Sabah
Sabah occupies a relatively small chunk of the world’s third-largest island, Borneo, yet what a punch it packs: the treasure of turquoise-fringed desert islands with coral reefs swarming with marine biodiversity; trekkers' paradise Mt Kinabalu reaching 13435ft (4095m) into the clouds; and jungles pulsing with a menagerie of bug-eyed tarsiers, gibbons, pythons, clouded leopards and huge crocs. Around 55% of Sabah is forest, and protected areas such as the Maliau Basin and the Danum Valley Conservation Area are more accessible than ever.
Getting from one of Sabah’s highlights to the next is eminently doable. Whether it’s coffee-shop haunting in Kota Kinabalu, watching baby orangutans learning to climb at Sepilok, beach flopping on the northern Tip of Borneo, or searching for pygmy elephants near Tawau, your time here will feel like five vacations condensed into one.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Sabah.
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Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Around 25km north of Sandakan, and covering 40 sq km of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, this inspiring, world-famous centre welcomes orphaned and injured orangutans for rehabilitation before returning them to forest life. There are around 200 living in the reserve, though only a few are regular visitors to the feeding platform. At the outdoor nursery, a short walk from the feeding platform, you can watch orphaned youngsters at play. The youngsters you'll be charmed by are between six and nine years old, and in either the air-conditioned or fan-cooled viewing stalls you can sit and watch them play and practise their swinging – just one of the skills they'll need to stay alive should they return to what's left of their rainforest home. Try to get here early in the morning before they are fed and become sleepy. Platform Feeding Feedings at the platforms are at 10am and 3pm, and last 30 to 50 minutes. Tickets are valid for one day, so you can see two feedings with the same ticket. Watching the trees begin to shake, the ropes vibrating, the first swatch of orange shifting through the branches, is a moment you'll never forget. Also worth noting is that only around two to four of the population will feed at any one time. During fruiting season, few will turn up, if any at all, since there's plenty to eat in the forest. The larger males almost never congregate here. In order to get a good spot for your camera or kids, get here 20 minutes before feeding time. The morning feeding is always more crowded with Homo sapiens, as this is when more tour groups visit, so if you want a quieter experience, try the afternoon. Don't bring any containers of insect repellent into the reserve, as these are highly toxic to the apes and other wildlife. Spray yourself before entering, and put on plenty of sunblock. Nature Education Centre A worthwhile 20-minute video about Sepilok's work is shown six times daily (9am, 10.30am, 11am, noon, 2.10pm and 3.30pm) in the auditorium opposite reception. Strangely the impact of palm-oil plantations, which have supplanted much of the orangutan's habitat, is not specifically mentioned.
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Agop Batu Tulug
This hill, 2km north of the Batuh Putih bridge, features three caves housing the ancestors of local Orang Sungai (People of the River). Because the Kinabatangan has a habit of frequently flooding, the final resting place of the dead has traditionally been located in cave complexes. Nine-hundred-year-old ironwood coffins are interred in the Batu Tulug caves with spears, knives, gongs, bells and Chinese curios, making the hill one of the most important archaeological sites in Sabah. Steep wooden staircases snake up the 40m hill to the caves. Of the three caves, two are open to the public. Agop Lintanga, the larger cave, has the largest coffin collection, though they are unadorned, suggesting they were used for interring the bodies of common people. Smaller Agop Sawat, accessible from the lookout on top of the hill, has five carved log coffins, decorated with ox heads – more elaborate coffins reserved for chieftains. From the viewpoint you'll be rewarded with a 360-degree view of palm-oil plantations encroaching on the secondary forest and the Kinabatangan River. Halfway to the top, a small museum details the history of cave burials in the Kinbatangan area and showcases some funereal objects found in the caves, as well as a splendid example of an ornate ironwood coffin. The easiest way to get here is to include the caves in your package tour of the Kinabatangan. If you've got your own vehicle, look for signs indicating the turn-off to the Batu Caves, 18km south of the Sukau junction.
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Pantai Tempurung
Borneo's loveliest beach is a long, almost-pristine stretch of white sand, lapped at by clear waters. The waves are gentle and great for swimming. You need your own wheels to get here, or else charter a taxi in Kuala Penyu.
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Gomantong Caves
Imagine a cathedral-like inner chamber shot with splinters of sunlight and a cave floor swarming with cockroaches, and you have the Gomantong Caves. The smell has a presence of its own, thanks to the ubiquity of bird and bat guano (you'll want to wear covered shoes and a hat). The only cave open to visitors, Simud Hitam, is magnificent. The turn-off to Gomantong is well signposted en route to Sukau; most tours include a stop here. A standard visit involves a trot counter-clockwise along the raised boardwalk that loops around the vast chamber. Besides cockroaches, you may spot freshwater cave crabs, giant centipedes, scorpions, plus lots of swiftlets and bats that occasionally fall to the cave floor and provide nourishment for the scuttling creatures that dwell in swiftlet and bat excrement. If you happen to be outside the cave entrance at around 6pm, you will see an impressive vortex of bats streaming out in search of food (unless it's raining, in which case they tend to stay in). The majority of visitors to Gomantong come as part of an add-on to their Kinabatangan tour package. If you're driving the caves are reachable via 5km of paved road, around 22km northeast of Bilit and 27km northeast of Sukau. Due to dwindling swiftlet bird populations, the caves are closed over certain periods, so check before planning your visit.
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Sandakan Memorial Park
A beautiful rainforest garden marks the site of a Japanese POW camp and the starting point for the infamous WWII 'death marches' to Ranau. Of the 1793 Australian and 641 British troops originally imprisoned here, the only survivors by July 1945 were six Australian escapees. A concrete water tank and a few rusting machines from the British agricultural station that became a prison comprise the only physical remains. A pavilion recounts the horrors and heroism and includes photographs and survivor accounts. Download the Sandakan app to learn more about the camp, the privations endured (particularly by Australians, seen as troublemakers by the Japanese), the horrific diet and the locals who saved and hid the six surviving Australians. To reach the park, take any Batu 8 (or higher-numbered) bus from the local bus station on the waterfront in the city centre (RM1.50). Get off at the 'Taman Rimba' signpost and walk down Jln Rimba. A taxi from the city centre costs about RM80 return with one hour waiting time; two Grab rides work out cheaper.
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Tun Sakaran Marine Park
Also known as the Semporna Islands Marine Park, this 350-sq-km protected area, a short boat ride from Semporna, comprises eight islands and two reefs. Some of the islands are inhabited by the Bajau sea gypsies, who eke out their living from fishing. Diving operators tend to take their clients to uninhabited Mantabuan and Sibuan islands, as well as the Kapikan and Church reefs.
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Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre
The wonderful BSBCC provides care to rescued sun bears (44 at the time of writing), the world's second-most endangered bear. It's possible to see the bears foraging, climbing and sunning themselves in the forest from two elevated walkways and viewing platforms. There are telescopes set up for a closer look and the centre has full access for people with disabilities. The gift shop screens an educational video on BSBCC and its valuable work. Named for the golden bracelet of fur around their necks, the sun bears' Rorschach-like pattern is never duplicated, varying as they do in colour from cream to orange. At a maximum of 150cm and 60kg in weight, they are little larger than Paddington and are the smallest of the world's bears. Sun bears are found throughout Southeast Asia, in eastern India, southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Borneo, usually at an altitude of around 2700m. An average male sun bear needs at least 39 sq km of forest to find sufficient food. They're excellent climbers, equipped with long claws to scale high trees in search of beehives. As they'll rip a cavity in the trunk to get to their honey, they create a safe place for hornbills and other birds to nest at a later date. They also control the forest's destructive population of termites, which are a critical part of the bears' diet. Across Asia the sun bear is caught and slaughtered for meat and Chinese medicine. In countries such as China and Vietnam, the poor beasts are strapped in tiny cages and hooked to IVs that pump bile from their gallbladders. Thankfully this does not happen in Sabah, though the bears are still under enormous threat from habitat loss. Animals donated to the centre are first checked for diseases they may have caught as humans' pets, before being transferred to the training pen. A new arrival will learn to socialise, climb, build nests and forage before its eventual release into the wild. It's possible to donate to help with feeding and veterinary costs and to 'adopt' a bear. If you wish to volunteer as a keeper, it costs RM8180 for a month, or RM4368 for two weeks, including accommodation and meals. See the website for details.
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Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary
A local palm-plantation owner has created a private proboscis monkey sanctuary, attracting the floppy-conked locals with sugar-free pancakes at 9.30am and 2.30pm feedings at Platform A, and 11.30am and 4.30pm at Platform B, 1km away. An estimated 300 wild monkeys live in the 6-sq-km reserve. The proboscis monkeys are enticed with food, which may put you off if you're looking for a more ecologically minded experience. Come here by shuttle (one way/return RM20/40) from SORC (10.30am) or Sandakan (9.30am, departing Hotel Sandakan). Proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) are found only on Borneo, although if you take a close look at them, you'd swear you've spotted one in the corner of a dodgy bar. Named for their long bulbous noses, proboscis monkeys are potbellied and red-faced, and males are constantly, unmistakably…aroused. With the arrival of Europeans, Malays nicknamed the proboscis monyet belanda (Dutch monkey). Also keep an eye out for the delicately featured silver leaf langurs with their orange-coloured babies. A private shuttle is operated by the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary (RM20 per person one way). It departs Hotel Sandakan at 9.30am, arrives at Sepilok 40 to 45 minutes later, then departs Sepilok at 10.30am to arrive at Labuk Bay in time for the feeding at Platform B (11.30am). The return journey to Sandakan is at 3pm (so you could catch a second feeding at Platform A (2.30pm). If you wish to head back to Sandakan earlier, however, you can pay RM80 per person. Teluk Labuk (Labuk Bay) sits 15km off the main highway. The route is signposted and largely paved. Lodgings in Sepilok can arrange transport, including waiting time, for around RM120; SORC taxis charge similar prices. Food and accommodation are provided at the sanctuary's Nipah Resort.
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Mari Mari Cultural Village
With its three-hour tours, Mari Mari showcases various traditional homes of Sabahan ethnic communities – the Bajau, Lundayeh, Murut, Rungus and Dusun – all of which are built by descendants of the tribes they represent. Along the way you'll get the chance to see blowpipe making, tattooing, fire-starting and an insight into the mystical belief systems of each of these groups, as well as culinary nibbles from each tribe! It's touristy, sure, but good fun, especially for families. A short dance recital is also included in the visit. The village is a 20- to 30-minute drive east of KK and transport to/from your hotel can be arranged when booking. There is also a small waterfall – Kiansom Waterfall – about 400m beyond the cultural village, which is easily accessible by private transport or on foot. The area around the cascade lends itself well to swimming and it's a great place to cool off after a visit to Mari Mari.