Gua Charah

Gua Charas - Panching Cave - Pancing Cave - Charas Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Sungai Lembing, Kuantan, Pahang. From Kuantan C4 northwest towards Sungai Lembing, turn off highway 231 at Sungai Panching, signposted. 25 km northwest of Kuantan. (3.911391, 103.147216)
Open:	All year daily 8:30-17. [2009]
Fee:	Adults MYR 2, Children MYR 1. [2008]
Classification:	Karst cave Cave Church
Light:	electric, natural, bring headlamp
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	not accessible, many staircases
Bibliography:
Address:	Gua Charah, Jln Gua Charas, 26090 Kuantan, Pahang.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1950s	Gua Gelap discovered by a monk named Tham Achran Sakatapunya.
1972	cave opened to the public.

Description

Gua Charah (Charah Cave) is a huge passage located in an isolated karst tower, which was transformed into a Buddhist and Hunduist temple. There is electric light, and the huge entrance allows enough light into the cave, a torch is nevertheless useful.

The cave is located inside a karst tower in the middle of a huge palm oil plantation. To reach it is a little tricky, as the roads of the plantation are not well signposted. The visit starts at the foot of the tower, where a parking lot, some houses and the ticket booth are located. A trail leads uphill with many steps. At the steep parts the trail is actually a metal frame tower with iron staircases going up in zigzags.

Finally the cave entrance is reached, The trail inside goes down first, on slippery steps, so be careful. The huge cavern is lit by the daylight entering through various holes in the ceiling, and some floodlights which are placed along the trail. There are numerous places of worship, some Buddha statues and even some stalagmites or rocks with strange forms, which are thought to be a dolphin or the goddess Kwan Yin. Most famous is the Sleeping Buddha, Dalam Ada. It is located at the far end of the cave, where the visitors have to turn around and return on the same path.

The Charah Cave complex has eight different caves, all in the 3500 m high karst tower. Gua Buddha or Gua Gelap was discovered by a monk named Tham Achran Sakatapunya in the 1950s. It is open to the public since 1972. The other 7 caves are named Gua Batu Nesan Raja, Gua Pecah, Gua Gajah, Gua Tiga Beradik, Gua Puteri Bersikat, Gua Lubang Dalam and Gua Lubang Hidung.