Review Gua Tempurung - Perak | Activities & Ticket Price 2024

Hiiii, raise your hand if you are a cave enthusiast!

If you are, you should not miss out on Gua Tempurung (aka Tempurung Cave) – one of the largest and oldest caves in Peninsula Malaysia. Exploring this cave, you can immerse yourself in a tranquil natural atmosphere with the calming sound of dripping water, the beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites, the cool stream of an underground river, and more.

In this post, I’ll share a detailed review of Gua Tempurung, including the ticket price, activities, interesting facts about the cave. Read until the end to get some important tips you must know before the trip.

General info

Location: Jln Gua Tempurung, 31600 Gopeng, Perak
Contact: +60142204142
Total Hour Spend: 40 mins to 3.5 hours (depending on the tour you choose)
Facilities: Bathroom (for showers), toilets, souvenir & snack store, bicycle rental service.
Parking Fee: Free (huge parking in front of the entrance)

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gua-tempurung-review-activities-photo-ticket-price-cave-tempurung-ipoh-perak — Inside Gua Tempurung

Table of Contents

1. Interesting Facts about Gua Tempurung
2. Ticket Price & Activities in Gua Tempurung
3. My review of Gua Tempurung
4. Important tips when visiting Gua Tempurung
5. How to Get to Gua Tempurung?
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

1. Interesting Facts about Gua Tempurung

Largest – Gua Tempurung is one of the largest caves in Peninsula Malaysia, spanning over 4.5 km, but only 1.9 km is accessible to visitors.
Coconut shell – In Malay, Gua means cave, and Tempurung means coconut shell. The name “Gua Tempurung” is inspired by the shape of some surrounding limestone hills resembling coconut shells.
Oldest – It’s also one of the oldest caves in Peninsula Malaysia, estimated to be about 250-400 million years old. It’s believed to have existed since 8000 BC. The cave was first identified in 1887 in the Map of Perak-Malay Peninsula, which indicated as a mountain called “Gunong Tempoo Rong”. It was opened to visitors in 1997.
Hideout – The cave was used as a hideout shelter for communists during the Malayan Emergency (aka Anti-British National Liberation War) from 1948 until 1960. Evidence of their presence can still be seen in various graffiti on the cave walls.
Tin mining – Since 1970, Gua Tempurung has been used as a tin mine.
Bats – The cave is home to bats. During the mating season (March to May), you can see their droppings on the dome ceilings.
Underground river – There is an underground river called Sungai Gua Tempurung running through the cave. The river is located at the lowest part of the cave gallery (level 4), totalling about 1.6 kilometers.

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2. Ticket Price & Activities in Gua Tempurung

Visitors can choose between four tour options: two dry tours (Tour 1 and Tour 2) and two wet tours (Tour 3 and Tour 4). Each tour has a different difficulty level and length.

Tour 1 is the easiest and is recommended for families with kids and the elderly. Meanwhile, tour 4 is the most challenging, with a longer route that requires climbing, crawling, and sliding.

All the tours start at the same entrance point but end at different locations. They follow the same route initially; the more difficult the tour, the deeper you can explore the caves (and yes, the more expensive it is).

Once you finish the tour, the staff will offer to sell you photos of yourself (RM100 for 3). It’s not recommended to buy them because they are overpriced.

Moving on, I will share more details about each tour.

Dry tours (tour 1+2)

Both tour 1 and tour 2 are dry tours which take about an hour to explore (more or less). While tour 1 allows you to explore platforms 1 to 3, tour 2 will cover platforms 1 to 5. Both tours do not require either prior booking or min pax. You can just walk in and buy the tickets. There is no tour guide included as well.

Now let’s dive deeper into the details of tour 1 and tour 2.

Tour 1: Golden Flowstone (Leisure Walk)

Distance Covered: 300 meters
Opening time: From 9am to 4pm (last admission by 4 pm)
Ticket price:

Malaysian: Adult – RM8, child/senior citizen – RM4

Foreigners: Adult – RM20, child/senior citizen – RM10

With Tour 1, you will explore platforms 1, 2, and 3, where you can see many stalactites and stalagmites in different sizes and shapes.

It took us about 20 minutes to explore platforms 1-3. As my mother-in-law was a little tired, we just slowly explored and rested a lot during the trip.

Platform 1 – Mr. Bat: On the way to Platform 1, you can see some marble stone slabs.
Platform 2 – Echo Echo: At Platform 2, there are some tools left by tin miners showcased.
Platform 3 – Golden Flowstone: This platform is 90 meters high, and the view is amazing when you reach there.

Tour 2: Top of the World (We took this tour)

Distance Covered: 600 meters
Opening time: From 9am – 4pm (Last admission by 3 pm)
Ticket price:

Malaysian: Adult – RM 12, child/senior citizen – RM 6

Foreigners: Adult – RM 30, child/senior citizen – RM 15

Tour 2 covers all five platforms.

At Platform 3, we were quite tired, but we continued to explore deeper to Platforms 4 and 5. We were very worried that my mother-in-law could not make it to Platform 5, but she nailed it. She just needed a little rest along the way.

Platform 4 – Wind Tunnel: It’s so cool and refreshing inside this tunnel, thanks to the wind. This is a great spot to take some rest. We stood there for quite long to enjoy the breeze haha.
Platform 5 – Top of the World: This platform is 125 meters above ground level. The view on the way to Platform 5 is spectacular. But be careful when climbing because there are some areas where the stairs are very narrow (Yup, I almost tripped).

To complete Tour 2, you need about 1 hour. However, because we were with my mother-in-law (61 years old), it took us 1.5 hours to finish.

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Wet tours (tour 3+4)

Just like their names, you will get soaking wet after these tours.

Wet tours are more challenging and will be led by tour guides. You must book the tour at least one week before the departure date, but no advance deposit is required.

Additionally, there is a minimum pax requirement for both tours: Tour 3 requires 10 adults, and Tour 4 requires 5 adults.

Note:

Wet tours are only available from 9:00 – 10:30am
It’s a must to wear sports attire
You should bring extra clothes and towels to change after the tour. There is also a bathroom to take a shower
These tours are subject to weather conditions
A helmet is provided for each visitor
The tour timing can be longer than stated

Below is more information about tours 3 and 4.

Tour 3: Top of the World & Short River Adventure

Duration: 2 hrs 30 mins.
Distance Covered: 2.4km
Entrance fee:

Malaysian: Adult – RM 15, child/senior citizen – RM 7.50

Foreigner: Adult – RM 40, child/senior citizen – RM 20

In this tour, after climbing the stairs from Platforms 1 to 5, you will descend a very steep and long staircase to reach the underground river. After that, you will have a short river-walking adventure, slide down slippery stones, and crawl through cave holes.

Tour 4: Grand Tour

Duration: 3 hrs 30 mins +
Distance Covered: 3.8km
Ticket price:

Malaysian: Adult – RM 30, child & senior citizen – RM 15

Foreigners: Adult – RM 50, child & senior citizen – RM 25

If you want to explore the cave even deeper, you should go for Tour 4. It is said to be challenging and strenuous.

In this tour, you will explore everything in Tours 1, 2, and 3, plus some even more beautiful and interesting parts such as glitter-covered walls, multi-tier ponds, volcano-like rocks, and more.

3. My review of Gua Tempurung

To be honest, the rock formations of stalactites and stalagmites in Gua Tempurung are not the most beautiful I have ever seen, but I was impressed by the size of the cave.

Inside the cave, there are installed lights and staircases, so tourists can easily climb and walk around. However, be careful because some areas are steep and slippery.

I appreciate the fact that they put trash bins inside the cave to keep it clean.

It also surprised me that I didn’t see a lot of tourists visiting the cave, probably because we visited during a weekday and around noon.

And one thing I wasn’t satisfied with was that there were no staff inside the cave to take care of or keep an eye on visitors. So if someone got injured, it would be pretty hard to get help from the staff.

4. Important tips when visiting Gua Tempurung

It’s advisable to bring water along because visiting Gua Tempurung requires a lot of walking and climbing
Comfortable clothes and sports shoes are recommended because it can be slippery in the cave.
To be extra careful, you should also bring knee pads and gloves, especially for Tours 3 and 4.
For the wet tours (Tours 3 and 4), bring extra clothes to change, towels, and a waterproof phone pouch bag (buy here).
If you go with small kids and the elderly, keep an eye on them because the staircases are very steep.
Bring your own food as there is not much food options in Gua Tempurung.
Based on my experience, the least crowded times are around 12:00 PM and during weekdays.

5. How to Get to Gua Tempurung?

Gua Tempurung is about 25 km from Ipoh Old Town.

There is no direct public transportation from Ipoh (or anywhere) to Gua Tempurung. If you want to take a bus, you can take bus No. 66, but it drops you off about 2 km away from the cave.

The best way to get to Gua Tempurung is by private motorbike or car. The road is paved all the way to the entrance. It’s very easy to find as well, just follow Waze or Google Maps, and you’re good to go.

👉 Wanna rent a private car charter for an Ipoh day trip? WhatsApp me (click here) for the best price 💸💸.

Above is my review of Gua Tempurung – a cave attraction near Ipoh, Perak. I have covered some interesting facts about the cave, how to get there, as well as ticket prices and activities in the attraction.

Feel free to comment any questions about Gua Tempurung. Thanks for reading!