Frédéric M

3.00 Canada - 04-Aug-24 -

In her review, Randi explains that she visited Niah during the same year as Els, so their visits are very similar. In my case, I visited Niah the day after Els' visit! We even had dinner together in Miri and I was able to benefit from her advice following her visit. My account will therefore also be very similar to hers, but my appreciation of the site differs greatly.

Like Els, I travelled to the park by bus. However, unlike her visit, cabs were waiting for tourists at the junction in my case, and a driver found me before I even started looking for him. The return journey was equally straightforward, with a bus waiting at the junction when the driver called by the receptionist dropped me off. After registering, I crossed the river by boat and began my visit to the museum. The museum is informative, but not particularly well presented. There's little structure between the many panels, some are redundant and most seem to have been created by students with no sense of synthesis. Artifacts are unfortunately few and far between. The temporary museum in Lenggong Valley was even better than this one.

The hike to the caves, however, is very pleasant (I can't remember if the sidewalk was slippery). The forest is dense and lush. I saw insects, millipedes and lizards all along the way. The first cave (which is more of a rock shelter), Traders Cave, contains scaffolding used by bird nest collectors. Even more breathtaking, however, are the bamboo structures left by these reckless collectors in Great Cave. You really must be brave to climb these. I'd have found something else to eat if it had been my job! The archaeological zone is also right at the entrance to the Great Cave, but there's absolutely nothing to see there.

The fun begins when you enter the gigantic mouth of the cave. It's one of the most spectacular caves I've ever visited. Even in Mulu, the extraordinary park I visited a few days after, only Deer Cave can rival Niah. I know this opinion is controversial and Solivagant and Els will disagree, but I loved the walk through the cave. You must navigate it by the light of a flashlight (or a phone in my case), until a spectacular beam of light enters through an opening in the ceiling halfway through. Invertebrate fauna, bats and birds are abundant. Several attractive geological formations, including dripstone, punctuate the path. On exiting the other side, a short path leads to Painted Cave. The paintings here are behind a fence, and the distance and lack of light make it very difficult to appreciate them (they look better in photographs with prolonged exposure). From here, it's just a matter of retracing our steps back to the reception area, through all the caves mentioned.

All in all, I loved my experience in Niah. It's one of my favorite visits to Malaysia. However, I was very disappointed to see the site listed solely on cultural criteria. I believe that Niah's spectacular beauty and biodiversity deserve natural criteria. From a strictly cultural point of view, it's a mediocre site with nothing to see and a banal museum. In the category of Hominid fossil sites, it ranks last, well behind Lenggong Valley and Sangiran Early Man Site in terms of visitor experience in my opinion. I therefore had the same difficulty rating it as Quebrada de Humahuaca. I would have given a four-star rating to a mixed site, but the cultural aspect of Niah hardly merits more than two. Niah is an incredible place that I highly recommend visiting, but it's listed for all the wrong (or at least not all the right) reasons.

Frederik Dawson

3.00 Netherlands - 21-Jul-24 -

With Niah’s UNESCO inscription means Malaysia have two paleontology sites making this country to be on the same league with South Africa and Ethiopia on center of humankind evolution study, something remarkable and mind-blowing facts you have never expected from this Southeast Asian country. Also with this inscription, Miri, the capital of Malaysian petroleum production, becomes the gateway of two World Heritage Sites, and surely will become the tourism center of Sarawak. After underwhelming experience at Lenggong Valley, I hoped that Niah will not be the same.

From Miri I drove my rental car to Niah in early morning, and surprisingly when I reached the park, few cars already there and there was a queue of at least 10 locals waiting for registration. However, with some reason after I got a ticket, I was the only one that went to the jetty and within few minutes the boat took me to the other side, so I was the first visitor of the day. Without hesitation I walked along the slippery pathway with my trusted hiking boots passing lovely jungle and swampy forest with many bugs and animal sighting, those were runaway when they heard my footstep. Within 50 minutes I reached the first cave, the Traders Cave where I could see two archaeological digs easily, bamboo structure for bird nest collecting, and thick layer of guano under beautiful caverns that so perfect for photography, a whole package of this World Heritage Site. Then I went to the Great Cave, the archaeological digs in this cave are the largest but fenced off by new security wall, so I hardly could see anything. The cave is big that why locals call it “Padang”. The pathway continued and flashlight is needed, after walking up and down in the dark with some holes of light for about half an hour on the slippery way with many bugs, bat and strange sound, if something wrong with flashlight, probably the worst nightmare of travelling, I finally reached the Moon Cave exit and continued on the pathway through the forest to reach the Painted Cave. Again, all archaeological zones are fenced off, and I could not see any painting that really worth the dark journey that I had experienced. I had to walk back to the same route in the dark again and when I reached the Great Cave again, I was surprised that the cave was full of tourists and almost all of them asked me about safety and what is in the dark, which I encouraged them to go and enjoy the unique experience. On my way back to the boat, I met hundreds of tourists and many of them desperately asked me how far to reach Niah Cave!         

I decided to visit the museum when waiting for the boat. The most significant information probably the comparison between Lenggong Valley, Niah Cave and Filipino’s Tambon Cave. The Perak Man at Lenggong dated only 10,000 years old, the Filipino one is 22,000, while the Deep Skull of Niah Cave dated 40,000 so Niah is the oldest human in Southeast Asia, so its value is undeniable. However, to be honest those archaeological heritages are quite disappointing and hard to appreciate, and the location of Niah Cave is the real the highlight of this site. While the forest and cave cannot be compared with nearby Gunung Mulu, the experience is very unique and different. The only recommendation is visiting Niah Cave before and keep Gunung Mulu at the end of all Sarawak trip.     

Randi Thomsen

3.50 Norway - 05-Feb-24 -

Having visited the Niah Caves complex same year as Els we have almost “the same story” although with a few differences. The similarities were the Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching, the Mulu site, the short river crossing with the 3 km hike om the slippery walkway before reaching the Traders Cave and the Great cave, but then some differences.

We rented a car at Miri airport round noon and arrive the visitor center at 1:15. We registered, paid, and went down to the river where the boat was supposed to be, but it wasn’t there. A guy told us to wait 10 minutes, but 10 minutes turned into 45 minutes. The boat was probably on an unauthorized trip to the nearest small town. On the other side at 2:15 the boatman told us that last departure is at 5 o’clock! Just too late we discovered that this would give us about 45 minutes at the site plus one hour back and one hour forth, which was very annoying! This would be a kind of a race!

All alone we were speedwalking on the slippery walkway even if it simply is not possible. After 40 minutes we passed the stall which was without any drinks, snacks, or people at all, we climbed the stairs to the first cave. Continuously rushing we entered the Great Cave on the path towards The Painted cave. We were all alone in the dark as there was no lightning. We were supposed to bring flashlights, which we didn’t. That was a mistake! We had to manage with the phone flashlight which isn’t very good. The amphitheatre-like entrance of the Great Cave was very nice, but proceeding into the darkness of the cave was interesting. The walkway was there to follow, but it was covered of guano and it was hard to see anything. As we continued the walkway, up and down stairs we entered chambers with holes in the “ceiling” so there were some rays of light, but mostly pitch dark! There was a junction in the dark and luckily, we chose the correct one. Further into a narrow passageway and finally came out in the other end – some 40 minutes after entering the Great Cave. It’s 1 hour 20 minutes left and we had to continue 600 meters to the painted Cave. Finally reaching our goal we could study the rock art through a fence. In fact, it was hard to see it, but it was there. After spending 10 minutes enjoying the rock art, we had to speed back through the darkness of the Great cave and then the 3 km back on the slippery passageway. We made it with a one-minute margin.

The museum on the cave-side of the river was closed and the ticket booth (we were supposed to sign out of the park) was also closed. So officially we are still in the Niah National Park!

Naturally there are lots of possible obstacles when just rushing into a site. A site might simply be closed, but losing our time to this annoying missing boat experience is not what you would expect. We were very happy having found the innermost cave, but if the boatman could have granted us an extra half hour because of his late arrival – then we would be a lot happier!

### Randi & Svein Elias

Els Slots

3.00 The Netherlands - 07-Mar-23 -

A visit to ‘The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves’ nowadays has to start in Kuching, where in the wonderful Borneo Cultures Museum they have ‘Deep Skull’ on display. The museum’s fourth floor holds an intriguing exposition about the findings in Niah. 

When I arrived at Niah National Park itself, I was surprised to see banners all around stating ‘Niah National Park Toward UNESCO World Heritage Site’. As the nomination is only up in 2024, this is a bit premature and just shy of failing Commandment #7! The facilities, including a large car park, cafeteria, and tourist bungalows, already are set up for high numbers of visitors. On a weekday in March 2023 though, there were only a handful of other people.

There still is no bridge however to enter the park, so two young guys were ferrying the visitors across (1 ringgit, 1 minute). On the other side, the 3km long trail to the caves starts. I had read reports beforehand about how slippery the walkway is, even dangerous. To make things worse, it had rained heavily all night and was just starting to clear up when I arrived at Niah. So I took it slowly and used the handrails wherever I could. It was indeed slippery in places, but I think the park already has taken some measures to improve such as placing additional red-and-white coloured iron bars on the steepest parts.

After about 50 minutes I arrived at the stairs to the caves in one piece. There’s a stall there where you can buy cold drinks and snacks. Just a short climb leads to the first cave, the Traders Cave. Having just been to Gunung Mulu with its huge cave chambers, it was a surprise to these half-open cave shelters. They are also dry inside (no dripstone!), except for the thick layers of guano. What immediately stands out are the bamboo constructions, left behind by the birds' nest collectors.

The Great Cave lies just 300m further on and is easy to reach (still no flashlight needed). It has a ‘Great’ amphitheater-like setting indeed, with several points of interest. There is the fenced-off area where the archaeological digs are taking place. There are bamboo poles hanging from the roof used for bird nest collecting. There’s even a little shrine. I climbed the stairs all the way to the top to enjoy the full overview of this cave. After this, I decided not to push on for the Painted Cave as it would involve more slippery endeavours.

Niah’s natural setting is no match for Gunung Mulu. The canopy here is less high and the forest is not so dense. It also does not have similar biodiversity. So I am on the same page as Solivagant suggesting they should nominate for cultural criteria only.

On the way out, right at the jetty, I visited the site’s museum. With the most prized pieces in Kuching, this is just a small exhibition. Still, they do a good job of explaining the various aspects this site is about, from the geology to showing actual bird nests that can be eaten (in both prepared and unprepared state).

Getting there & away on public transport is well-described in the ‘Getting there by bus’ paragraph on the park’s official website (scroll down). It did take a bit of asking around to find a driver to take me from the junction to the park (there aren’t many tourists at the moment so there’s no point for them in waiting around). The cost is 40 ringgit. On the way back, the lady at the ticket office called a driver for me. Door-to-door it took 2.5 hours from Miri. Combined with a park visit of 3-4 hours, count on a full-day excursion.

Read more from Els Slots here.

Solivagant

3.00 UK - 05-Aug-22 -

With the possible upcoming nomination of Niah Caves by Malaysia in 2024 (having only been added to Malaysia’s T List in Jan 2021) it seems worthwhile posting its first review – even if it relates to a visit way back in April 1997!!. To set the scene it might be worth explaining why we visited the site at all during our journey from Kuching across Borneo to Mt Kinabalu, since the visit was self evidently NOT because it was on the UNESCO T List!! As a National Park with caves and “natural sights” it was, and still is, very much “second class” behind Gunung Mulu but we were pushed for time and, to some extent, money. So that wasn’t on for us and Niah was easily accessible just off the road between Kuching and Miri. It also had a particular archaeological “claim to fame” for discoveries of late Pleistocene human remains made there in the 1950s. In this respect its star has possibly somewhat waned since those days with reinterpretation of the findings and the making of many more archaeological finds across SE Asia. Its other significant aspects for us were its use by locals for harvesting the nests used to make “Birds Nest soup”, for bat guano collection and for the evening flights of Swiftlets back to the cave and Bats going out.

The 1958 discovery in the Great Cave at Niah of what came to be titled “Deep Skull”, a c40k year old Homo Sapiens cranium (together with other remains from the period), subsequently became something of an archaeological “cause celebre”.  My “bible” on “World Pre-history and the Development of Human Societies” is “The Human Past” (pub 2005 by Thames and Hudson). Within its 700+ pages it has a section headed “Multi-regional Evolution and Modern Human Emergence in Asia and Australasia”. In it, among a number of references to other WHS (including Zhoukoudian, Willandra and Sangiran), Niah gets a significant mention – and even a photo! The “issue” was whether, how, when and where Homo Sapiens evolved in Asia/Australasia from its “out of Africa” version. Deep Skull was (is?) the oldest anatomically modern human skull discovered in SE Asia. When it was originally found and investigated there were suggestions that it was an example of the peoples who later became “native” Australians/Tasmanians.  It is now generally accepted to be ancestral to the modern peoples of Borneo and to be the first example of their arrival into what became island SE Asia. This academic article from 2016 sets out the history and interpretations of the find and indicates that it is still of “significance”.

The excavations at Niah in the Great Cave and elsewhere lasted for well over a decade. Although none of the findings ever quite matched “Deep Skull” for fame, they resulted “in the establishment of one of the largest stratified cave sequences in South East Asia” which extended way beyond the Late Pleistocene of “Deep Skull” into the Holocene… “It is clear that the cave complex contains a remarkable sequence of domestic and funerary deposits that probably span more or less the entire history of human settlement on Borneo - from initial colonisation to recent centuries”. These excavations uncovered a large number of other skeletons - many of which were sent to USA for investigation as Malaysia didn’t then have the skills and equipment to do so. These have recently (2020) been returned and it would seem that the site and its excavation play to an element of national pride in Borneo. It is this long sequence of occupation and what the excavations have shown about the development of human settlement in Island SE Asia which Malaysia is primarily claiming as the site’s USP. It appears that the more recent remains from across this long period are regarded as important as the original early ones in that they record the use of the cave after Borneo became an island  during the “Sunda shelf inundation” of c14k ybp. This article covers the investigations of these more "recent" uses of the caves  and explains the references in the T List description to the site’s importance in understanding the “forager-farming transition”.                                                   

Having traveled up from Bintalu by bus in the morning, we spent half a day in the Park and stayed overnight in a National Park Chalet. Later in our travel “career” we probably wouldn’t have given it so long - especially if we had had a rentacar! Although it does really need a "dusk visit" for the bird/bat exchange. I remember that, when dealing with Malaysian NPs a visit/stay wasn’t “easy”. In those pre Web days one either had to take one’s chances by turning up or by visiting an NP office in a nearby major town to obtain “permission” and accommodation. We also had to overcome similar “problems” at Kinabalu. At Niah the rangers didn’t want us to stay as there was a “shortage of water”!! But we persisted! The caves are around 3km from the Park HQ along a board walk and require a crossing of a small river by man-powered long boat. The Caves and surrounding area were free to walk around without a guide (also not always a norm in Malaysian NPs!).

When preparing this review I noted that another of the Niah caves is titled “Painted Cave” and gets a mention in the UNESCO introduction as being of importance. This article provides background and detail. All rather annoying as I just couldn’t remember having seen it…. except that there, among my fading diapositives (and memories!!) was a photo of some of said paintings - albeit not that "magnificent"!!! More memorable to me (photo) was the size of the Great Cave and the heights which the Bird nest collectors had to reach by climbing up rickety bamboo poles. The photo in the "forager farming" article seems to suggest that the excavation areas are “visible” and fenced off but my complete lack of photos of anything “archaeological” would seem to confirm that there was little or nothing “on view”. The walking routes were marked out by wooden walkways and stairs, with such structures seeming puny in comparison with the size of the cave. A number of wooden buildings and areas of tables and chairs were also present inside the cave – though whether these were for the guano/bird nest workers or tourists wasn’t clear. We stayed for the “evening exchange” of bats and swiftlets but all I can remember is that it didn’t reach the intensity of the famed David Attenborough TV program shot at Gulung Mulu!

If the visible archaeological remains at the site are as minimal as I remember, then that could rather reduce its “value” for visits related specifically to them but I can't say I remember any feelings of "disappointment" with our visit. I note that there is now a museum at the site which I don’t believe was there when we visited. According to LP, its exhibits include “an original burial canoe that’s at least 1200 years old, a reproduction of the Painted Cave, a case featuring swiftlets’ nests, and a replica of the 40,000-year-old ‘Deep Skull’ discovered in 1958.”  Mmm – a bit thin?? THE museum of note in Malaysian Borneo is the wonderful Sarawak Museum in Kuching whose original building, housing its Ethnology Collection (not to be missed!), dates from 1891. It has been undergoing long term refurbishment and extension and it appears that it is intended to have a significant display about Niah – though whether it will have the original “Deep Skull” isn’t clear.

Malaysia has registered this site as “mixed” for the “Natural values” of its post Sunda Shelf inundation “tidal swamp forest and high-canopy closed rainforest”. This would seem to be an unnecessary "complication" for any future nomination (especially one whose title majors so much on its "archaeological" values!). The forest area was pleasant/interesting to walk through and may indeed be a good surviving example of these types of ecosystem but how unique/special are they? Presumably Gunung Mulu adequately covers natural values relating to Karst landscape and cave fauna? It also has its "high canopy forest" - and a walkway to view it!  Niah's cultural credentials on the other hand do seem to offer something a bit "special" and enough to justify inscription.