| The Kelabit Connection |
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The Kelabit Highlands is largely a flat plateau, located in the North-eastern corner of Sarawak, close to its border with Kalimantan. Lying at an average altitude of between 1000 to 1100 metres above sea level, it is almost entirely surrounded by jungle-covered mountain peaks rising to more than 2,400 metres. |
| The weather is extremely pleasant and almost temperate, despite being located in the tropics. Average temperatures range from 16 to 25 degrees Centigrade, and as low as 11 C on some nights. A branch of the Orang Ulu, the Kelabits live in a series of longhouses widely dispersed throughout the plateau. |  |
Renowned for their exquisite courtesy and friendliness, these hospitable people really enjoy receiving strangers into their homes. Some longhouses are accessible only after marathon hikes through undisturbed jungle, the distances in between these longhouses usually being given in the Kelabit fashion. When they say a longhouse is "eight hours away", what they really mean is that it will be a tough eight-hour hike just to reach that longhouse - mostly along narrow jungle trails, up and down hills, across numerous streams and rivers with just a log or a few bamboo stems as bridges. The times given are based on how long an average Kelabit would take for the journey, carrying a backpack weighing 20 to 30 kgs. Non-Kelabits, and those unaccustomed to long and strenuous hikes, can safely expect to take quite a lot longer to complete the same journey!
 | The old grass airstrip at Bario, built in 1963, is the main gateway to the Kelabit Highlands. In fact, it is the only way in. Unless you fancy a seven to ten-day hike through the jungle from Marudi! Definitely not to be recommended, take my word on it! There is one more airstrip - at Ba Kelalan, a four day trek away. |
| The small settlement of Bario, made up of several widely dispersed longhouses and set amidst a sprawl of green padi fields, has a simple guest house and a few cafes serving drinks and snacks. Malaysian Airlines Rural Air Service operates a daily flight from Sunday to Friday (no flight on Saturdays) from Miri via Marudi on small Twin Otter aircraft with a maximum capacity of nineteen passengers. |  |
In the past, the flights were often cancelled during the wet season, and the journey often became an adventure all by itself. Things improved in 1997 when a new all-weather airstrip was opened. However, travellers would be wise to book well in advance, especially during the school holidays. The flight times are:
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© Pun Ritai
(Updated on 14th April 1998)