Gua Tempurung

Gua Tempurung runs for over a kilometre through a limestone ridge south of Ipoh, and a river still flows along the bottom of it. Four tours are sold at the entrance. The shortest is a lit concrete walkway to the first chamber and back, doable in trainers by almost anyone. The longest sends you down into the river passage in a helmet and headlamp to wade, crawl and squeeze through low sections in cold water for three hours or more. Two intermediate options sit between them. The formations in the upper chambers are large and floodlit, and guides point out the tin-mining history of the ridge in passing.

What you actually see

• The lit upper chambers - large stalactite formations along the concrete walkway route.
• The river passage - the underground stream waded and crawled on the longer tours.
• The squeeze sections - low crawls taken on hands and knees in water.
• The viewing platforms - metal staircases climbing high into the main chamber.

When to go

Open daily, and the longest tours have to start early enough to finish before closing, so arrive in the morning if you want the full route. Avoid periods of heavy rain: water levels in the river passage rise and the wet tours are suspended without notice. Weekends bring school and corporate groups, which slows every route down.

Honest expectations

The full tour is genuinely tight and wet, not a stroll with a torch, and anyone uneasy in confined spaces should take a shorter option rather than turn back halfway. You will get soaked and muddy, and changing facilities are minimal. The lit section is heavily concreted with coloured lighting. Guides are compulsory on the wet routes and group sizes can be large.

Nearby

Gopeng has white-water rafting on the Kampar river; Ipoh is half an hour north.