ABOUT SARAWAK: ABOUT FAIRY CAVES IN SARAWAK

FAIRY CAVES IN SARAWAK,MALAYSIA

Fairy Caves and the Wind Caves near Bau Town in Sarawak is one of the must see place in Kuching, Sarawak. Especially if you’re into nature and ecotourism, this limestone cave would really interest you.

Fairy Caves Bau, Kuching Sarawak - Cave Entrance

The Fairy Cave Kuching Sarawak is about 45km from the Kuching city centre and a 40minutes drive will get you there if you know the way. I had problems getting there initially because many places in Sarawak are not mapped on google map on my iPhone. Do ask around for directions, as one thing I’ve learned during my 5days stay at Kuching Sarawak is that people there are very nice and helpful.
The Fairy Cave is roughly 8km away from it’s nearest town named Bau, a former gold mining town in the 1850s. There are hardly any road signs leading to this place, so just drive all to way to Bau town, from there you will see a sign that says Gua Kapor, which is the cave’s name in Malay. If you see a sign that says Tasik Biru or Blue Lake, you’re at the right direction. The Fairy Cave is located in the Bukit Kapor area. It was formed some 100-150 million years ago. There will be a mini mart just before the turning into Fairy Cave, you may want to stop here to get bottled water as there are no other stops after this. There are comfortable toilets made available at the base of Fairy Cave.

Fairy Caves Bau, Kuching Sarawak - Cave Entrance

Just before the dark tunnel at Fairy Cave

Pitch dark Tunnel that leads to the open area in the Fairy Cave

You will know when you reach the Fairy Cave because there will be roughly 4-5 flights of stairs leading to the mouth of the cave. There used to be a old stairway that is no longer in use on the right hand side of the entrance. There are no entrance fees at the Fairy Cave Bau. The only “price” you’ll be paying is the steep walk up stairways. Do wear comfortable walking shoes and proper hiking attire as the floor and stairway area can be wet and very slipery. Frankly the new stairway was made to bring more tourist to this cave, but it seems that not many are interested to explore it, thus the government does not maintain it properly.
I went into this cave alone, I was freaked out. Do bring torchlights along too as there are points where you’ll be climbing up stairs in total darkness. Just after the mouth of the Fairy Cave, you’ll be going through a narrow tunnel that has a stairs upwards. If you’re claustrophobic, you’ll be afraid at this point. Once you pass this tunnel, you’ll start seeing bright lights that shines through the Fairy Cave’s roof.

Fairy Cafe Bau, Kuching Sarawak Borneo - Cave Mouth

Fairy Cafe Bau, Kuching Sarawak Borneo - Main Area

You’ll need about 2 hours to explore the Fairy Cave, expecially for a big dude like myself where it’s quite exhausting climbing up all that stairs. I also had a tough time coming back down because most of the hand railings were broken and you had to walk down the steep and slipery stairs carefully.
I was wondering why they called this the Fairy Cave, then at the peak of the stairs, I got the answer. There’s this Fairy Statue in the cave that droplets of water from the caves roof drops on it’s head and it is believed to be holy water. Eventually the point where the water drops is no longer directly on the Fairy Statue’s head, but a few feet away. You’ll also see figure of Guan Yin, which is a Chinese Goddess of Mercy, that is mystically formed on the rocks. Other figures are also visible and don’t be surprised to see burnt incense stick and prayer materials all around the cave.

Fairy Cafe Bau, Kuching Sarawak Borneo - Viewing Point

Fairy Caves Bau, Kuching - Stalagmites and Stalactites

In the Fairy Cave, you will be able to hear the loud noises of Bats chirping (do bats chirp?) and a strong smell of Bat droppings which are known as Guano. There are sitting areas on corners of the caves, but I was not able to sit there to rest because they were covered with Guano. At the peak of the Fairy Cave, you’ll feel a nice cool breeze.
I realised that there was a path that was going kinda deep behind the cave, but since I was alone there I did not dare to explore further without a torchlight. Only a max of 4 people came and went in that cave during my duration there. 2 new words that I learnt about this cave is stalagmites and stalactites which occur in limestone caves. The stalactite is above, and hangs downward like an icicle and the stalagmite is below and sticks up. They grow in pairs, the slightly acidic water dissolves some of the limestone, carrying it downward. You’ll get to see many of these in the Fairy Cave. The Fairy Cave is less visited by tourist so it looks more natural than Batu Caves in Selangor.