Kelam Cave

Gua Kelam — the cave of darkness — is a limestone passage roughly 370 metres long, and the unusual thing about it is that you walk straight through: you enter at one end, in Kaki Bukit, and come out somewhere else entirely, in the Wang Tangga valley on the far side.

The route in is a suspended wooden walkway about eight feet wide, strung through the cave above an underground stream. That walkway is a legacy of the tin trade, not a tourist installation. Rusted trolley tracks still run along the floor, and charcoal inscriptions left by Chinese miners are still legible on the limestone.

The cave sits inside the 2,000-hectare Wang Mu forest reserve, about 33km north of Kangar and a few hundred metres from Kaki Bukit town. Entry is a couple of ringgit. Helmets are handed out and worth wearing — the ceiling dips low in places — and the walkway stays damp, so shoes with grip are a better idea than flip-flops.

One local warning worth repeating: there are macaques around the entrance. Do not feed them, and do not walk in holding food.

Sources: Explore Perlis — Gua Kelam, Malaysia Traveller — Gua Kelam Recreational Park