Deer Cave
4.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.5
237 reviews
Excellent
179
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55
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3
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Aussienando
796 contributions
Apr 2023
A stunning 9km round trip. We went on the 2:30pm tour with Undi as our guide who had an incredible eye for spotting nature - a blue snake in the Lang Cave and a snake fish in the creek along the boardwalk. He was fantastic and so thoughtful for all members of the group.
We went to Lang Cave first, the smaller of the two caves but spectacular with both stalactites and stalagmites - plus a large blue snake on the ceiling on the lookout for a small bat or two that flew too close. Beautiful!
Deer Cave was a 50metre walk from Lang Cave and was enormous! Deer Cave is over 2km long and 174m high - the world’s largest cave passage open to the public. It’s home to 2-3million bats who cling to the roof. Note: The bats themselves are actually really small - smaller than your hand. And the droppings give off a strong ammonia smell.
The day we went we had beautiful weather for the walk in to the caves, however at 4:30pm the rain came (and when the rain comes, inevitably it is a massive tropical downpour). As a result the bats didn’t fly out of the cave ie they don’t like the rain! We walked back in the pouring rain with every inch of our body soaked - including shoes which walked through the flooded path - but a great jungle experience (and you aren’t cold as it is so humid). Thank goodness for a great hairdryer at the Marriott to dry our shoes and clothes!
Tip: All Mulu National Park fees can be paid by credit card. 30MYR for a 5 day park pass PLUS any tours you do. Ensure you register at the park entrance (as Andrew Gaskell didn’t and was lost for 11days). And it’s best to wear runners vs hiking boots which allow a better recovery on the slippery boardwalk.
We went to Lang Cave first, the smaller of the two caves but spectacular with both stalactites and stalagmites - plus a large blue snake on the ceiling on the lookout for a small bat or two that flew too close. Beautiful!
Deer Cave was a 50metre walk from Lang Cave and was enormous! Deer Cave is over 2km long and 174m high - the world’s largest cave passage open to the public. It’s home to 2-3million bats who cling to the roof. Note: The bats themselves are actually really small - smaller than your hand. And the droppings give off a strong ammonia smell.
The day we went we had beautiful weather for the walk in to the caves, however at 4:30pm the rain came (and when the rain comes, inevitably it is a massive tropical downpour). As a result the bats didn’t fly out of the cave ie they don’t like the rain! We walked back in the pouring rain with every inch of our body soaked - including shoes which walked through the flooded path - but a great jungle experience (and you aren’t cold as it is so humid). Thank goodness for a great hairdryer at the Marriott to dry our shoes and clothes!
Tip: All Mulu National Park fees can be paid by credit card. 30MYR for a 5 day park pass PLUS any tours you do. Ensure you register at the park entrance (as Andrew Gaskell didn’t and was lost for 11days). And it’s best to wear runners vs hiking boots which allow a better recovery on the slippery boardwalk.
Written 5 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
travelbugDelhi
New Delhi, India754 contributions
Aug 2022
A beautiful 40 minute walk in the Rainforest with a really good & invested guide to an enormous cave entrance & stunning interior boardwalk all the way to the Garden of Eden which is closed now but we could see a bit of it - what's there not to like ?
The evening Bat Exodus is unlike anything we've seen before - in perfect smoke formations they just kept coming & coming out of the entrance before vanishing from sight.
The evening Bat Exodus is unlike anything we've seen before - in perfect smoke formations they just kept coming & coming out of the entrance before vanishing from sight.
Written 9 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peta B
166 contributions
Sep 2022 • Friends
The ginormous size of Deer Cave cannot be explained and can only be appreciated in person. I was told how massive it is, yet I didn’t comprehend until walk inside the entrance mouth of the cave.
The walk to Deer Cave alone was stunning admiring the forest, then walking around the cave was beautiful.
Be sure to be there in the afternoon for the bat exodus which is mind blowing. Watching the millions of bats fly out of the cave in a smoke formation was one of the best natural experiences I’ve witnessed in my life.
Cannot highly recommend Deer Cave enough.
The walk to Deer Cave alone was stunning admiring the forest, then walking around the cave was beautiful.
Be sure to be there in the afternoon for the bat exodus which is mind blowing. Watching the millions of bats fly out of the cave in a smoke formation was one of the best natural experiences I’ve witnessed in my life.
Cannot highly recommend Deer Cave enough.
Written 27 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jason C
Penang162 contributions
Jul 2022
a fantastic experience. be sure to do Lang cave FIRST then only do the Deer cave so you are left awed by the huge cave entrance and the bats within.
Bring a headlamp and be sure to take your time navigating the boardwalk which can be wet and a bit slippery.
Bring a headlamp and be sure to take your time navigating the boardwalk which can be wet and a bit slippery.
Written 5 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mika
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia441 contributions
Jul 2020 • Couples
I have seen many caves around the world and this is an absolute natural wonder of the world not to be missed!! Knowledge of the guides was fantastic and to see the bat exodus and learn about the HUGE colonies of bats that live in this cave was amazing!! I would definitely visit again!! Absolutely wonderful!!
Written 30 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kenveron
9 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
Huge main chamber measuring 100m by 120m. Boardwalk all the way to the inner chambers. The Garden of Eden is currently closed to visitors but you can see it from the inner chamber.
Written 11 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Inspire05810976018
Kuching, Malaysia3 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
Deer cave,lang cave,Clearwater cave & wind cave beautiful cave & guide is perfect,Robert & Dina can organise budget packages homestay,National Park & Marriott hotel also.
Written 25 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Poleinahole
Switzerland2,074 contributions
Nov 2019 • Solo
The park is very well organized with accommodation; an info center; activities (like the canopy and night walks), guides; well maintained paths; clean toilets snd a well stocked shop with bug spray, rain ponchos, etc.
A highlight is the 45 minute walk to and from Lang and Deer Caves and the caves themselves.
Both are beautiful.
It’s now rainy season and it poured at dusk so there were no bats, but the experience was incredible just the same.
Given that it’s low season I was able to walk back to the park HQ by myself. Magical.
Note that even if you fo see the bats, you won’t be able to get the famous picture of the “Abraham Lincoln” looking rock face of the cliff staring at the bats. That was taken by a photographer dangling from inside the roof of the cave for hours, rather than from the outside of the cave bay viewing area.
A highlight is the 45 minute walk to and from Lang and Deer Caves and the caves themselves.
Both are beautiful.
It’s now rainy season and it poured at dusk so there were no bats, but the experience was incredible just the same.
Given that it’s low season I was able to walk back to the park HQ by myself. Magical.
Note that even if you fo see the bats, you won’t be able to get the famous picture of the “Abraham Lincoln” looking rock face of the cliff staring at the bats. That was taken by a photographer dangling from inside the roof of the cave for hours, rather than from the outside of the cave bay viewing area.
Written 13 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bravo313
San Francisco, CA43 contributions
Sep 2019
I bought my 3 Days and 2 nights four caves tour package from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. This package included flight tickets, stay at a nice resort at Marriott, includes breakfasts and dinner at Marriott, tour guide, tour entrance to Mulu Park for 5 days. Deer cave is huge and easy walk but hot and sweaty. Too bad our guide rushed us quickly through the cave. At the end of Deer cave and Lang cave tours, we waited at the entrance of the deer cave for The amazing bat exodus, it was amazing watching bats emerged from the top of cave mountain. Millions of bats!
Written 22 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Welletjes
Terheijden, The Netherlands189 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
Visiting the cave requires a 45 minute walk on a wooden path together with a guide. You can visit two caves one is the Lang cave where you can have a walk and notice nice stalag formation. The main cave is the Deer cave which is the living area of thousands of bats. You walk through the cave and it is well lighted, getting to the area where the bats sleep there is u huge pile of bat poop with a ammoniac small, this cave is very clean as i did not see any cockroaches compared to a bat cave in Sakau which we visited later during our stay.
The big event of the day is the bats going hunting around sun set. We were sitting to wait for this to happen and then it started to rain, it is know bats do not like the rain. We waited with others under a roof and many already left when we also decided to leave but luckily our guide said it is not dark yet, we should wait and luckily we did. Due to the rain only 30% of the bats flew out ( according to our guide) at least we had a glimp of what the spectacle looked like.
We had a 5 day entrance ticket and decided we would go back the next day to be more lucky for the bats to fly out, unfortunately it started to rain already at 4 and did not stop till late so we decided not to go.
On our way back to the exit when it was already dark we were impressed with our guide who showed us all kind of animals like colourful birds sleeping and snakes.
The big event of the day is the bats going hunting around sun set. We were sitting to wait for this to happen and then it started to rain, it is know bats do not like the rain. We waited with others under a roof and many already left when we also decided to leave but luckily our guide said it is not dark yet, we should wait and luckily we did. Due to the rain only 30% of the bats flew out ( according to our guide) at least we had a glimp of what the spectacle looked like.
We had a 5 day entrance ticket and decided we would go back the next day to be more lucky for the bats to fly out, unfortunately it started to rain already at 4 and did not stop till late so we decided not to go.
On our way back to the exit when it was already dark we were impressed with our guide who showed us all kind of animals like colourful birds sleeping and snakes.
Written 15 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lorettacottis
Rochford, UK725 contributions
We have booked Mulu and intend to book the Deer/Lang caves and bat exodus guided tour. Could anyone please tell me, if it was raining on that tour and the bat exodus didn't happen, is it possible to go the next day unguided to the viewing area in the hope of seeing this without doing the tour again please?
197Young
London, UK24 contributions
Yes you can walk back to the viewing area for as many days as you like. A guide is not needed to here but to go in the caves they are.
Hi, is there any rain during your stay?
197Young
London, UK24 contributions
Yes we had torrential rain both days we were there but it can be quite refreshing.
SydneySandra31
Sydney, Australia109 contributions
Can you see more than one cave in a day?
MotherofYoung3
Frisco, TX211 contributions
Yes. Since you will go as part of a Mulu National Park tour, will see both the Deer and Lang cave in the same tour (google Deer and Lang cave, Mulu)
and you can also schedule more than one tour a day through the office
DEER CAVE (Gunung Mulu National Park) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Deer Cave
- We recommend booking Deer Cave tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 1 Deer Cave tours on Tripadvisor
- Hotels near Deer Cave:
- (2.70 km) Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa
- (9.26 km) Mulu World Heritage Area Accommodation
- (2.87 km) D'Cave Homestay
- (2.84 km) Mulu Village
- (3.01 km) Mulu Backpackers Homestay