Gunung Gading National Park a 4,106 hectares park located in the Lundu district of Kuching, some two hours drive from Kuching City. The park is home to a range of animals including civet cats, wild boar, small deer, porcupines, monkeys and giant squirrels.
The national park is famed as the blooming place of the world’s largest flower, the Rafflesia, and is one of the major trekking destinations in Kuching. It is also worth to note that you need to get in touch with the park management to schedule the best time to see the flower bloom as it can be seasonal.
Being a national park, the place is filled with amazing flora and founa and it includes four mountain peaks – Gunung Gading, Gunung Perigi, Gunung Sebuloh and Gunung Lundu. This mountainous geography makes it a perfect place for hiking and trekking, but this also means that most of the jungle treks involve a significant amount of hill walking and a reasonable level of fitness is required.
The summit treks are for serious hikers and they can be done in a day with 7-8 hours of hiking.
Gunung Gading also houses an elegant waterfall halfway though it’s hiking route and makes for a perfect place to relax and enjoy what nature has to offer.
Entrance fee is RM10 per adult for Sarawakians, and non Sarawakians would have to pay RM20.
GETTING TO GUNUNG GADING NATIONAL PARK
You can only reach Gunung Gading National Park by land, and that either by chartering a ride from local tours, or driving up by renting a car in Kuching.
Roads leading to the national park are tar sealed and tolerable, and there’s two main ways to get to the park if you are from the outside of Lundu District; One using the Bau-Lundu road, and another going through the Matang-Lundu route.
The Bau-Lundu road passes by several villages and is considered the more frequently used, compared to the Matang-Lundu route which is new, is connected by ferry, and can seem rather quiet. Both routes share similar travel time if you are coming from Kuching City, but traffic may slow your journey if you were to use the Bau-Lundu route.
STAYING IN LUNDU
The Gunung Gading National Park does offer chalets and hostel rooms for rent, but their numbers are limited. The national park is also quite a distance from the nearest town so moving around can be rather difficult, unless of course you have your own transportation. Lundu town itself is some 15 minutes drive by car from the national park.
Most visitors who come to Gunung Gading National Park either opt for a day visit, or stay overnight at other accommodations in Lundu town such as the Union Retreat Centre, Lundu. Day-trip visitors will likely end up staying in Kuching which is highly recommended as there’s more things to do and see in the city after your travel to Lundu.
MORE ABOUT LUNDU
Lundu District is located at the northern side of Sarawak and is generally inhabited by the Selakaus and Malays. Lundu town is a sleepy up-country town comprising of a few rows of shophouses, a small market, and government buildings with a newly built waterfront.
Lundu is also a coastal town and is nearby the sea with several attractive beaches, namely Siar and Pandan being the most famous, especially among surfers.
Seafood is a popular dish in Lundu as they are cheap, but unfortunately eateries selling such dishes can be hard to find as they are scattered and may not be seen from the roads.
