Bario: Her Food Festival 2014 and more...

We found our way to this wondrous highland of Bario (3,200m ASL). Windy, cool and pleasant temperature with friendly people to match. This trip was all about the celebration of Kelabit food, farming, culture and forest heritage - The Bario Food Festival (Pesta Nukenen)

The passion of the Kelabits in preserving their heritage is exemplified by the fact that this was the ninth year it has been held and is looked forward to by, most importantly, those living in the Bario Highlands itself, a forested highland watersheds in Sarawak and East Malaysia.

The ingredients come straight from the grounds and more often than not, wildly grown. The sweetness and freshness of the cooking makes every morsel savouring.

The very versatile bamboo plant used as serving dishes

The 'kelantang' has a fragrant after-taste to it. And porridge cooked over wood fire using Bario rice no less makes this dish a real delicacy!

Yam, smoked river fish, ginger flower and dried buffalo meat shreds

THE Elders of Bario

Beaded head gear is the fashion 'de rigeur' of the ladies.

Still suave looking, isn't he? One of Bario's first batch of school teachers

Dance reflecting work life

Kelabit warrior dance

 The long dance is accompanied by a rhythmic traditional chant. Very soothing indeed

But there's more to Bario than just awesome organic food... like the sights that make the destination an eye candy... in all sense of the words

What you see... the highest mountain in Sarawak - Mt.Murud (7,946 ft) and the twin peak of Batu Lawi (6,712 ft). Mt. Murud is the fourth highest peak in Malaysia.

First, step on the brakes, then throttle hard, build up the kinectic energy, release brake and wheeeeeee... well, the last part up was made up. The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 19-passenger utility aircraft is suited for operating condition such as Bario STOL* airport.

*Short Take Off and Landing

Landing is never more engaged for a passenger in a Twin Otter.

The sun can be harsh on the skin due to the thinner air. It, however, offers memorable gorgeous sunset.

In the distance, shaped like a cut-out, like a gap in the ridge, is the 'Kawang'. It is a practice to signify a significant occasion in the Kelabit community

Million dollar piece of real estate we say!

Remember your childhood art lessons of drawing interlocking mountains? Bario is alive with them. One can sing to their heart's content.

Megaliths: objects carved into the stone, used in deference to the celestial beings in the old days. This one in Pa'Umor.

The Milky Way contains 200-300 billion stars, so dim that the naked eyes cannot distinguish individual stars but a band of arching over the night sky. At the right time, Bario with its low level of light pollution, with the right camera setting, you can capture this.

The highlands of Sarawak is a photographer's haven if trekking is not your preference. We recommend at least four days during the dry season from June - September. The Milky Way can easily be seen also. However, the golden hue of ripening rice field only takes place December. And if you want to capture a completely different Bario landscape this will be a good excuse to return to the highland.

The 10th Bario Food and Cultural Festival (Pesta Nukenen) will be held from the 23th - 25th July 2015.

MASWings flies three times daily from Miri to Bario. The destination has a number of lodges, whose operators can tailor a programme during your stay with them. For more info logon to http://www.ebario.com/

Miri has direct flights from Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. The airlines operating are Malaysian Airlines, Malindo Air, MASWings and Air Asia.

Sarawak... where adventure lives

Our People - Orang Ulu

The northern region of Sarawak is home to the 'Orang Ulu' tribe; a collective name to represent the various ethnic sub-groups. They include the Kelabits, the Lun Bawans, the Berawans and the shy and semi-nomadic Penans. In the region above Kapit and the Pelagus Rapids, the Orang Ulu people literally known as "upriver people", consists of the Kayans, Kenyahs, Kajangs, Lahanans and the Punans. The Kayan sub-group forms the largest among them.

Bottom left: Kayan lady with arm tattoo. Bottom right: Lun Bawang bamboo band

The majority of the Kelabit tribe are found in the Kelabit Highlands.  The highland is a series of beautiful mountain valleys lying slightly over 1,000m above sea level and flanked by jungle-covered peaks rising to more than 2,400m. The climate is probably the most pleasant in Sarawak, although it can become quite chilly in the evenings. The Kelabits and the neighbouring and closely-related Lun Bawangs produce the fragrant and much sought-after Bario (Adnan) rice. Both groups are branches of the Orang Ulu, and live in a combination of longhouses and individual units that are widely dispersed throughout the area. They are friendly, hospitable people and enjoy receiving visitors.

Bario - the Kelabit Highlands

Bakelalan (formerly Ba’ Kelalan) is a remote settlement, home of the Lun Bawang ethnic group. The village is famous for its apples and organic vegetables, and their musical 'bamboo band'. The village is connected to Lawas and Miri by air, and it is also possible to travel there via a combination of existing and old logging roads. There is a hot spring with resort accommodation at Merarap, about 68 km from Lawas town where a pleasant beach, 7-km away at Punang can be found.

Bakelalan - home of the Lun Bawang

The Batang (river) Baram, Malaysia’s (and Sarawak’s) second longest river, drains much of the northern region, and also is home to many of the Orang Ulu sub-groups. Much of the Baram region is inaccessible, but there are some fascinating attractions in the region. There is the famous Gunung Mulu National Park and the lesser-known Loagan Bunut National Park known for its disappearing lake. Other places of interest to visitors include the small riverside town of Marudi, the bustling Kenyah community at Long San and the delightful Kayan longhouse community of Long Bedian; the amazing Tenyok Rimba waterfall is nearby.

Some Kayans in the Sungai Asap Resettlement programme, Belaga (3-hour drive from Bintulu) are involved in homestay programme. They also organise game fishing trips in the Bakun lake; an area the size of Singapore.

Gunung Mulu National Park - A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE

Like the Ibans, the Orang Ulu are also former head-hunters but they live in even more imposing longhouses than the former. Also, their arts and crafts are very different. The Orang Ulu especially the Kayans and Kenyahs are known for their woodcarving, beadwork, spectacular 'keliring' or totem poles and the music of the hauntingly beautiful lute instrument - the 'sape'. Tattooing and body ornamentation are prominent; older ladies can be recognised by the brass rings hanging from their extended earlobes and from the dense dark tattoos on their arms and legs, a practice that is disappearing from the younger generation.

Top right: Kelabit lady stringing beads

Sarawak... Where Adventure Lives

Author: Erivina 

Bario Highland, Baram, Miri

Bario means ‘Wind’ in Kelabit language (the correct pronunciation is ‘Bariew’).  Lying at an altitude of between 3400 to 6000 feet above sea level in the north-eastern corner of Sarawak is the famous Bario Highland, a Kelabit territory, one of the minority Orang Ulu tribe of Sarawak.  As it is in the highland, the weather is different from the low land, here it is colder at night & hotter during the day time as compared to the low land weather.  There are about 13 villages located in & around Bario area, while Kampung Bario Asal is the original village of Bario.  

Bario village

Recommended tour:  

Visit the Bario Asal village longhouse, Bario Market/handcraft, Bario Village Museum located at SK Bario, taste the famous Bario pineapple plus visit the farm and Bario Rice (or locally known as Adan Rice).

Getting there:

• Daily flight departure from Miri to Bario via MASWings Twin Otter & about 45 mins flight.
• By 4WD will take you on rugged logging road along the terrains from Miri to the Highlands & journey approximately 10-14 hours (depends on the road condition & weather).