Niah National Park is poised to be a prestigious ecotourism area

KUCHING: The upgrading works on infrastructure around Niah National Park, including basic amenities in Pekan Niah, are being carried out to provide a more attractive experience for visitors to the ecotourism area.

Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that with its recent recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Niah Cave would become a more prestigious tourism product in the eyes of foreign tourists.

“The implications are very significant, especially from a tourism perspective, as we know that Niah Cave, from research by university experts, including the recent findings from New South Wales University, shows it to be quite unique.”

“Previously, we were informed that human settlement in Niah was only 40,000 years old, but the latest findings from New South Wales indicate that human settlement there is up to 65,000 years old. This is what makes Niah Cave quite unique,” he said.

He stated this at a press conference after representing the Sarawak Premier in chairing the 2024 Drug Eradication Action Council (MTDM) here today.

Earlier, Niah National Park in Miri was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 46th World Heritage Committee Meeting held in New Delhi, India, making it the second such site in Sarawak after Gunung Mulu National Park.

The historic site contains the longest known record of human interaction with tropical rainforests over 65,000 years ago, based on findings from studies by several local and international universities.