Ipoh Trip (Special Feature: Gua Tempurung)

This is one of the places, where Mother Nature really amazed me. It was such a great visit that I have too much to express about it. So I’ve decided to post it as a special entry on its own. A journey there from Ipoh by a motorized vehicle takes about 45 minutes.

We were greeted by the majestic view at the foothill before we enter the Tempurung Cave.

And this is the map, showing the routes in the cave.
Yes, facility wise, everything that should be there is there: bus stops, conference room, camping-sites, horse ranch, bathrooms, mosque, information kiosk and restaurants.
The signboard showing admission fees, time lenght and descriptions of various tour packages.
Gua Tempurung is a tourist spot recognized by the Tourism Board of Malaysia.
And he is our friendly and experienced cave ranger, who led us in the cave.

There are different adventure packages into Tempurung Cave. The most relaxing is the Golden Flowstone tour, which takes about 40 minutes (RM6). And the most challenging and strenuous is the Grand tour, which takes about 3 and a-half hour (RM22). Reaching there at around 2pm, we were too late for the Grand tour. We have no choice but to take the Top of the World & Short River tour, which took us about 2 and a-half hours (RM11).
I’m so sorry guys. Although the view inside the cave was much more spectacular, but due to the fact that we have to get wet, nobody dares to bring a camera along. So, I have no choice but to just describe how it was in the cave, word by word. (However, photos of the interior of the cave can be found on the internet).
Well, the cave is definitely much bigger than how I expect a cave to be. It is so big enough to contain a small village (serious~!) The stones in the cave have been carved into many interesting shapes: monkeys, dinosaurs, cars, faces and many more by nature itself. Not to mention, stalactite and stalagmite can be seen everywhere. And bats, of course, inhabits in the cave. We were told by our cave ranger that there will be waterfalls in the cave during the month of December, as it is the rainy season.
Nevertheless, traces of human activities can be detected. There are drawings on the cave walls, made by the tin-miners during the 1930s. Their mining tools can be found as well. But, there are also traces of mischief. For example writings such as “ALI WAS HERE” and “AH BENG LOVE AH HUAY” engraved by visitors. The running water in the cave is crystal clear and we couldn’t resist asking our ranger if we could drink the water or wash ourselves with it. Just as the ranger took a sip, we follow and washed our faces with the water. Wow~! It was so cool and refreshing.
Soon we reached the “Top of the World”, the highest part of TempurungCave. Here, we can touch the “ceiling” of the cave. It was here, when our ranger turned off all the lights, which run along the metal path way. It was pitch black. We can't even see our own fingers. The management of Tempurung Cave has put up a challenge that whoever succeeded in walking from this point of the cave to the exit, via the river path, without any source of light and mobile phone, will get RM 25000 instant cash reward. There was once, a challenger from New Zealand. But until today, nobody succeeded.
Our tour continues as we proceed to the most thrilling and the final part of the tour. We made our way to the river through steep slopes and small holes. It was very very dark. We were led by our ranger’s torch light, which seem so dimmed in the darkness of the cave. As our vision can’t aid us much in the dark, we have to rely on other sensors, especially by touching with our hands. Knocking into any rocks or stone can be really painful. And some part of the way, the tunnel is so low, that we were force to crawl. The whole experience is so hard to be put into words.
Finally, we reached the mouth of the cave. We took a rest in the cool and running waters. It is indeed a very unforgettable experience.