This is the entrance to the Gua Bama walkway

On the way to Lake Kenyir, we decided to stop and have a look at Bama Cave (Gua Bama). This cave is located along the trunk road at Kampung Relong, Kuala Lipis. There are road signs to direct you to the cave.

It was obvious to us that the cave, though has been designated as a tourist attraction have been left unattended for month if not years. From the car park, we started climbing a flight of cemented steps. The steps were covered in slippery moss, a sign that people have not been walking on it for some time.

Cemented steps around the hill

The first cave entrance came to sight just around the first flight of steps. And what a sorry sight the cave is. Graffiti all over the cave in all sort of colored paint. I assume my fellow Malaysians are responsible for this. I cannot imagine the kind of immaturity and plain ‘brainless’ lot would do such a thing.

Many of the caves are vandalized and un-kept

I was ready to turn back but John was already halfway up to the peak. He has the car keys so I guess I have no choice but to follow him. The climb up the steps is rather steep and being left abandoned, its best to walk up slowly.

Halfway to the top of the steps, hanging above us was a rope ladder. Obviously it has been abandoned and rotting from the weather. Its about 6 meters above us our heads and I wonder how safe it was during its operational years to actually climb up or down that ladder.

So high and so flimsy looking…good thing it has been left unused

Over the peak and down the bottom over the other side, John and I came to this huge cave with very strong guano stench. It is a much bigger cave with a cavern inside. Perhaps this is the Bama Cave. Its pitched dark in that cave and taking photo was next to impossible.

This is the best picture I can get…long exposure

Well, nice cave but unfortunately the place is again vandalized. There’s a huge campfire right in the middle of the cave and graffiti everywhere. Yet again a classic example of how a nice nature attraction in Malaysia gets ruined by selfish human.

Well, that’s the down side. The good thing is that this cave area I still very much intact in terms of its natural surrounding. The fact that the cave stinks with Guano is a good indication that the place is still ecologically sound. We even found a dead insect bat on the ground.

Bats are good ecological indicators

We saw loads of wild boar tracks (not surprising since the area is mostly Muslim Malays). The huge tree roots were amazing. They looked like giant octopus tentacles wrapping around a giant rock face.

The giant roots dwarfs John

Other interesting things I saw at Gua Bama includes insects and a palm tree with loads of fibers that would make great tinder in fire making.

A Cikada resting on a tree trunk

These would make excellent fire tinder

All in all, the caves at Bama is a real turnoff, no thanks to us humans. Probably the fact that the caves and the surrounding area has been left abandoned is due to the vandalism. Who would want to see caves filled with paint. But then again, the lack of human visits there may prove to be a blessing for the flora and fauna there, if only we look close enough.