A structure for taking rest and shelter at the park. Seen in the background are the viewing towers.
SIBU: The Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, some 12km from here, is a place worth visiting, or it would not have won the National Landscaping Competition for Public Parks in 1998.
Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) has reconstructed the park in two phases, with the first one in 1990 covering eight acres. This phase costing RM3 million was completed in March 1993.
The second phase covering 14 acres at a cost of RM4 million was completed in July 1997.
Among the locals, particularly the Iban community, Bukit Aup is considered a sacred place where a benevolent spirit called Naga Bari dwells.
Legend has it that Naga Bari is a beautiful Iban princess and the Ibans believe she can help those who need her divine assistance.
Almost every weekend, the Ibans from various places who still practise their traditional belief come to the peak of Bukit Aup to perform ‘miring’ (offering ritual) to Naga Bari to seek her help.
On the way to the peak of the park is Naga Bari Pool where the princess takes her bath. And this pool which does not dry up even during dry season is believed to be able to help childless couples conceive if they take their bath there.
Sometimes, one may see Naga Bari bathing in the pool in the early morning if one is lucky, it is claimed.
Meanwhile, the park is currently being upgraded. Upgrading works started on Nov 17 last year and is expected to be completed end of this month.
Among the facilities the park offers are an amphitheatre, open space, barbeque pit, picnic huts, camping site, and towers for viewing surrounding areas.
The park opens daily from 7am to 7pm.