Bukit Sarang

Bukit Sarang is a small limestone hill surrounded by peat swamps. It comprises of two limestone hills, the larger being Batu Anyi and the smaller Batu Lebik, both with a complex system of caves. It is a place where the Punan communities have been staying roughly more than a hundred years ago who now have traditional rights on these caves in the area.

Bukit Sarang is one of the recently proposed area for National Park in Sarawak.

Source : Google Earth

Bukit Sarang is riddled with numerous caves of various sizes with underground water passages which support rich aquatic life and other biodiversity that depends on the cave and swamp ecosystem. The surrounding forests also support a distinctive avifauna as recorded by numerous visitors including experts.

It is located on the south of Bintulu. The closest town to it is Tatau.

 Location of Bukit Sarang (source: Google earth)

Getting there

Bukit Sarang is only accessible by boat from Rumah Ado, the Punan Bah Community in Sungai Kakus. Coming from Bintulu, you will have to take a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle to Rumah Ado which will take about three hours of driving using plantation and logging road (If you are not stuck somewhere along the road). 

Then you will have to use small wooden boat to go to Bukit Sarang. During rainy season with high water level it will take around two hours of journey going upstream of Sungai Kakus to Bukit Sarang. However, if during dry season it may take up to six hours of boat ride including pulling the boat on muddy river banks to reach Bukit Sarang.

Entry to Bukit Sarang

Contact me for a trip to Bukit Sarang if you are interested.

What might interest you

Bird Photography

There have been works on bird inventory done in Bukit Sarang that record approximately 120 species. Some interesting species one may find are Blue-Winged Pitta, Hooded Pitta, four species of lowland Trogons and the elusive Bornean Ground Cuckoo.

I myself have not had any chance to do bird photography in Bukit Sarang and looking forward for one trip in future. I have seen a collection of bird photos from Bukit Sarang from one bird photographer and there are a lot of birds!

 You might see this Bat Hawk in Bukit Sarang if you are lucky.

Macro photography

Cave Cricket

 If you enjoy macro photography you will find endless supply of subjects from the surrounding limestone outcrops to the cave system where all cave critters lurks in one of the most accessible cave with almost everything I want to photographed.

 

A stick insect in Bukit Sarang

 

There are whole bunch of subject for macro photography ranging from plants to insects, snails and frogs. 

I enjoyed myself photographing my most favorite subject which are frogs as they are literally everywhere at night during the intermediate of dry and wet season. 

Some of my frog photos from Bukit Sarang

Bats

Another animal that is usually related or depending on caves are bats and Bukit Sarang has no shortage of Bat species. Currently there are more than 30 species of bats according to a bat researcher working in Bukit Sarang. To me Bats are an interesting subject to photograph especially with the delicate structure of some of the bat species. For Bat enthusiast, Bukit Sarang is where one of an alive Lesser Tailless Roundleaf Bat (Coelops robinsoni) was recently discovered in Sarawak.

 One of the many bat species you can find in Bukit Sarang

  

Plants

Bukit Sarang is also rich in plant species including orchids and limestone restricted species. According to a scientific paper on a research work conducted in the area, two new species of Begonia endemic to the area was found a couple of years ago. 

As much as I enjoyed taking photos of animals and insects I do love orchids and my guess during early wet season (July – December) is a good time to see orchids blooming along the river to Bukit Sarang.

Among the Orchids and Rhododendron in Bukit Sarang

 Caves

 

Due to restrictions to access other cave systems in Bukit Sarang the only available and easiest place to enter a cave is only on the way to the limestone peak. 

To reach the peak one may take around two hours of walk. 

Going through the caves will requires a help from the guide and torch light.

Along the way you can find different limestone endemic plant species and lots of cave dwelling insects.

 

Walking on the wooden plank walk requires good balancing skills 

 

 A view from the peak of Bukit Sarang

Huntsman spider is a common spider you will encounter with some limestone restricted plant species such as the Epithema sp.

Recommendation

I hope this page will give you an idea of what you can expect or find in this particular place. 

Here is a link for a trip that was organized for Natural Science Society Bintulu (NSSB) in 2009.

http://sarawaknaturalscience.blogspot.com/2009/06/nssb-visit-to-bukit-sarang.html

Another link to a trip organized for AirAsia team in 2010

http://blog.airasia.com/index.php/university-of-life-in-bukit-sarang

For me Bukit Sarang is a special place and among the best for photographers whether you if are photographing birds, frogs, plants or insects for macro photography. 

From all the places I have been to in Bintulu, this place is unique and I enjoyed every trip I have made to this place. It is a place for naturalist, nature lover and nature photographer though it may not fully satisfy non-photography visitors. 

*Some information stated here may change in future.