Travel Stories | Conquering Gua Tempurung (Shell Cave) - Perak, Malaysia

Getting There

Gua Tempurung is located about 190km – or about a 2-hour drive – north of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. You definitely want to try getting there early as the tour buses will come in later in the afternoon and there’ll be long waits.

The entrance fee to the cave can range from RM6 – RM22 for adults and RM2.50 – RM6 for kids. My friends and I got up at 5:00AM to make sure we can get in with the first tour group.

I know waking up early doesn’t sound like the most exciting thing to do and many will be tempted to fall asleep on the drive there. But I would recommend staying up to really admire the view of the mountains and jungles you’ll pass by in Perak.

Warming Up

Upon getting to Gua Tempurung, you’ll notice breathtaking views also of the lake and the hills as the morning mist is just starting to dissipate.

We got there a little early, but there were already a group of people and some school buses there lining up for the entrance tickets. People enter the cave in groups of at least 8 people. From my past experience, it’s better to try to find people around your age group or fitness level while spelunking in groups because having part of the group turbo charge ahead while another part is struggling to keep up can be dangerous and may lead to frustration.

So, a bit of a disclaimer here. I love going on these outdoor adventure trips, but it’s difficult finding like-minded people among the city folk. This was my 2nd time spelunking through Gua Tempurung and I had to use the same trick I used on my friends the 1st time by telling them walking through Gua Tempurung is a relaxing hike like Batu Caves, only longer and in the dark. Spoiler Alert: It’s not.

Before entering the cave, we did some warmup exercises and stretches. Thankfully, the cave comes equipped with equipment perfect for such a task.

Preparation

Just before our groups turn to enter the cave, we were given a quick rundown the trail we would be going through. We decided to go for the Grand Tour package which would take us through the entire length of the cave and back for about 3.5 hours – I think the 3.5 hours assumes your group has only experienced caves as the first time I did this tour, it took us 5 hours and it took us about 4.5 hours is time because we had kids in the group.

P.S.A to all parents out there: Please be considerate, if you plan to take your kids on trips like these, please make sure they’re not the kind that will scream non-stop and stop the entire group from progressing because they were too scared of the dark cave.

We were given a safety briefing and a quick run-through of the map (above). I think this was about when my friends started to realize the climb is not going to be as easy as I initially told them. We were given helmets and had the option of buying torchlights which are highly recommended unless you enjoy navigating through narrow spaces practically blind.

Entering the Cave (00:00 - 00:40)

The first 30 minutes of the hike already tested our stamina as we had to climb through what seemed like endless flights of stairs. The first thing I felt as I entered the cave was just the awe at the magnificence and grandeur of the whole cave.

After every few flights of stairs, there were platforms that allowed us to really admire and take-in the view of it all. The tour guide will also explain some history and facts about the cave which were pretty interesting – you’ll have to visit yourself to find out!

It took us about 40min just to get to the top of the hill (are hills in caves still called hills?). Along the way, the guide pointed out to us interesting rock structures like some weird formations that look like the head of a crocodile, the trunk of an elephant, a laughing face etc.

It’s clear to see that half our group were already tired from the climb, but thankfully it sorts of get easier from here – the rest of the trip will challenge you more strength-wise than cardio-wise.

Where did the Lights Go? (00:40 - 02:00)

After climbing up the stairs for 40 minutes, the only direction possible is down. This is where the stairs end, and we had to climb down into darkness. As you can see in the picture below, the darkness really overwhelms you. As we made our way through a small gate, we had to climb down the hill one by one, this time without any more stairs. Each person has to turn on their torchlight or head lamps at this point because this is the kind of darkness where you can barely see your hand in front of your face.

As soon as we go down the hill, we quickly faced our first obstacle of having to slide down a muddy slope and trusting that the guide will catch us. It wasn’t a very long slope, in fact, it was probably the easiest of all the slopes we had to slide down, but I think this is a good exercise of trust, and reminder that our safety is completely dependent on the guide from this point on.

The rest of the journey would take us through rivers and crevices. Expect to be covered in not just water, but guano as well. Guano is bat shit for the uninitiated. We just tell ourselves that it is good for the skin.
It was also at this moment, as we climbed up muddy hills, walked along edges that fell into the abyss and slide down tougher and tougher slopes that I hear the appreciation from my friends. They were saying stuff like “F*ck you Chua, we’re not trusting you again” and “You better hope this cave kills me or I’ll kill you when we get out” while I happily giggled my way through.

Light at Last! (02:00 - 02:30)

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally saw a sign of reprieve! We’ve reached the end of the cave, which is only the half way point for us because we had to hike back through the cave again before we finished the trip. But we didn’t have time to think about what we would have to put ourselves through again, we ran out into the sun!

What met us was a lush forest that seems to be untouched by any human activity. Of course, we would have to take selfies and pictures to celebrate our accomplishment. The river from the cave extends out further into the forest and the water was just crystal clear and really refreshing. All of us just felt the need to jump right in to clear of ourselves of the guano and mud and to just relax and have fun.

I think the river also cooled my friends down as all the anger just disappeared.

Final Excursion (02:30 - 04:00)

As soon as we were well rested and fresh, the guide blew his whistle to signal it was time for us to get back into the cave and head back home. Some thought that it would only be a short trip back and the worst of the cave was finally over, but oh boy were they wrong.

To get here so far, we had to climb up the hill by stairs and then hike up and down a few valleys and hills. This journey back will take us through and under those hills by following the river. Even though I’ve done this before, this part back still makes me nervous a bit. It was easy as at first as we walked by the river further into the cave, until we reached our final slope.

This slope was about as tall as a 2 – 3 floor building and felt like it was almost vertical. It was at this moment we realized our guide must have been Spiderman as he slid down the slope without any hesitation. Then one of us guys would go slide down unassisted for him to catch. From then on, the guide left it to us guys to catch each person one-by-one while he climbed back up the slope to assist. First, the guys went down, then the children, then the ladies and finally the guide came down himself again.

Image found on Google, but its the same slope I'm talking about

After coming down the slope, we had to go further down into the cave through this tiny hole (image below) into what was an underground river. Our journey continues through the river where we would now be under the hills.

This is where the claustrophobia really kicks in as much of the remaining trip we found ourselves on our bellies are we crawled through tiny slits in the wall. Right above our heads were sharp rocks while the river would come up to our shoulders as we crawled through.

Image found on Google, but same path I mentioned

Finally, we crawled out from under the water and saw the light at the end of the tunnel and couldn’t be happier!

At the end of it, my friends remained my friends and were grateful I tricked them into the experience. So, all’s well that ends well

-- End of Gua Tempurung Adventure --

Celebratory meal in Ipoh

Thank you very much for reading about my Gua Tempurung adventure. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I did writing and reliving those memories again.