Work begins to turn Krokong into tourism hotspot
KUCHING: Efforts have begun to turn the Krokong area in Bau into a must-visit spot for adventure, culture and nature.
Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh said several areas with potential to become niche tourism products have been identified.
He said for adventure there is Tegura near Kampung Puak.
“At Tegura, people can do jungle trekking up to Bengoh National Park and around the old antimony mining site,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
“There are a lot of old machines used for antimony mining operations being left there for the visitors to see and know how antimony mining was carried out.”
Miro said Kampung Tringgus is a great destination for nature, with a beautiful river, waterfall, and green forests around the village.
For culture, he said Kampung Gumbang offers a unique festival not found elsewhere in Sarawak – Gawai Nyobang or Gawai Mukah – a skull-bathing festival practised by Bidayuh pagans.
Since 2010, this event has been carried out together with the Bidayuh community from Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Miro pointed out that the festival is held in the Baruk Tiguon, which is about 200 years old.
“Kampung Gumbang is the only tribe that stands alone with a unique culture. It’s Gawai Nyobang is very popular not only among the locals but also tourists now,” he said.
Miro added efforts are also being made to revive a rafting race along the Sarawak Kanan River next year, with starting points at Kampung Tringgus and Pedauan Bawah being considered, with both races finishing at Fairy Cave.
“Efforts will be made to promote and sell these new places as tourism products and hopefully after that agents can come up with their packages that bring tourists to visit all the interesting destinations in Krokong.
“We also will try to work out how the local communities can benefit from the packages,” he said.
He added Krokong already has niche products such as caving, rock climbing and the Fairy Cave Festival.
“Aside from Fairy Cave, we also have Wind Cave, which is equally famous in Bau now,” he said.