Niah’s Great Cave reopens, and the flood detour has become an attraction in itself

The Great Cave at Niah National Park has reopened with a new 600-metre access trail after severe floods damaged the original walkway in 2025.

Miri MP and Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Chiew Choon Man, highlighted the significance of this development in promoting sustainable heritage tourism.

The new trail offers visitors fresh perspectives of the landscape and forms part of the archaeological heritage site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2024.

Chiew emphasized the necessity of further infrastructure investment, including restoring access to the Painted Cave, and acknowledged the collaborative efforts behind the restoration.

MIRI, Oct 5 — Niah National Park’s Great Cave has reopened with a new access trail offering visitors fresh views of its limestone and rainforest landscapes.

Miri MP and Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Chiew Choon Man said the reopening marked an important step towards strengthening Niah as a sustainable heritage tourism destination.

The new route was built after severe floods damaged the original walkway in 2025, requiring access between Traders’ Cave and the Great Cave to be rerouted.

Chiew said the 600-metre trail had also created an unexpected attraction for visitors.

“Having personally walked the route, I believe this has unexpectedly created another attraction in its own right.

“Visitors are presented with new perspectives of the surrounding limestone massif, rainforest and mountain landscape, including open scenic views that were previously not part of the usual experience,” he said in a press statement.

He said the reopening was particularly significant as the Great Cave forms part of the archaeological heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex, inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 2024.

Chiew said Niah brings together tens of thousands of years of human history, archaeology, indigenous cultural traditions, rainforest biodiversity and monumental limestone landscapes.

He stressed that spending on infrastructure at the park should be seen as a long-term investment in both sustainable tourism and heritage conservation.

Chiew said the next priority was to restore access to the Painted Cave, which remains closed due to soil erosion affecting sections of its walkway.

He said technical, engineering and heritage impact assessments would be needed before a safe permanent solution could be determined.

One longer-term option, he said, is to extend a branch from the new trail towards the Painted Cave, potentially creating a circular route linking Traders’ Cave, Great Cave and Painted Cave.

“A preliminary estimate for such an extension was between RM2 million and RM3 million, subject to the final design and technical requirements,” he said, noting its potential to become one of northern Sarawak’s most important tourism products.

“With the Visit Malaysia 2026–2027 campaign, the reopening of the Great Cave comes at an important time,” he said.

Chiew expressed appreciation to Sarawak Forestry Corporation, the Sarawak government, Sarawak Museum, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak and other agencies involved in the restoration and reopening works. — The Borneo Post

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尼亚国家公园的大洞穴在 2025 年因严重洪水损坏了原有的步道后，重新开放，并修建了一条新的 600 米长的通道。

美里国会议员兼旅游、艺术及文化部副部长周春文强调了这一发展对促进可持续遗产旅游的重要意义。

这条新步道为游客提供了欣赏风景的全新视角，并且是将于 2024 年被列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录的考古遗址的一部分。

Chiew强调了进一步基础设施投资的必要性，包括恢复通往彩绘洞的通道，并肯定了修复工作背后的合作努力。

美里，10 月 5 日讯——尼亚国家公园的大洞穴已重新开放，一条新的通道让游客可以欣赏到石灰岩和热带雨林景观的全新视角。

美里国会议员兼旅游、艺术及文化部副部长邱俊文表示，重新开放标志着尼亚岛在加强其作为可持续遗产旅游目的地方面迈出了重要一步。

2025 年，严重的洪水损坏了原有的步道，因此修建了新的路线，以便重新规划 Traders' Cave 和 Great Cave 之间的通道。

Chiew表示，这条600米长的步道也意外地吸引了游客。

“我亲自走过这条路线，我认为它意外地创造了另一个本身就具有吸引力的景点。”

他在一份新闻稿中表示：“游客们可以从全新的视角欣赏周围的石灰岩山脉、雨林和山地景观，包括以前不常见的开阔风景。”

他表示，此次重新开放意义尤为重大，因为大洞穴是尼亚国家公园洞穴群考古遗产的一部分，该洞穴群将于 2024 年被列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录。

Chiew表示，尼亚汇集了数万年的人类历史、考古发现、土著文化传统、热带雨林生物多样性和壮丽的石灰岩景观。

他强调，对公园基础设施的投入应该被视为对可持续旅游业和遗产保护的长期投资。

Chiew表示，下一个优先事项是恢复通往彩绘洞的通道，由于土壤侵蚀影响了部分步道，彩绘洞仍然关闭。

他表示，在确定安全永久的解决方案之前，需要进行技术、工程和遗产影响评估。

他表示，一个更长远的选择是从新步道向彩绘洞穴延伸一条支路，有可能形成一条连接商人洞穴、大洞穴和彩绘洞穴的环形路线。

“初步估计，这项扩建工程的费用在200万至300万令吉之间，具体费用取决于最终的设计和技术要求，”他说道，并指出该项目有可能成为砂拉越北部最重要的旅游产品之一。

他说：“随着2026-2027马来西亚旅游年活动的开展，大洞穴的重新开放正值重要时刻。”

丘先生对砂拉越林业公司、砂拉越州政府、砂拉越博物馆、砂拉越旅游、艺术及文化部以及其他参与修复和重新开放工作的机构表示感谢。——《婆罗洲邮报》

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