Mount Mulu
Encyclopedia
Mount Mulu is a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...

 mountain. At 2376 m, it is the second highest mountain in the state of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, after Mount Murud
Mount Murud
Mount Murud or Muru is a sandstone mountain located in the Malaysian part of Borneo. At 2,423 m , it is the highest mountain in the state of Sarawak....

. It is located within the boundaries of Gunung Mulu National Park
Gunung Mulu National Park
Gunung Mulu National Park near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting...

, which is named after it.

The Mulu Park provides for guided hikes up the mountain. The usual schedule is a 4D/3N hike. There are forest huts along the route at Camp 1, Camp 3 and Camp 4 (there is no Camp 2). These forest huts provide shelter, cooking facilities (stove, cooking utensils, cutlery), toilets, and water (collected rainwater).

The elevation and distance of the camps from Mulu Park HQ are approximately:
  • Camp 1: 200 m asl, 5.5 km
  • Camp 3: 1300 m asl, 12 km
  • Camp 4: 1800 m asl, 18.5 km


Each of the camps is near a helipad for emergency evacuations and also for supplies.

The trail to Mount Mulu is clear and well-marked with red and white markers, and goes through a variety of ecosystems, from lowland dipterocarp forest to montane vegetations. The mountain is notable for its pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...

 diversity. Five species have been recorded from Mount Mulu: Nepenthes hurrelliana
Nepenthes hurrelliana
Nepenthes hurrelliana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo, where it has been recorded from northern Sarawak, southwestern Sabah, and Brunei. It is of putative hybrid origin; its two original parent species are thought to be N. fusca and N. veitchii...

, Nepenthes lowii
Nepenthes lowii
Nepenthes lowii , or Low's Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is named after Hugh Low, who discovered it on Mount Kinabalu...

, Nepenthes muluensis
Nepenthes muluensis
Nepenthes muluensis , or the Mulu Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It grows in highland habitats at elevations of 1700 to 2400 m above sea level.-Botanical history:...

, Nepenthes tentaculata
Nepenthes tentaculata
Nepenthes tentaculata , or the Fringed Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant with a very wide distribution across Borneo and Sulawesi...

, and Nepenthes vogelii
Nepenthes vogelii
Nepenthes vogelii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is thought to be most closely related to N. fusca.-Botanical history:...

.
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