Silabur Caves are a rarely visit Sarawak gem. Only recently discovered as a tourist destination, the caves are visited by few locals (generally on the weekends) and very few tourists (the prior group on non-Malaysians before our arrival was a month earlier). The caves which are about 2 hours south of Kuching makes for a fantastic day trip for the novice spelunker. When we visitied on a Tuesday, we were the only group at the park.

The required guide can be booked via phone and will take you to two caves with an optional summit hike. The day starts out with a fairly easy hike to the mountain before a steep uphill to the cave enterance. Walking around the cave, you get to explore three large interconnected caverns. The size and color of the caverns are amazing and create some great Instrgram-able views. After exiting the cave, we were led to the summit which was rated “moderate” difficulty. Being of slightly below average fitness, the hike was very challenging and required me to stop every few minutes to catch my breath. Some of the terrain required large steps and occasional rope assistance. Walking downhill from the summit was only slightly easier as we were assisted by gravity. Near the end of the hike, we stopped at the water cave which a great break from the heat. You can walk over one hundred meters into the cave in knee to waist deep water. The water is cool and refreshing, and the water sculpted walls are beautiful sculpted. The last part of the hike is essentially flat and easy.

Total time: six hours including breaks for lunch and photo ops.

Recommendations:
Bring a flashlight/torch as a few areas are very dark, and the water cave has no outside light after a few meters.
Bring at least two liters of water. Our group carried 1.5 each which was not adequate.
Unless you are really into hiking, skip the summit and spend additional time inside the cave.