PROJECT! – Heart of Borneo, searching the mysterious “pool of angels”

We know people who have been there. The Punan Kareho call it “Kolam Bidadari” – the “pool of angels”. Local, reliable people from the tribe of Punan Kareho pass by or visit it when they search for Agarwood. 

Until maybe two generations ago, the Punan Kareho tribe was fully nomadic in the mountains between West-, Central- and East Kalimantan and Sarawak. Now, they live in the most remote areas of West- Central- and East Kalimantan in villages, simple villages with no old buildings and with almost no religious attributes to be found in them. That’s a sign, that these villages can’t be very old.

One of our standard tours starts in the village of Tumbang Tronoi and we also support the local elementary school of Tumbang Tronoi and Tumbang Jojang. So, we know some of the people of Tronoi and Jojang very well and it happens that we are hanging around in these villages.

When you are sitting around an open fire in the evening or palavering in the chief’s house, then the Punan start telling their stories about the things the world has never seen, when myths mix up with the realities and it becomes difficult to distinguish one from the other…

Then you come down to what is really driving indigenous people in the most remote places of this world – spiritual things, angelic beings, unleashed power of the invisible and sometimes you will hear stories, where not even their elders know what is true and what is fictional…

One of those stories is the so called “kolam bidadari” – the pool of the angels! It must be wonderful – they told us! It’s far away for sure, that we know with certainty! And that’s almost all we know! It must be a wonderful pool with big fish in it, on top of a mountain, they tell us, difficult to take pictures, they say… And knowbody can tell us, how the fish made their way up to the top of this mountain and why they found this nice pool… It must definitely be a very divine place…!

The rest is on us together to discover! The Punan are willing and ready to take us up to this mysterious and gorgeous place!

If you are looking for such a “once in a lifetime” experience, you feel able to hike for 5 to 7 days, maybe more, in the pristine tropical mountain forest and then most probably another couple of days back to the village, if you are able to walk with 100% humidity, all wet cloths, fighting against leeches, ants, termites, mosquitos and yet, you are not shocked reading all this, then you may be our next guests to join us on this outstanding adventure…

We hope to post concrete pictures related to the “Kolam Bidadari” after this tour