Bakelalan Salt Factory

David Hogan Jr 04/10/2017

A visit to the Bakelalan salt factory is not to be missed for anyone who is planning to explore this part of Sarawak Borneo.

Bakelalan, or Ba’kelalan, is a highland town that sits at 1000 meters above sea level in the Maligan Highlands of northeast Sarawak.

For adventure tourists, Sarawak is probably one of the best places in Malaysia to visit, simply due to the many non-commercialized tourism destinations.

Places like Bakelalan are still untouched with very little modernisation and are culturally rich.

Visiting the Bakelalan Salt Factory

To get to Bakelalan, there are only two ways to do so, one is via small propeller aircraft from the city of Miri, and the other is overland via logging roads, which can take anywhere from seven to nine hours.

The beautiful view when entering Bakelalan

If you choose the overland way, it would be an adventure by itself as you get to see the interior of Sarawak, passing through small villages and rainforests. You will sometimes pass beautiful viewpoints that make you stop just to take a photograph.

Once you arrive in Bakelalan, you will notice that the weather gets a little cooler as you are at the peak of the highlands.

Villages are seen in small valleys and best viewed from the peak, and usually, it is the main village area where you will be staying.

There are actually three salt factories found in Bakelalan, but the most popular one is called Buduk Bui, a community salt factory and probably the best to visit.

bakelalan-salt-production Bakelalan Salt Factory

Bakelalan salt making process at Buduk Bui

How is Bakelalan Salt Produced?

When you visit the Buduk Bui salt factory, the locals will take you through how they make Bakelalan salt.

It is quite interesting to know that they can extract the salt from the natural salt spring or nearby salt.

From the salt spring water, boiling it and stirring it eventually reveals the salt contents from the half-metal barrel used.

Traditional fire is used to boil the water, and firewood of a particular type is collected from around Bakelalan. The last process sees the community packing the salt for sale.

Nowadays, they use the commercial method of packing the salt in plastic bags, but back in the day, they would use a specific type of leaf to wrap the rock salt.

buduk-bui-bakelalan-salt Bakelalan Salt Factory

The local Lun Bawang people posing with the Bakelalan Salt

Where to buy Bakelalan Salt?

The best place to buy the famous Bakelalan salt is directly from the Buduk Bui salt factory. After you visit here, you can buy it straight from the makers as this is the freshest quality of iodine salt.

Other places that sell Bakelalan Salt include the villages of Bakelalan where you are staying. You can always ask the homeowner to buy the salt, as they will carry some or get some for you.

The processed salt, after boiling for hours.

The next best place to buy Bakelalan salt is in Miri, where you can find them at the local markets, especially at the Tamu Khas or Special Market.

This Tamu Khas is a section of the primary Miri market, where only ethnic produce is allowed to be sold.

If you visit Lawas town, they also sell Bakelalan salt as Lawas is one of the gateways to Ba’kelalan using off-road vehicles. Note that travelling off-road will take you at least seven hours.

You can also find another similar salt in neighbouring Bario. For those travelling to Bario in Sarawak, this is the sister village of Bakelalan, and they, too, produce their own salt apart from other homegrown produce.

If you are planning to visit here, I have also compiled a list of things you can do in Bario, which are all Eco-friendly and family-friendly.

Garam Bakelalan or Bakelalan Salt

Finally, there may be a few shops that sell Bakelalan salt in Kuching city, especially along the main Kuching Waterfront shopping bazaar area. Take note that there is also the famous Bario salt, so you can choose either.

As a frequent visitor to Sarawak, I have always been fascinated by the ethnic produces, food and overall cultures, namely in Bakelalan and Bario.

Something about this makes everything so real, compared to the current city life that most of us face nowadays.

Conclusion

I would honestly recommend making a trip to the Kelabit Highlands in Sarawak, as it is not one of your commercial tourism destinations but an actual experiential tourism place.

And when you are here, make sure you pay a visit to the Bakelalan salt factory to see how some of the best salt in Malaysia is produced.

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