Wind Cave

Wind Cave is within easy reach of Kuching and is a popular day trip and picnic destination. The Wind Cave Nature Reserve covers 6.16 hectares and includes the cave itself and the surrounding forest. The Wind Cave is a dramatic contrast consisting of multiple river passages through the rock leading to an entrance on the far side of the hill overlooking the Sarawak River.

Wind Cave’s has been gazetted as a nature reserve not just to protect the cave and its inhabitants, but also to conserve a number or rare species in the surrounding limestone forest. Squirrels, shrews and a variety of birds can be found along the river and the limestone hill. Black Nest Swiftlets can be seen and heard inside the cave, as well as 14 species of bat. Twelve distinct species of snail have also evolved in the caves and the covering hill, each unique to its own limestone habitat. Throughout the length of the cave, the high-pitched squeaking of thousands of bats can be heard, including a number of insect-eating species, as well as a large population of Dusky Fruit Bats. There are also thousands of Black Nest Swiftlets nesting in the cave, and their nests, made almost entirely from the Swiftlets’ glutinous saliva, can be seen adhering to the nooks and crannies of the upper cave wall.

The Wind Cave’s main features include stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars which form when these two join together. Other features include conical cavities separated by blade-like pinnacles of limestone, limestone pendants hanging from the roof of the cave passage, and current scallops which have a honeycomb appearance and indicate the direction of the water flow.

At the end of the cave passage, the plankwalk emerges onto the hillside and a path leads down to the bank of the Sungai Sarawak Kanan, one of the two major tributaries of the Sarawak River. There is a narrow sandy beach along the river bank, with public changing rooms, so this is the perfect place to swim and cool off after visiting the cave. There is also a picnic area and some stalls selling snacks and drinks.