Caves with a tin mining past

VISITORS to Perlis will have a new tourist destination to head for when work on additional facilities in the 3.6km Gua Kelam 2 in Kaki Bukit is completed next year. 

The RM9 million project funded by the Tourism Ministry has three phases.  

Phases 1, 2 and 3A have been completed. The first two phases are buildings housing a ticketing counter, food court, visual room, a souvenir shop, a business centre and an exhibition gallery. Phases 3A and 3B are show caves. 

Unlike Gua Kelam 1 where visitors have to walk along a 370m long wooden passageway, visitors seeking to enter Gua Kelam 2 would have to take a 15-minute ride in a trolley train. They then continue their journey on foot along a 2km long concrete walkway for another hour, and exit at Gua Kelam 1. 

Perlis State Forestry Department director Kasim Osman said Gua Kelam 2, believed to be the longest survey cave in Peninsular Malaysia, would be managed by the department and they hoped to open part of it for viewing, probably in March. 

“Visitors can then see artefacts such as old pipes, places where the tin miners slept, how rocks were arranged by the miners after the cave was dug for mining purposes in the 1800s and Chinese characters inscribed on the cave walls. 

“The train, with five trolleys, can easily accommodate about 20 people per trip. It will stop for visitors to observe the geological aspects of the cave,” he said during an interview recently. 

Kasim said the concrete walkway under Phase 3B was likely to be completed before the end of next year. The cave is part of the Perlis State Park. 

He said in the past, tin mining was conducted in the Kelam caves, unlike in Perak and Selangor where mining was carried out on open land. 

“Therefore, we are trying our best to preserve the natural look of the Kelam caves to show visitors how tin mining was conducted there. 

“We believe that the cave is one of its kind in the country and when work is completed, we hope to attract tourists from Langkawi, Southern Thailand and the northern region,” he said. 

Kasim said experienced people were needed to construct the new amenities in the cave and most of the contractors were former miners.  

Recently, StarMetro was invited for a trial run on the trolley train to go into the cave. Perlis State Park officer Aldrich Richard accompanied us.  

One of the contractors, Lim Kim Seah, drove the trolley and we got wet from the cold water dripping from the ceiling.  

The interesting experience reminded me of the Scooby Dooby Doo cartoon characters who were always chasing after “ghosts” in a tin mining cave and the train suddenly came to a stop.  

Lim, 63, with more than 30 years of experience as a tin miner, said in the olden days, the trolleys were pushed manually.  

“All of us in Kaki Bukit were miners as it was a lucrative job back then,” he said, adding that the last mining company was shut down in 1982. 

His partner Hong Kow, 52, said there were more than 100 people working in the cave under four big companies. 

He said in those days, people were prepared to take risks in order to earn money, and were not much bothered with their safety. 

Later we took a walk to the well-known Gua Kelam 1, which is under the management of the state Agriculture Department.  

The cool surroundings, with water gushing down at the entrance to the cave, made our walk interesting. 

Gua Kelam is about 33km from Kangar town and 500m from Kaki Bukit town. 

The limestone cave, with natural water flowing in it, is said to be one-of-its-kind in the country and the second in the world after Brazil. 

Besides admiring the beauty of the cave, visitors can swim in a pool or enjoy a picnic in the recreational park.  

Gua Kelam has a lot to offer, too, to those who like rock climbing, camping and jungle trekking.  

It is certainly worth including Gua Kelam 1 and 2 in your itinerary when visiting Perlis.