Tusan Beach

Tusan is a stretch of cliff and beach on the Sarawak coast south of Miri, and its landmark is an arch eroded out of the sandstone headland that from the right angle reads as a horse with its head down drinking from the sea - the Horse-Head Cliff, which is what everyone photographs and which is steadily eroding, having already changed shape and lost part of the arch. The other thing here is the blue tears: bioluminescent dinoflagellates that flash when disturbed, so on dark nights in the right conditions the breaking surf and every footstep in the wet sand glow blue. It is not reliable - it depends on plankton bloom, moon, tide and season, with the best reports around the middle of the year - and a great many people drive out and see nothing. The cliff top and the descent are unlit and unfenced.

What's there

• The horse-head arch - sandstone eroded into a drinking horse, and still eroding.
• Blue tears in the surf - bioluminescent plankton flashing when disturbed.
• A cliff and beach coast - sandstone headlands south of Miri.
• Unlit and unfenced ground - the cliff top and the way down to the sand.

When to go

February to October; dark moonless nights for the plankton. Half a day.

Good to know

The blue glow is unpredictable and most visits do not see it - do not travel for it alone. The cliff and descent are unlit, unfenced and dangerous at night. The arch is eroding and has already changed.

Nearby

Miri is north; Niah National Park is south.