Top Things to do in Miri
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What to do and see in Miri, Malaysia: The Best Places and Tips
Miri is a terrific base for exploring Borneo’s spectacular rainforests and alpine meadows. Here you’ll find four National Parks, each with its own distinct drawing power: Gunung Mulu is teeming with caves and limestone formations; Niah was the discovery site of prehistoric human remains; Lambir Hills features stunning waterfalls and wildlife; and Loagan Bunut is ideal for hiking and birdwatching.
Restaurants in Miri
1. Mulu Caves
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 207 reviews
Reviewed By Franc C - Portumna, Ireland
The trails and the wildlife spotting opportunities in Mulu are pretty good, but it's the caves you really come here for!
I couldn't recommend the advanced adventure caving tours here highly enough, but you won't be allowed to do them unless you have booked in advance and have some previous adventure caving experience... or are willing to do one of the parks intermediate adventure caving tours such as Racer or Stonehorse Cave on your first days at the park so the guide can assess your ability or lack thereof. Some visitors will not have the agility and fitness level required to participate in an advanced caving tour.
My favourite tour was the advanced Clearwater Connection tour. This 5km underground tour will take approximately 5-6hrs and involves tight squeeze's, traversing ledges and drops through two connecting caves (the stunning Cave of the Winds and the awesome Clearwater Cave). For the final 1.5km you can choose to either walk alongside the underground Clearwater river or allow yourself to be carried downstream by the flow of its shallow waters.
The Garden of Eden tour would be my second favourite. It's a full day 5-6hour 12km trek. It's a stunning walk and you get to see more of Deer Cave than you would on the standard show walk as you go all the way through the cave, wading through chest deep water at one point (see photo). The tour is vulnerable to cancellation by the guides in wet weather because of this river crossing. At the end of the tour you visit Lang cave, which is nice but underwhelming by the cave standards in Borneo. Then you have the choice to hang around for the bat exodus or head back to the park headquarters.
Tip: bring a spare torch, not just for the caves but also for the Night trail loop. As this is one of the shorter trails in the park you don’t need a guide to hike it. I seen more wildlife on this loop after dark than on any of the other trails in the park.
2. The Pinnacles Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 120 reviews
Reviewed By Michelle J - Irvine, California
I just returned from Borneo and after
climbing Mt Kinabalu my husband and I headed over to Mulu from our base in Kota Kinabalu. We booked the Show Cave and Pinnacle climb through Amazing Borneo and they did a fantastic job. Compared to other groups and guides we saw on our visit I would definitely use Amazing Borneo again. Our guide (Jason Lau email: [email protected])was outstanding and definitely gave us great briefings as well as great guiding and he also cooked for us all our meals at Base Camp 5, got us back to park hq in plenty of time to catch our flight and stopped off to print off our boarding passes on the way back. He also took excellent care of the forest trails and used his machete to clear fallen branches etc. Mr. Lau cares very much for the environment and he is an excellent steward of the park and all its resources.
Now for those of you considering the Pinnacle climb here is some information:
1. The longboat ride from Clearwater Cave point is 45 minutes unless you decide to come during the dry season then it will take you 1.5 hours as you will have to exit the boat several times due to low water levels.
2. From the longboat exit it says the trek to base camp 5 is 9km but I suspected it was farther and my gps watch said it was 5.65 miles (so over 10k). The walk is flat through the forest on a well marked trail. When you reach the 2nd suspension bridge you are halfway there. We were told to wear leech socks which we did but never saw leeches.
3. Base Camp 5 is actually a nice camp next to the river with buildings for sleeping with mats, blankets and mosquito nets(last two items we rented for 2 nights for 80 ringgit from the camp). There is a large indoor kitchen facility and outdoor covered eating area and bathrooms with showers. They also provide drinking water. There is no cell coverage there and we did not need a power source but a British Cave group was there and they did have laptops and power was provided to them so you may be able to get that for a fee.
There are also a lot of bees who are attracted to the salt in your sweat so you need to rinse out and change your clothes or the bees will be attracted to you(there are clothes lines to hang clothes).
4. Pinnacles is a 2.4km trek up to a viewpoint where you see the Pinnacles. You will not be able to get to touch the Pinnacles themselves it is simply a viewpoint. The trek is challenging because it is steep and it’s tree covered but humid. Your guide will tell you how much water to bring and let you know how much farther to go. Mr. Lau told me I completed the climb up and down in the fastest time of anyone he has guided(he takes 3 trips/week in high season and once a week rest of time). You may need more time so don’t feel you need to rush as fast as you can. Just go your own speed. My guide made me a pack lunch and we spent an hour at the top. They said there were 17 ladders but I thought that part was fairly easy and fun. I had a headlamp and gloves but I did not need either of them. I wore my ASICS workout shoes but it would have been better with some lightweight hiking shoes. I was told NOT to bring any rain gear because of the steepness of the trail it could interfere with my footing. Same thing applies if you want to use trekking poles (they won’t help you anyway this is more of a quad/calf workout).the view is worth it but I did wish I could get closer to the Pinnacles themselves.
5. There is also a 4km round trip hike to a gorge if you decide Pinnacles is not for you.
6. You hike back out the way you came in. The boat is normally there to pick you up at 930am but it was there early so we left at 915. Keep your eyes open on the way out we saw a huge peacock just walking on the trail and other birds and insects.
7. We got back to the park and our guide got us into the hostel to use their showers and we got lunch at the cafe (incl in our pkg) and toured the discovery center(well worth visiting). We easily made our 230 flight but we could have made a1230 flight(which we had but Malaysia Air changed the time).
We will definitely be back next year to do the Mulu Summit hike (24 km) and we will definitely be hiring Jason Lau again.
3. Niah Caves
Overall Ratings
4 based on 288 reviews
Reviewed By man0haran - Auckland, New Zealand
Massive, dark and spooky! This exactly summarizes Niah cave. The cave has a lot of bats, wetas, and I swear ghosts.
Pleasant board walk through tropical forest to Trader's cave. Watch the myriad of butterflies and dragon flies all along. There is the painted cave when you get out of the Niah cave. But this is no comparison to the Niah cave. The painting in the painted cave have become quite faint and hard to pick without the information boards.
Caution: Niah cave is pitch dark in most places, you need a good headlamp. If you don't have one, you may be able to hire one at the entrance to the park (not to the cave).
4. Lambir Hills National Park
Overall Ratings
4 based on 136 reviews
Reviewed By Spagetti68 - Leeds, United Kingdom
A short bus ride from Miri (get any bus going to Bintulu from the main bus terminal, 10RM) the Lambir Hills park provides plenty of unguided (hurray!) walks through pleasant rainforest. There are several Waterfalls dotted around, the biggest of which has a 15 odd metre pool that is good for a proper swim, whilst the others are more dip affairs. The furthest peak apparently takes 5 hours to walk to despite the 7km distance and the warden pointed to a display of extremely cheeky looking rescued tourists in various navigational gaffs throughout the years. We walked up the nearer hill, which provided pleasant views of the forest and a nice Seating area. Take supplies or a packed lunch as the only food is crisps or eating in the canteen back at HQ. We saw one macaque near one of the lodges and I thought I heard a gibbon, but kinabatangan this is not.
5. Niah National Park
Overall Ratings
4 based on 95 reviews
Reviewed By Christabel90 - London, United Kingdom
Niah is not as pretty as Mulu, neither is it as well maintained. However, Niah cave was inhibited by people in the early ages and this is evident through the drawings on the wall of the painting cave. Sadly these drawings are fading from light exposure so there is now a fencing to protect the drawings as well.
Although the park is not as well-maintained, I think that the painting caves are worth the visit.
Bring a head lamp or torch as some of the places can be really dark! The paths can be slippery if it has rained as well so be careful and wear good shoes.
6. Tusan Cliff Beach
Overall Ratings
4 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By Nurul A
Lots of people on weekend. It's a bit dangerous to go down the cliff to reach the beach. No proper stairs/railing. Have to be very careful. Not suitable for toddlers and elderly. Tasteless coconut ice cream, just buy for the nice writing of cup said "Tusan". There's a better place nearby for sunset view, unknown to many, not easily reach if no local friend to guide you. When we were there, there's no one around, expect one or two villagers. It's 15 minutes drive from this place.
7. Canada Hill
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 217 reviews
Reviewed By KLworker - Kuala Lumpur
Visited this place with a friend to see the first oil well in Miri and visited the museum opposite. The Shell museum is very tired, rundown and neglected with lots of the interactive exhibits broken and malfunctioned. I guess that the kids have wrecked everything but there really needs to be some maintenance in this place. Good views looking over Miri town.
8. Miri City Fan
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 83 reviews
Reviewed By Itravel0ne - Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Interesting park that is divided culturally with the architect and food served. We were here as the park celebrating the Miri exhibition and food festival. Naturally lots of food stalls and interesting food served. Lava ice cream, charcoal ice cream, smelly tofu, BBQ chicken, and many many more. Also witnessed the karaoke competition. I believe this is a good park to take the family out and spend time stroll around.
9. Luak Esplanade
Overall Ratings
4 based on 27 reviews
Reviewed By Joe K
Clean beach(somewhat), ample parking and lots of stalls. About 15 mins drive by car from Miri town. If scenery is more your thing, then head over to tanjong beach instead.
10. Tusan Beach
Overall Ratings
4 based on 16 reviews
Reviewed By Christabel90 - London, United Kingdom
The beach is very beautiful and there are many scenic spots for photos. Do be careful in trying to get down to the beach though as it is almost like just clambering down a partly fallen cliff!
There are also a lot of sandflies so be ready with your insect repellant and reapply after your splash in the sea!
