Observing rare wild apes interacting with one another in their natural habitat is a life-changing experience. This enthralling trip takes you to the home of wild orangutans and pigtailed macaques on an other-worldly journey across the world’s third-largest isle. Located in southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago, this enormous island in the South China Sea/ Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea is renowned for its verdant equatorial rainforests, rich indigenous culture and phenomenal rare wildlife.
Tragically the Bornean orangutan is critically endangered, with populations that have declined by more than fifty per cent over the past sixty years due to habitat destruction and illegal hunting. The pygmy elephant, the smallest and least understood subspecies of Asian elephant, can also be found here and is classed as endangered. These precious wildlife habitats are destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations and agricultural activity. By visiting orangutans and other endangered animals, you are directly contributing towards the conservation of these precious species.
"Absorb the phenomenal lowland rainforest views and birdlife from the canopy walkway, potentially spotting some of Sabah’s primate species amongst the ironwood trees."
The jungle adventure to find these extraordinary apes is nothing short of spectacular. Sabah on the eastern side of Malaysian Borneo, is the best part of the country to see orangutans. There are some marvellous rainforests and national reserves scattered across the province. Each day you can step out along the rainforest trails and trek through the richly biodiverse rainforest with your private guide. Walk beneath towering mengaris (Koompassia excelsa), some over 80 metres high making it one of the tallest tropical tree species. This tree is particularly associated with the world’s largest honeybee and many nests can be found on a tree. Each nest could be home to 30,000 bees.
Visitors to Sabah should visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation and its nearby Rainforest Discovery Centre, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Labuk Bay Sanctuary. The latter two offer some of the best opportunities to see sun bears and in Labuk the endangered Proboscis monkeys are a wonderful site. They live wild but come to the sanctuary for supplementary feeding, living amongst the mangroves and tall beach and forest trees. Sepilok covers a protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve and provides medical care for orphaned orangutans and many other wildlife species. Sun bears, gibbons, Sumatran rhinos and elephants are just a few of the species that have also been treated at the centre. There are three species of orangutans including the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli.
Another location worth experiencing during your stay is the enchanting Danum Valley, renowned for its rich ecosystem in the ancient forest that has been in existence for over 130 million years. Absorb the phenomenal lowland rainforest views and birdlife from the canopy walkway, potentially spotting some of Sabah’s primate species amongst the ironwood trees. These include Colugo, the north Bornean gibbon, Malayan civet and red leaf monkey.
It’s a mesmerising experience to be surrounded by the intriguing sights, smells and tropical sounds of Borneo. One of the most fascinating and smallest is the six o’clock cicada. There are also numerous nature trails within reserves such as Tabin and waterways to explore along the Kina; from highland rainforest to lowland mangrove swamps where wildlife can be spotted. If you want to escape the more well-known reserves, then head for Deramakot Forest Reserve which has the most incredible mixed dipterocarp trees, thick forests, orangutans, clouded leopards, pygmy elephants and sambars.
Sukau Rainforest Lodge is a really interesting place to stay for a few days and in place of walking through the forest, rather explore the waterways for orangutans, proboscis monkeys, pig-tailed and long-tailed macaques, giant squirrels and hornbills. Learn about the conservation efforts in the area to protect the hornbills and their nests.
We will be on hand to plan every detail of your trip to Borneo, from wildlife encounters to a range of accommodations suitable for your requirements, curating a personalised itinerary to maximise your time in this fascinating location. Trekking across the primitive rainforest and witnessing orangutans in the wild, means that you experience the true essence of one of the most captivating destinations in Southeast Asia.
