canoeing the Sarawak River and its tributaries for generations. You couldn’t, therefore, be in better hands as you paddle the watery arteries that slice their way through the rainforested state, where riverbanks are connected by exquisitely crafted suspension bridges, kingfishers lead the way and monkeys howl somewhere ‘out there’.