Jungles of Borneo

Borneo’s rainforest is approximately 130 million years old, which makes it one of the oldest on Earth – it predates the Amazon by roughly 60 million years, having survived intact through multiple ice ages while other forests contracted and vanished. About 60% of the island has been logged or converted to oil palm in the past 50 years. These two facts together explain why the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island’s north coast is both one of the most important wildlife destinations in Southeast Asia and a race against time.

The Kinabatangan River floodplain in Sabah is the most productive single wildlife habitat in Borneo for the specific reason that surrounding land has been converted to oil palm, concentrating wildlife into the remaining forest corridor along the river. Proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, long-tailed macaques, hornbills, Oriental pied hornbills, estuarine crocodiles, and occasionally clouded leopards all use this corridor. The irony of a degraded landscape producing reliable wildlife sightings is real and uncomfortable.

Where to Go

Kinabatangan River is the destination to prioritise. Plan a minimum of two nights at one of the riverine lodges for morning and evening boat trips across multiple days. One day is enough to see the river; two days is enough to see the wildlife.

Sepilok, near Sandakan, has the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre – where semi-wild orangutans that were orphaned or confiscated come to morning and afternoon feeding platforms. The crowds at feeding time can be substantial, but the rehabilitation programme is serious. Directly adjacent, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre is the only facility in the world focused specifically on sun bears, the world’s smallest bear species and one of the least-studied. Worth two hours alongside the orangutan centre.

Danum Valley Conservation Area is where serious wildlife watching happens. Access is strictly managed; accommodation is limited to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge and a research station, and it’s expensive (around USD 300-500 per night all-inclusive). What you get in return is primary rainforest at a scale that the Kinabatangan cannot offer – forest that has never been logged, with trees centuries old and wildlife that encounters humans rarely enough that the encounters are genuinely different. Night drives with spotlight equipment regularly produce sambar deer, civets, slow lorises, and occasionally clouded leopards.

Mount Kinabalu (4,095 metres), in Kinabalu National Park, is the highest point in Southeast Asia outside Papua New Guinea and is climbable by fit non-climbers. The permit system requires advance booking months ahead for the summit route; expect to pay around MYR 300-500 for the summit package. The botanical gardens at the base of the mountain are free and underrated – over 800 orchid species.

Food and Practical Notes

Kota Kinabalu’s Filipino Market is the right place for a cheap seafood dinner: choose fish or shellfish from the stalls, negotiate a price (around MYR 30-50 for two with rice), and it’s grilled to order. In Sepilok and Kinabatangan, your lodge includes meals in the package price.

Pack for heat and rain simultaneously. Leeches are common on forest trails after rain; leech socks or strong repellent are worth having. Boat trips on the Kinabatangan leave around 6am and 5pm specifically because those are the hours of animal activity. The midday hours are quiet for wildlife, which makes them good for hiking the forest trails.

Best time to visit: March through October, avoiding the northeast monsoon that brings heavy flooding to the Kinabatangan region from November through February.