Lagang Cave

Simon's Cave - Lagang's Cave - Fastlane - Racer Cave


Useful Information

Location: Gunung Mulu National Park, island of Borneo, Sarawak. 15 min longboat ride from the National Park office.
(4.050518, 114.823741)
Open: Fastlane: All year daily 14.
Racer Cave: All year daily by appointment.
Lagang Cave: All year daily by appointment.
[2021]
Fee: Fastlane: Per Person MYR 65.
Racer Cave: Per Person MYR 165.
Lagang Cave: Per Person MYR 160.
[2021]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: partly electrically lit, bring torch
Dimension: L=3,900 m.
Guided tours: Fastlane: D=2.5 h, Max=12.
Racer Cave: Max=3, MinAge=12.
Lagang Cave: Max=3, MinAge=12.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: Gunung Mulu National Park, Borsarmulu Park Management Sdn Bhd, No 11, Pekan Mulu, Mulu, 98070, Sarawak, Tel: +6085-792-600/601/602/603, Fax: +6085-792-605. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1984 cave discovered by Simon Lagang.

Description

Lagang Cave is named after the caver Simon Lagang. Currently it is one of the smallest caves in the park, only four kilometer long, but there is the idea that it is connected to the Clearwater. Research is still in progress. The cave is reached by a short boat ride up the Melinau, a 10-20 minute walk through the rainforest and a climb up the steps to the cave entrance. Sturdy walking shoes and a torch are necessary for all tours, we recommend a helmet with headlight.

The cave is used as a show cave, the youngest show cave of the park. It was developed with an elevated wooden plank walk with railings and electric light. But it seems the management decided to use it as a no-light cave instead, so the light is turned off except for some special locations. The show cave tour, which is suitable for anyone, is called Fastlane or Fastlane Cave. It is much less frequented than the other show caves and the tour is rather short. A short ride on the river, a short walk through the jungle, and a short cave tour. The number of participants per tour is restricted, though it seems there are discrepancies about the exact number. Most sources say 12, but the official website say 6, so we guess they lately reduced the number.

Nevertheless the tour is quite interesting and the cave shows some of the most beautiful speleothems of the park. Really special are the so called shower heads, circular stalagmites which formed around a hole in the ceiling. Unlike normal stalagmites they have this huge hole in the middle where during the rain season enormous amounts of water flow. So it does not only look like a shower head, it also works like one. Obviously they could be seen in any cave, but as the groups are rather small, there is much time and freedom to observe interesting stuff. The cave also has snakes, bats, birds, and insects of exceptional size. The non-poisonous racer snakes sit waiting to catch a bat flying by. White crabs (Cerberusa caeca) in the shallow pools of water are true troglobionts, like the cave crickets with their long antennae. The cave animals can only be observed as there is no electric light.

For visitors which are interest to do cave trekking, there are two tours offered in this cave. The first is called Racer Cave (named after the racer sbakes) and includes climbing and even pulling oneself up on rope over a 2 m high ledge. The say "this cave requires some upper body strength", which was criticised by some visitors. Definitely a worthwhile tour but physical fitness and equipment are necessary. The other is simply called Lagang Cave and does not include climbing. Nevertheless it is necessary to to walk on uneven ground and rocks, stoop and crawl. If you see online reviews for one of those tours, be aware that they are all in the same cave and many visitors mix up the tours. As a result its hard to determine which of the three tours is actually reviewed.