Malaysia Borneo Wildlife Tour

Welcome to Borneo Island in Malaysia! Jungle adventure novices may be more familiar with the Amazon rainforest, but do you know that the Borneo rainforest formed about 130 million years ago is much older? It is the home to the world’s largest flower – the Rafflesia, and the world’s most miniature elephant – the pygmy elephant. In the following itinerary, you will be guided to explore the mysterious rainforest wonders of Borneo.

Upon landing in Kota Kinabalu, you will see your friendly driver guide welcoming you with a big smile, and he or she will escort you to the hotel downtown. If early, the driver guide will offer a brief city tour by driving past Sabah State Mosque, Tun Mustapha Tower, and the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque. You can ask for stops at any time to photograph.

► What to Know Before Going to the Rainforest
To protect the fragile ecosystem of rainforests and allow future generations also to admire the pristine beauty of Borneo Island, we advocate ecologically sustainable wildlife tours, so we suggest:
1. Keep a safe distance when observing and photographing wild animals. Please avoid luring animals to feed or touch them to ensure your safety and protect their natural habits from human interference.
2. Avoid leaving waste when walking in the jungle, and use environment-friendly sunscreen and insect repellent. Our well-picked rainforest resorts are all committed to environmental protection.

► How to Choose a Suitable SIM Card Plan
Since our 10-day trip was primarily spent in the rainforest and on the beach, Celcom’s SIM card or international roaming is recommended for its broader signal coverage and more stable network. However, the price may be slightly expensive, with a 7-day package costing about RM60 ($15) and a 14-day one about RM100 ($22).

Accommodation: Grandis Hotels and Resorts, Kota Kinabalu (4 stars)

This morning, the driver guide will take you to Kinabalu National Park, Malaysia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park guide will accompany you on a hike all day. Kinabalu National Park, where Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia’s highest mountain, is located, has more than 4,500 species of flora and fauna thanks to its various tropical climates. Follow the park guide to walk on the canopy walkway to experience the excitement of crossing treetops. You may be a little afraid of heights when you first step on the walkway, but you will quickly forget about it because the surrounding forested mountainous landscape is so wonderful to mesmerize you. The guide will help you find squirrels, tree shrews, orangutans, and Borneo gibbons living in the trees. Don’t feel unfortunate if the canopy walkway is closed due to heavy rain, and we will visit the tropical garden to see the Rafflesia instead.

After the hiking tour, your driver guide will transfer you back to the hotel. Have a good rest, and remember to pack your luggage because we will leave Kota Kinabalu tomorrow.

► Note: In all rainforest adventures, you need to be prepared for rain and mosquitoes. Besides, be careful of ubiquitous leeches by wearing leech-proof socks or boots. If you need to remove leeches, ask for some salt from the hotel restaurant before setting off in the morning.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Grandis Hotels and Resorts, Kota Kinabalu (4 stars)

After breakfast, you will be escorted to Kota Kinabalu International Airport and fly to Sandakan for about 45 minutes. On arrival, a driver based there will pick you up and drive you for around half an hour to the hotel in Sepilok Jungle Resort. Although just a tiny village in Borneo, Sepilok is a conservation area for most of Borneo’s endangered species, so you will mainly visit wildlife conservation centers and explore the rainforest here.

Our well-picked resort is located in such rainforest, one of the world’s oldest. Being environmentally friendly, it uses solar water heaters to reduce carbon footprint and biodegradable soaps and toilet paper to minimize ecological pollution. When you arrive, you can relax in the swimming pool or enjoy the lush forest view on the wooden stand. Sleeping in your room next to the forest tonight, you will hear the mysterious whispers of wild animals and wake up to birds chirping tomorrow morning.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation: My Nature Resort, Sepilok

In the morning, we will drive to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, the largest one of its kind worldwide. Orangutans, whose DNA is 96.4% the same as humans, are endangered species, and this rehabilitation center is built to treat abandoned orangutans and teach them how to live in the forest. Around 10 o’clock, the feeding time, orangutans will come to have food, and you can observe them up close. Besides, detailed documentary introductions will also give you a deeper understanding of orangutans.
► Notes:
1. If an orangutan approaches you, please keep your distance and not look directly into their eyes, as some are aggressive.
2. Do not wear bright accessories; orangutans may attack and grab them.
3. There is an additional charge for bringing a camera into the center.

Then, hike through the tropical lowland dipterocarp forest of Borneo to visit the world’s only Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Sun bears are the smallest bear species in the world, with an adult bear only weighing 140-160 pounds. The most arboreal of all bears, such expert tree climbers like to sleep or play in trees, so your eyes could be cast up to the trees to see if there are any traces of sun bears, or with the help of free telescopes on the elevated wooden trail.

Say goodbye to sun bears, and you'll then embark on a 1-hour boat ride to the Lower Kinabatangan River Sanctuary. As the longest river in Borneo, surrounded by untouched verdant rainforests, the Kinabatangan River is a paradise for many rare creatures. Along the river, you will meet some primitive tribes scattered on the bank with unique traditional houses.

★ Lunch at the Hidden Treasured Site in the Rainforest
Disembark and have a lunch break at Abai Jungle Restaurant, a fantastic place with blooming flowers everywhere. Having a meal at open-air seating, it’s common to see many rare birds and monkeys. You can also stroll on its equipped boardwalk and may be lucky to meet orangutans. Due to the location, the variety of food is limited but freshly cooked and tasty.

Set off again by another boat to Sukau Village, the filming location of the oriental pied hornbill segment in BBC’s nature documentary Planet Earth III. Upon arrival, check into an eco-friendly riverside lodge, which uses solar power generation, energy-saving light bulbs, and filtered rainwater as much as possible. Later in the afternoon, follow the local guide to embark on a Menanggul River Cruise to track the famous Borneo BIG 5: orangutan, proboscis monkey, estuarine crocodile, rhinoceros hornbill, and pygmy elephant, among which the most noteworthy is the pygmy elephant. It would be a great fortune if you could see them drinking water or crossing the river.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge, Sukau Village

Waking up to hornbill chirping and gibbons’ chatter in the early morning, when they are most active, take a boat trip to Ox-Bow Lake to track infrequent birds and animals. Sitting on the boat, keep your eyes following the guide’s point, and he or she will give you a detailed introduction to each bird species that fly by. Such a wildlife-spotting safari in the early morning is genuinely refreshing.

Afterward, return for breakfast, cozying to the natural air and listening to the birdsong. The rest of the morning until lunch is your free time; you can take some classes about ecotourism and wildlife at the hotel. If you are into wildlife photography, you might as well walk on the plank road behind the hotel, where you can see various birds and may even encounter orangutans.

In the afternoon, you can take a guided cruise to look for wild animals along the Kinabatangan River, mainly primates, such as proboscis monkey, a common star species here. They like to forage and play in the trees near the river bank in the early morning and evening. You might find them swinging among the treetops from a distance.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge, Sukau Village

Today, leave Sukau Village and move on to the next destination. We will first drive to Lahad Datu for around two hours, take a short break, and then drive for another two hours to Danum Valley, an isolated world with exciting adventures.

★ Exclusive Canopy Walking Experience
After checking in, attend the hotel’s lecture to learn about Danum Valley’s history, current situation, and tourism regulations. Then, follow the local professional guide who knows the valley inside out to embark on an adventure. The showstopper of your rainforest hiking is strolling on the majestic 360-meter-long (395 yards) and approximately 28-meter-high (92 feet) canopy walkway - available only for guests of our well-picked hotel - hanging over the tree tops, allowing you to have a bird-eye view of the entire mysterious jungle and observe the vibrant wildlife up close without being hurt by hidden dangers deep into the dense vegetation.

If weather permits, you will take an open-air truck to spot night wildlife led by a sharp-eyed guide. Danum Valley is the only place in Borneo where you can reliably see flying squirrels gliding. In addition to the well-known sleeping birds and fireflies, you will see many other star animals like Horsfeld’s tarsier, sambar deer, and Asian palm civets, whose digested and excreted coffee beans are ingredients of the renowned Kopi Luwak coffee.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley

Today, we will go trekking in Danum Valley. With about a four-to-five-kilometer walk in front of us, prepare enough drinking water and snacks such as chocolate to replenish energy quickly. Setting out from the hotel, we’ll follow the hiking trail through the forest and grassland, passing various wild animals, plants, and aboriginal cultural relics along the way. Arriving at the Kadazan-Dusun Burial Site, we will see hanging coffins that nature had eroded on the cliffs, with occasional glimpses of human bones covered by green moss, telling the history of the largest ethnic tribe in Sabah hundreds of years ago. Continue to the viewing platform 300 meters (985 feet) above sea level, overlooking Danum Valley’s unique terrain with massifs and rivers. The mist-wreathed forest, accompanied by the symphony of birdsong, lets you immerse yourself in the rainforest’s charm.

After returning to the hotel, take a break and have dinner. If the weather is good tonight, you can go out for a night wildlife spotting.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley

This morning, you'll be escorted to Lahad Datu Airport by car for two hours. Here, take a one-hour flight to Kota Kinabalu. After landing, a local driver will transfer you to the hotel near Dalit Beach, where you will stay for two leisurely nights to relieve the fatigue of rainforest trekking.

The hotel we booked for you has luxurious five-star amenities, such as quality room service, restaurants, and swimming pools with free pool parties at night. You can unwind on its quiet, private beach or explore the surrounding Rasa Ria Reserve. This hotel has also won the ASEAN Green Hotel Standard Award for advocating green energy and using green products. We hope you enjoy and relax here fully!

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Kota Kinabalu (5 stars)

You will have a whole day of free time today. You can sunbathe on the beach or participate in various activities the hotel organizes, including jungle exploration, outdoor sports, and handwork experience.

► Recommended Self-paid Activities
1. Sabah Batik Canting: Experience Malaysia’s traditional batik painting and design a unique handbag to take home, but it takes 1-2 days to wait for the finished product.
2. Ocean Golf: Play golf with golf balls made from harmless and biodegradable materials, which fish can eat.
3. Nature’s Little Buzzers: Observe the hives of stingless bees, learn about the anatomy, life cycle, and dietary preferences of bees, and savor the mellow honey that tastes sweet and sour.
4. Teen Adventure: The best option for children who want to explore the Rasa Ria Reserve with local naturalists and receive an electronic certificate when they finish.
5. Traditional Fishing River Cruise: The first choice for fishing enthusiasts to go deep into the mangroves to fish on a boat.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Kota Kinabalu (5 stars)

As our 10-day Borneo wildlife tour in Malaysia draws to an end, the driver guide will send you to the airport according to your flight. We wish you a smooth journey home!

► The Last Experience Suggested Before Leaving Kinabalu
If you are not in a hurry to the airport, you can join the hotel’s cycling tour in the morning sun to visit Laya-Laya Village and admire the traditional stilt houses of the Bajau Samah.

After appreciating the natural landscape of the ancient rainforest, are you also yearning for Malaysia’s rich and colorful culture? If you want to extend your journey to other Malaysian cities like Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, and Penang or other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, please contact us to customize the itinerary!

Meals: Breakfast