Travel Guide Kuching

Gunung Gading National Park is the place where the world’s largest flower Rafflesia bloom. Located just outside of Lundu town, itself a pictureque town worthy of a side visit, about one and a half hours’ drive from Kuching. Nestled among the magnificent greenery is the park HQ where visitors are to register and given copy of info and a simple map of the park and jungle trail.

Visitors to this park wanting to see the Rafflesia flowers are advised to call up the park management office (082-248088) or the Park HQ (082-735144) to check whether there are any in bloom or face disappointment upon arrival, as the flowers only bloom for a few days then wilt to a black mass on the jungle floor.

Friendly guides are available for hire at the park

There are about 6 jungle trails, colour-coded as with the other jungle trails of other parks, ranging from the 20 minutes Rafflesia trail along the plankwalk to the 6 hours (one way) Batu Berkubu trail. The Summit trail takes 3 hours to reach the Gunung Gading’s peak at 965 metres.

1. Rafflesia monitoring plot – 20 minutes walk up the steps

2. Rafflesia Trail – 20 minutes

3. Viewpoint 1 & 3 – 1  1/2 hours

4. Jalan Lintang – 1  1/2 hours

5. Reservoir – 40 minutes

6. Waterfall trails – 1  1/2 hours

7. Gading Summit – 3 hours

Signage at the park

Close up of a Rafflesia’s inside

Some flowers are hidden among rocks

There are several wooden chalets for rent and booking are to be made earlier at the city office or online. Gunung Gading NP together with a lunch break at Lundu bazaar is a good way to spend a day exploring nature and visit rural Sarawak. The Bau’s attractions of Serikin (an Indonesia border market town) and Wind and Fairy Caves are another optional side trip involving a detour of about an hour on the way back from Lundu to Kuching. Thus if time permits, these places are well worth a visit, except that Serikin’s market only operates on Saturday and Sunday mornings only.