Gunung Mulu National Park is a UESCO World Heritage Site near the city of Miri in Sarawak. It has no direct road links with the outside world. To get there by land, one has to travel by road and boat plus some trekking included. Unless you have lots of time on your hand, vast majority will choose the more direct way of getting there – by plane.
MASWings operates 14 flights from Miri, 7 flights from Kuching and 7 flights from Kota Kinabalu to Mulu weekly. We chose to fly from Miri to Mulu, which is a 30 mins flight. If you have not heard of MASWings, it is not surprising. It is a subsidiary of Malaysian Airline solely operating Rural Air Services in East Malaysia.
Boarding the Flight from Miri
If you are travelling to Mulu from Miri airport, check in to your MASwings flight at their counters located at far end of the building on ground floor. Not prominently located so we made a mistake thinking that it was after airport security at 2nd storey. Embarrassing mistake as we were turned back by airport security. We should have known better but well….
After checking in and clearing airport security, all passengers taking different flights will have to wait in a departure hall. When the flights are ready for boarding, an airport staff will make the announcement and passengers taking the flight can then proceed out the glass doors to the gates. The departure hall has 3 shops; a souvenir shop, a ‘Famous Amos’ cookie shop and a Coffee Bean outlet where you can sip coffee while waiting for boarding.
Boarding and alighting is at the rear of the aircraft. As we were boarding, they were loading our luggage and food stuff, some of which we were likely to see on our dining plates over the next few days. Food stuff to Mulu are mostly, if not all, air freight.
The flights
On board one of their ATR72-500 aircraft bound for Mulu from Miri. The interior of the aircraft looked aged and tired. There are 3 rows of ‘business class’ seats though the leg room and seats look no different from our economy ones. Well, the only advantage I can see for a 30 min journey is that they can board and alight faster.
We chose to sit in rows 3 and 4 for both our journeys. For our flights, the aircraft was around one third occupied so we all had lots of space and legroom. The remaining passengers largely chose to sit near the rear, since that is where the exit door is for faster boarding and alighting. I was seated next to the propeller so this was the kind of view I had throughout the journey. Looking out of the window, it was mostly views of dense forests with meandering rivers of varying widths.
For such a short flight, inflight magazine and refreshments are still provided. From Miri to Mulu, we each received a packet of Milo chocolate malt drink and a cookie. On the return leg, we got only the packet drink.
Mulu Airport
The simple but functional Mulu Airport where energy use within the terminal building is at a minimal and most work are still done manually. Makes great sense though since the terminal building handles at most 4 flights a day.
If you are taking a flight from Mulu, remember to check in early. The system there is linked to the main one in Kuala Lumpur, so check-in counters closes 30 mins before the flight. The locals told us since they can hear the sound of planes clearly, they would check in and then go home first, before heading to airport again upon hearing the plane approaching.
With limited number of flights per day, Gunung Mulu National Park and hotel staff are always at the airport when the planes arrive. So there is no need to inform them of your flight time. Just gather outside the arrival hall for the transport. A one-way trip to the National Park cost RM5 per person.
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Read more about our trip to Mulu and our itinerary in Borneo – Mulu / Brunei Itinerary 2018 .
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