Location : Desa Merpak, Kecamatan Kelam Permai, Kabupaten Sintang, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia.

Standing at slightly taller than 1000m, this giant monolith and icon of Sintang cannot go unnoticed and unvisited. It is the largest rock in Indonesia and Borneo. Mount Kelam, batu raksasa, adventure, conservation, backpackers, Sintang, Kalimantan Barat, Desa Merpak, Nepenthes clipeata, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, Trans Border, 婆罗洲印尼游踪, 西加里曼丹独块巨石, 新党自然生态,monolith, Bukit Kelam, Mountain, batu raksasa, Black Rock, adventure, nature, destination, Desa Merpak, Kelam Permai, Tourism, tourist attraction, Trans Borneo, 婆罗洲独块巨石, 印尼西加里曼丹, 新党旅游景点Kelam Hill, batu raksasa, Black Rock, nature, outdoor, conservation, destination, Kalimantan Barat, Desa Merpak, Kelam Permai, wisata alam, Tourism, travel guide, Cross Border, 婆罗洲自然生态, 印尼西加里曼丹,Bukit Kelam/Kelam Hill is approximately 20km from Kota Sintang, it is situated between the two major rivers; Melawi River and Kapuas River.monolith, Bukit Kelam, Kelam Hill, batu raksasa, adventure, nature, backpackers, destination, Obyek wisata, Tourism, travel guide, Cross Border, 婆罗洲游踪, 印尼西加里曼丹, 新钉旅游景点, Kelam Hill, batu raksasa, Black Rock, nature, conservation, backpackers, destination, Borneo, Indonesia, Desa Merpak, Kelam Permai, Tourism, travel guide, 印尼西加里曼丹, 新钉旅游景点Besides its fame in height and size it is revered as the home of the Nepenthes clipeata a pitcher plant getting rarer by the day due to over harvesting.

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Nepenthes clipeata, endemic pitcher plant species of Kelam Hill, Foto by Dony

It took us 30min to drive there from the town. It was about 9.30am when we arrived and the place was very quiet. We hiked for about 20min to get to the waterfall but it was dry. There had been no rain for 2 weeks. Not surprising for the month of July.

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Official opening on 2003

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Retreat centre, the stage on the right.

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No hunting

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Broken lower jaw
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Not a drop of water at the waterfall

For the young and adventurous, climbing to the summit should be a memorable challenge. Going through some of the video clips in Youtube gave me weak knees, especially watching the decent down the metal stairs at almost 90degrees upright! Doable on a day trip of 7 hrs for the young and fit. Have a heavy breakfast before you challenge it and do bring enough sugary snacks, water and lunch too. Good footwear is advisable as rain could come anytime in Borneo. monolith, Bukit Kelam, batu raksasa, conservation, backpackers, destination, pitcher plant, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, Cross Border, 婆罗洲独块巨石, 印尼西加里曼丹,

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Early part of the trail where the ladder is inclined
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It’s a long long way down. Butterflies in my stomach

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Sunrise from Bukit Kelam

Cafes selling Indonesian food can be found at the Main Gate and Gua Maria. After we got out to our car, a freelancer approached us to offer his guiding service. We turned it down, after all, there were not that many places to visit other than the Gua Maria and Ensaid Longhouse which we thought we could figure out along the way.

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Chinese temple nearby
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A new church coming up
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Gereja St. Martinus

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We stopped a couple of times, as we circled Bukit Kelam, to fly my drone to catch different angles of the mountain. There was a particular moment I noticed what looked like a cave and decided to try and take a closer peek at what was inside. As I flew my drone in its direction there came a point it just would not move any closer to the cave much as I tried. It was as if some unseen forces were stopping my drone. I sensed then, maybe my drone was not welcomed. A stargate reserved for some other beings? Next ……Gua Mariamonolith, Bukit Kelam, Mountain, Kelam Hill, batu raksasa, adventure, nature, outdoor, destination, Sintang, Borneo, Indonesia, West Kalimantan, Tourism, tourist attraction, Cross Border

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The cave that my drone could not get near
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A very hot day. Needed an umbrella for flying my drone

monolith, Bukit Kelam, Mountain, Kelam Hill, batu raksasa, adventure, nature, Sintang, Borneo, Indonesia, West Kalimantan, Kelam Permai, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, Trans Border,To see more photos, please click our FACEBOOK PAGE

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