Usun Apau

Usun Apau National Park covers part of the Usun Apau Plateau in Miri Division, central Sarawak. It was designated in 2005 and is managed by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation^[1].

The plateau is an Important Bird Area with vulnerable and near-threatened birds including Bulwer's pheasant, Bornean ground cuckoo and rhinoceros hornbill. The gracile slender toad (Ansonia teneritas) is known only from the plateau and one other locality^[1].

Montane rain forest covers the plateau, including kerapa (stunted forest on poorly drained soil) and kerangas forest on infertile volcanic soil. Hill dipterocarp forest covers the lower slopes^[1].

The plateau is volcanic and averages about 1,000 m in elevation. Three extinct volcanoes stand near its centre: Selidang (1,370 m), Kenawang (1,280 m) and Mabun (1,280 m). The northern, eastern and western edges end in escarpments nearly 300 m high^[1].

Being a plateau around 1,000 m high, it is cooler than the surrounding lowlands.

The Kayan and Kenyah peoples live in the surrounding interior of Sarawak.

The park was designated in 2005. In August 2022 Sarawak's premier announced plans to improve road access, especially to Julan Waterfall, to open the park to tourism^[1].

The Julan River drops from the northern escarpment as Julan Waterfall, almost 245 m high. Streams from the plateau form the headwaters of the Rajang and Baram rivers^[1].

The plateau is relatively inaccessible: logging roads lead to its base and the plateau itself has only trails and no roads^[1].

The park is IUCN Category II and the plateau is an Important Bird Area^[1].