Gua Tempurung which literal translation means “Coconut Shell Cave” is a limestone cave located in the outskirts of Gopeng town, in the state of Perak, Malaysia and its just about 25 kilometers south of Ipoh city, the capital of Perak.  

Gua Tempurung is reportedly 10,000 years old and was formed over the years through the erosion of limestone of Gunung Tempurung (Tempurung Mountain). This cave also has quite a colourful history of being used as a hide out by the communists during the 1950’s to 1960’s . As there were no proper access into the cave until recent years, this cave was only known to the nearby locals and the adventurous caving community. It has since been rapidly gaining popularity among caving enthusiasts and adventure seekers. Today, Gua Tempurung is easily accessible via the North South Expressway, a highway which runs from the north to the south of peninsular Malaysia or via the Federal Route 1.
 
Although I have made numerous trips from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh, I have only admired Gunung Tempurung from the highway as this is one of the most scenic spots on the highway as you drive from the south to Ipoh.   As I was again in Ipoh recently, I decided on the spur of the moment to visit Gua Tempurung.

There was a heavy downpour as I was driving along the Federal Route 1 from Ipoh heading towards Gopeng.   It must have been my lucky day as the rain stopped and the skies cleared as I reached Gopeng town.  The cave is only five kilometers from the town.  The drive after the town was very pleasant, passing typical Malay style houses on stilts, not gated nor guarded but surrounded by various types of fruit trees.

As I turned into the road leading to Gunung Tempurung,  I could feel a sense of peace and tranquility permeating the atmosphere.  Right ahead, Gunung Tempurung was shrouded in mist and the clouds lazily floating by.  There were no cars on the road, the air has been cleansed by the rain and there were lush greenery everywhere.  This is one of those moments that we must “stop and smell the roses”.  The spell was only broken by a herd of cows.

When I turned into the car park, there were only about a dozen other cars and 1 tour bus in the parking lot.  Tours into the cave can be bought at the entrance and visitors are accompanied by a guide.  There are 4 types of tours, ranging from the easy walking tour called the Golden Flow ( 40 minutes )  to the more challenging one called The Grand Tour ( 3.5 hours) which would involve exploring part of the cave via the river system that flows through the cave. As I was not prepared for any adventure,  I  took Tour 1, the easy walking tour just to see what is in store.

The guide ushered us into the cave through a walkway canopied by bamboo plants.  As we neared the entrance we could hear the gushing sound of the river flowing out from the cave. We were informed that the cave system covers the entire length of Gunung Tempurung and is about 4 kilometers long.  For our part of the tour, proper walkways and platforms have been constructed  to allow visitors the best vantage points to view the cave’s formation.  The walkways also allow visitors to cross the river without getting wet.

The cave was dimly lighted and the guide had a torch to point out some of the formations of animal images on the walls  to us.  As we ventured deeper into the cave, we had to climb some very steep stairways to get onto the platforms so that we can view the huge chambers.  These platforms offers the best positions to view some of the most impressive stalagmites and stalactites as well as other rock formations.  Some of these stalagmites and stalactites have fused to form columns, as if to support the roof.  The rock formations hanging from the walls looked like the head of a dinosaur and another one looked like an orang-utan.  Somewhere else I also saw corals and jellyfish suspended from the ceiling. In the dim lighting and after climbing up stairs of what seems to me like 7 storey high, a lot of images can be conjured up!