| Mount Murud | |
|---|---|
 Vegetation near the summit of Mount Murud | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,424 m (7,953 ft) [1] |
| Listing | Ultra Spesial Ribu |
| Coordinates | 3°55′N115°20′E / 3.917°N 115.333°E |
| Geography | |
| Location | Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia |
| Parent range | Kelabit Highlands |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1922 by Eric Mjöberg [2] |
Mount Murud or Muru (Malay : Gunung Murud) is a sandstone mountain located in Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia At 2,424 m (7,946 ft), it is the highest mountain in Sarawak.
Mount Murud at the elevation of 2,424 m, is the highest mountain in Sarawak, located at the boundary between Miri and Limbang Division, in the Kelabit Highlands. It is a white-yellowish sandstone mountain, formed during the Miocene Epoch, extends for 4 km long, running in the ENE-WSW direction. Mount Murud has two highest points, with one point higher than the other by only 15 m. [1]
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According to a local legend, there was once a penghulu (headman) named Baya Kalong who stayed near the present-day Mount Murud area. He had a beautiful daughter named Kelawing. Kelawing was later married to another young penghulu named Tingang who came from another longhouse. However, Tingang's younger brother named Lawi became jealous of his brother and beheaded Kelawing while the couple was walking upstairs into longhouse. Tingang became angry and tried to kill his brother. Then, their father's sound came from heaven who condemn them for breaking their promise of not fighting each other. After that, a severe thunderstorm came and buried Tingang's longhouse with all its inhabitants with stones raining from the sky. The piles of stones later formed Mount Murud. [3]
The first attempt to climb Mount Murud was made in 1914 by John Coney Moulton, curator of Sarawak State Museum but failed due to food shortage and killings of their native guides due to a Dayak Lun Bawang invasion. He made a second attempt to climb the mountain in 1920 but failed again. The first successful ascent of Mount Murud was by a Swedish zoologist who was also a curator of Sarawak State Museum, Eric Mjöberg in October 1922. He spent six days at the summit of the mountain and collected various animal and plant species. His collections were documented by various authors in the third volume of Sarawak Museum Journal in 1928. Following this, his footsteps were followed by other botanical collectors in the 1960s and 1990s. During Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, a Gurkha post was built at the summit. [1] In the 1980s, a man from Ba'kelalan named Agung Bangau saw a vision to build a church there. A church was later built at a plateau on the mountain and the first prayer meeting was held in July 1985, attended by 600 people from the nearby villages of Ba'kelalan and Bario. Today, a village is built around the church completed with public amenities; receiving visitors around the world. [4] It is regarded as a sacred mountain where smoking and alcoholic drinks are prohibited. [5] Prayer meetings are held every two years by the Mount Murud Prayer Ministry. [6] In 1995, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) organised an expedition to Mount Murud. During the expedition, a species of Vanilla orchid named Vanilla kinabaluensis, Rafflesia pricei , and slipper orchid Paphiopedilum were discovered. A total of 70 samples were collected by the UNIMAS expedition team. [1]
The UNIMAS expedition team defined the animal and plant species collected from 1,500 m to 1,800 m range above sea level as species originating from the Mount Murud; because specimens collected below this level can originate from the mountain surroundings. Mjöberg noted in 1925 that nine species of birds that were previously known as originated from Mount Kinabalu are also found at Mount Murud. This is supported by another evidence that 77% of Pteridophyte and 75% of orchids are common in both mountains. However, despite the close proximity of Mount Murud with Mount Mulu (65 km WSW of Mount Murud), both mountains have different summit flora. As of 1995, a total of 35 pteridophytes, 7 gymnosperms, 96 monocotyledons, and 207 dicotyledons were listed as summit flora of Mount Murud. [1] The tropical pitcher plant species Nepenthes murudensis is named after the mountain and is thought to be endemic to its summit area. [7] [8] Also Murud black slender toad Ansonia vidua is only known from this mountain. [9] [10]
The Gunung Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its caves and the expeditions that have been mounted to explore them and their surrounding rainforest, most notably the Royal Geographical Society Expedition of 1977–1978, which saw over 100 scientists in the field for 15 months. This initiated a series of over 20 expeditions now named the Mulu Caves Project.
Nepenthes lowii, or Low's pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is named after Hugh Low, who discovered it on Mount Kinabalu. This species is perhaps the most unusual in the genus, being characterised by its strongly constricted upper pitchers, which bear a greatly reduced peristome and a reflexed lid with numerous bristles on its lower surface.
The Kelabit Highlands are a mountain range located in the northernmost part of Sarawak, Malaysia in the Miri Division. It hosts the Bario village. The highest mountains in this range are Mount Murud at 2,423 metres (7,949 ft), Bukit Batu Buli at 2,082 metres (6,831 ft), and Bukit Batu Lawi at 2,046 metres (6,713 ft). The current population of the Kelabit people is about 6,800.
Nepenthes hurrelliana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo, where it has been recorded from northern Sarawak, southwestern Sabah, and Brunei. It is of putative hybrid origin; its two original parent species are thought to be N. fusca and N. veitchii. A thick indumentum of rusty-brown hairs covers the entire plant, a characteristic presumably inherited from the latter.
Nepenthes murudensis, or the Murud pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Mount Murud in Borneo, after which it is named. It is of putative hybrid origin: its two original parent species are thought to be N. reinwardtiana and N. tentaculata.
Gunung Buda National Park is a national park located in Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located to the north of Gunung Mulu National Park. Gunung Buda National Park was gazetted in 2001. As in September 2017, the national park was in the planning stage for tourism activities. Roads were also planned to connect Gunung Buda with Gunung Mulu National Park. Gunung Buda meaning White Hill in Lun Bawang language.
Nepenthes muluensis, or the Mulu pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It grows in highland habitats at elevations of 1700 to 2400 m above sea level.
Batu Lawi is a twin-peaked mountain in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo) that has played important roles in both ancient mythology and modern history. The taller 'male' peak is 2046 metres above sea level, while the female summit is at 1850 metres. It is one of the highest mountains in the state of Sarawak.
Ba'kelalan is a group of nine villages at Maligan Highlands of Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia about 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level and 4 km from the border with Indonesian Kalimantan and 150 km from the nearest town of Lawas. There are nine villages in Ba'kelalan. The villagers here belong to the Lun Bawang tribe.
Mount Pueh, also known as Mount Pueh-Berumput, Mount Poi and Mount Poe, is a mountain located near Lundu, Sarawak on the Malaysia-Indonesia border. Mount Pueh was known to biologists for the collections made there by Eric Mjöberg (1882–1938), a Swedish naturalist, who was Curator of the Sarawak Museum between 1922–1924. Mjöberg's herpetological collections from Gunung Pueh between October to December 1923, and other localities in Borneo, were reported by Smith (1925). Mjöberg, unfortunately, left little by way of written records, of his ascent of Pueh and the collections he made.
Mount Mulu is a sandstone and shale mountain. At 2376 m, it is the second highest mountain in the state of Sarawak, after Mount Murud. It is located within the boundaries of Gunung Mulu National Park, which is named after it.
Ansonia torrentis, also known as the Gunung Mulu stream toad and torrent slender toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Mount Mulu in Sarawak, Borneo (Malaysia). The specific name torrentis refers to the habitat at its type locality, a stream running down a steep mountainside.
Bario is a community of 13 to 16 villages located on the Kelabit Highlands in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, lying at an altitude of 1000 m (3280 ft) above sea level. It is located close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 178 km to the east of Miri. It is the main settlement for the indigenous Kelabit tribe. There are regular flights between the Bario, Miri and Marudi.
Mount Api is a limestone mountain located in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Neighbouring Mount Benarat and Mount Buda are part of the same formation. Mount Api is famous for its striking limestone karst formations, commonly called "the pinnacles".
The Pulong Tau National Park is a national park in Kelabit Highlands in Limbang Division and Miri Division of Sarawak, Malaysia.
Pelophryne linanitensis, also known as the Linanit dwarf toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Batu Linanit in Mount Murud in Sarawak, Borneo.
Pelophryne murudensis, also known as the Murud dwarf toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Mount Murud in Sarawak, Borneo.
Long Rapung is a former settlement in the Marudi division of Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately 634.8 kilometres (394 mi) east-north-east of the state capital Kuching. Long Rapung lies in the Dapur River floodplain. It was formerly a village but was evacuated during the Confrontation. Now the shelters provide overnight accommodation hunters and for visitors walking to Ba Kelalan or climbing Gunung Murud.
Ansonia echinata is a species of toads in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Sarawak, Borneo. Common name spiny slender toad has been coined for this little known species.
Ansonia vidua is a species of toads in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Sarawak, Borneo. Common names Murud black slender toad and widow slender toad have been coined for this little known species. The latter name refers to the black colouration of this species and the fact that no male individuals are known.
