Located about an hour’s drive from Kuching city centre, this cave is getting more and more popular in recent years. Visitors who make the trip to the Serikin weekend market near the Indonesian border must pass through the road junction going to this cave, which is only a short detour.
The hills of this area are mostly of the limestone type and thus the occurrence of many caves. The Fairy Caves has its entrance on the side of the hill about as high as a 5 storey building, thus a series of concrete steps are built for visitors to ascent the steps before they can reach the cave entrance.
Entrance to the Fairy Caves at the top of a flight of steps.
For couch potatoes, just reaching the top of the steps can put them out of breath, and the further prospect of climbing into the cave may be ardous. But for the fit and those who persevere, the reward is an awesome sight which they will not forget for a long time.
After initially negotiating a dark and tight passage with almost vertical steps, a large chamber of the cave looms ahead with its interior lighted by the huge “airwell” high above the roof of the cave. This is the main chamber, with which a series of steps lead to upper platforms and other observation points. For those who had never been in a cave before, the initial reaction is a big “WOW!” and for the shutterbugs’ reaching for the camera in double quick time.
For the more adventurous, further trekking through the upper reaches will take them to pitch darkness, where torchlight is totally necessary or risking falls and tumbles. To appreciate the myriad stalagmites and stalactites and unusual rock formation, a powerful torch is needed to shine on it from a distance. Some of the rock formations and stalagmites resemble ancient Chinese figurines clad in robes, hence the name Fairy Caves.
Continuing in the dark passage will take the visitors to an opening on the other side of the hill where there is a wooden platform for taking a rest, before tracing the same trail back to the main chamber again.
Side wall of the main chamber with the airwell lighting up the cave.
The airwell without which the whole cave chamber would be in total darkness.
