2 Best Sights in Malaysia

These limestone caverns are Sabah's best known source of swiftlet nests, used to make bird's nest soup, Chinese medicines, and other luxury products. The caves are filled with rickety rattan and bamboo scaffolding that villagers use to harvest nests from crevices on cave roofs and walls. Mainly composed of congealed saliva, the most coveted white nests can fetch upwards of US$250 per pound. The dense forest around the caves is full of wildlife and walking trails. Venturing into the caves themselves means wading through bird droppings thick with insects in the dark. The caves are about 2½ hours from Sandakan and are included in some local tours.

Thick rain forest covers this gorgeous 12-square-mile park, where caves thought to have been inhabited 40,000 years ago are accessed via a short boat ride (0.50 ringgit). Alight from the boat onto a boardwalk that runs between the caves: the Great Cave, at 820 feet wide, is one of the largest caves in the world; the Painted Cave is filled with ancient rock paintings; and the Traders’ Cave is where bird nests were historically collected for soup—and sadly, they still are, though the practice has been decreasing. The park is about a two-hour drive from the Bintulu pier.