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Upgraded Borneo Adventure
12 days, Kuching to Kota Kinabalu
Itinerary
Day 1Kuching
Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer is included.
Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting
The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you’re back in time to meet the group. Check for the meeting time on the welcome note at the hotel. After introductions, your CEO will review the details of your tour. Please note that normal check-in times apply at our start hotels, but you can usually store your luggage for the day if you arrive early.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Day 2Kuching
Enjoy a full-day visit to a Bidayuh tribal village and learn about the culture of the indigenous people of southern Sarawak. Enter a traditional bamboo longhouse with our local guide, watch a traditional dance performance and see how the Bidayuh cook a daily meal.
This village is located near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border. Along the way stop at the colourful local market in the small town of Serian, which features a variety of jungle produce such as edible ferns, bamboo shoots, tropical fruits and more.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle on the drive to the village and back.
Your Journeys Highlight Moment: Visit Mongkos Village
Enjoy a full day excursion to Mongkos village of the Bidayuh tribe, a thriving rural community which is home to one of the few remaining traditional Bidayuh longhouses in Sarawak. The Bidayuh (or Land Dayak) are the second largest indigenous tribe in Sarawak and we spend the day learning about their culture, history, and contemporary life. Upon arrival the community will welcome us with a traditional dance performance, then visit the 24-doors traditional longhouse, which was made out of wood and bamboo in the 1950s. After enjoy a walk through the farmlands to see the rice fields (seasonal), pepper farm, rubber plantation, and tropical fruit orchards. You will also experience how the Bidayuh prepare a traditional lunch, cooked with simple natural “pots,” leaves and ingredients. Enjoy your local lunch of delicious and fresh dishes.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 3Kuching
Travel to Santubong Peninsula today with views of Mount Santubong. Cruise down the Santubong River and keep an eye out for wildlife. Enjoy a free afternoon before going on an evening walk with an amphibian expert in Kubah National Park.
Free Time
Enjoy an afternoon at leisure to further explore your surroundings.
Nature Walk in Kubah National Park
Visit Kubah national park for an evening nature walk with an amphibian expert. View rare ferns and orchids, as well as a wide variety of palm species. The recent discovery of a new tiny frog species at the park has made this place famous for frogging. Commonly refered to as the Kubah Narrow-mouthed Frog, this newly discovered species is one of the smallest frogs in the world at the size of a pencil’s tip. This frog is often found living in insect-eating pitcher plants and while these carnivorous plants kill insects, there is no harm to the frogs and their tadpoles grow in the liquid inside of pitcher plants. With our expert, we will search for this famous little creature as well as other popular amphibians such as the Bornean Horned Toad, several species of Sticky Frogs, White-eared Tree Frog, Wallace’s Flying Frog, Harlequin Tree Frogs and many more. While on the look-out for frogs and other amphibians, enjoy the stunning jungle orchestra during night fall, which made Kubah National Park the winner of the ‘Most Beautiful Sound in the World’ contest. The recording ‘Dusk by the Frog Pond’ by an Australian professional in photography and bioacoustics beat out hundreds of entries, standing out among the 11 other finalists that also featured nature recordings.
Santubong River Wildlife and Dolphin Cruise
Visit Santubong peninsula this morning, and embark on a river cruise. Explore the mouth of the Santubong river and mangrove forest of Kuching Wetlands National Park. Enjoy the stunning scenery of the mangrove swamp and learn how the various animals, like the proboscis monkeys, and the uniquely adapted mangrove trees develop a complex symbiotic eco-system. The rare Irrawaddy Dolphins are often seen here. While most commonly associated with the Mekong river delta and the Irrawaddy river (Myanmar), this dolphin is also found in coastal areas of the island of Borneo in estuaries close to mangrove forests. This slate gray dolphin species features a bulging forehead and short beak and only a very small dorsal fin. Increasing levels of bycatch and habitat degradation in recent years have led to decreasing numbers of this elusive animal and have driven it almost into extinction in some areas of its habitats in Southeast Asia.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 4Kuching/Gunung Mulu National Park
Hop on a flight to Mulu this morning where you’ll be staying in a hotel near Gunung Mulu National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The park is home to the renowned Mulu Caves, which happen to be one of the largest cave systems on Earth. Tonight, go on a night walk with a local guide through the jungle to observe the park’s nocturnal wildlife.
The Mulu Caves hold many world records in terms of size, height and length including the Sarawak Chamber; thought to be the largest known natural underground chamber. As well, considered the largest known cave passage in the world, the Deer Cave is home to a phenomenal 2-3 million bats. Finally, the Clearwater Cave boasts an extensive system of passages, currently known to be the longest in South-East Asia. To date approximately 100 km of the system has been explore, and much still remains a mystery.
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Mulu Night Walk
Venture out into the lush Sarawak rainforest with a guide and flashlight to check out the wild jungle inhabitants at night, when they really come alive. Keep your eyes peeled and watch your step!
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 5Gunung Mulu National Park
Glide in a longboat along the Melinau River to visit a Penan settlement. This tribe’s traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle is being threatened by deforestation. Afterwards, travel on to the Wind Cafe and climb up some steps to the underground river in Clearwater Cave, the longest cave passage in Asia. Have a picnic lunch and then visit both Lang and Deer Caves. Deer Cave contains more than 3 million bats and so we’ll try to plan the excursion to match up with the massive bat exodus in the early evening.
Wind and Clearwater Caves Exploration
Visit Wind Cave, named for the breezes that blow through it, and the vast Clearwater Cave, home to a subterranean river. After checking out the caves, enjoy a refreshing swim and a picnic amongst the beautiful scenery of the rainforest.
Deer and Lang Caves Exploration
Walk along a series of planks through the rainforest to reach Deer and Lang caves. Explore these impressive caverns (Deer cave is never less than 90 metres high or wide!), home to more than two million bats.
Bat Exodus Observation
Head to the cave entrance or the bat observatory to watch as millions of bats exit the Deer Cave to hunt insects.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 6Gunung Mulu National Park/Kota Kinabalu
Free Time
Enjoy you morning free, take some time to explore the rainforest.
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Optional Activities - Day 6 HideShow
Canopy Walk
480m the canopy walk is the longest in the world.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 7KOTA KINABALU/KAMPUNG BILIT
Board a morning flight to Sandakan where the group will visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Afterwards, travel to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre where you’ll meet rescued Malayan sun bears. Sit for a talk about the efforts underway to protect the smallest species of bear in the world and then transfer to the lodge in the small village of Kampung Bilit. In the evening the group will enjoy a cruise on the Kinabatangan River. Search for monkeys, birds, elephants, and crocodiles as you travel through the water.
At the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre you may come in relatively close proximity to the orangutans, but you cannot touch or directly interact with them. Most primate care centres, especially those attempting rehabilitation and release in accordance with the IUCN guidelines, prohibit tourist and volunteer contact with any and all animals for two main reasons: risk of zoonosis (the risk of us passing diseases to our primate cousins) and habituation & behavioural implications (detrimental impact of having a large, ever-changing human presence around apes which might lead to a reluctance to return to their natural habitat).
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre Visit
Visit the conservation centre and see the world’s smallest bear. Learn more about the sun bears and the conservation efforts being made to protect them.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Kinabatangan River Evening Cruise
Cruise through the crocodile-infested waters with an expert boatman. While wildlife-spotting can't be guaranteed there's a good chance you will spot some monkeys, birds and the occasional saltwater crocodiles.
Jungle Night Walk
Take a night walk on the trails near the Jungle Lodge and look for the unique creatures that are active at night.
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre Visit
The orangutans at the centre were either rescued as orphans or from illegal domestication. Once rehabilitated, they are set free to live in the wild. Watch these creatures being fed or roaming the grounds along with other animals such as macaque monkeys.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 8Kampung Bilit
Head out into the jungle on foot today with local guides and naturalists. Cruise along the Kinabatangan River and keep your eyes open for the wildlife that is so abundant in the area.
Kinabatangan River Wildlife Cruise
Jump into a boat and explore the muddy river; keep your eyes peeled for monkeys, birds, and crocodiles.
Guided Oxbow Lake Walk and Wildlife Spotting
Enjoy a guided trek along the lake and seek out proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, macaques, and gibbons.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 9Kampung Bilit/Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Travel to a rainforest reserve in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Home to nine different primate species, three species of cat, and hundreds of bird species. Hike along a trail made by elephants to the Lipad mud volcano and climb to the top of the observation tower to see beautiful views of the forest. Later, after dinner, the group will attend a presentation on Tabin’s natural wonders and then embark on a night safari to experience the area’s nocturnal creatures.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Hike to Lipad Mud Volcano
Hike from the Elephant trail to the active Lipad mud volcano, which provides a mineral salt lick for wildlife. Climb the observation tower and admire the contrasting landscape of the bare mud volcano to the surrounding lush forest, where birds are commonly seen. Try to identify the multitude of animal footprints here. The adventurous can try the effects of the volcanic mud, said to be beneficial for a glowing complexion.
Night Safari
A night safari is an excellent way to see wildlife that’s nocturnal, such as the Western Tarsier, the Slow Loris, the Clouded Leopard, Leopard Cat, Palm Civet, Mousedeer, flying lemur and Colugo. Care is taken not to disturb them with high-powered lighting.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 10Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Continue exploring the Tabin Wildlife Reserve with local guides today. Start the day with a morning bird walk, then, after breakfast, trek through the rainforest to Lipad Waterfall where you can take a quick dip or shower, or simply relax by the edge of the natural pool. Later in the afternoon enjoy a wildlife drive through the reserve. In the evening venture out on a night walk near the lodge and search for wildlife.
Morning Bird Walk
Tabin is a bird-watcher's paradise as the forest here attracts an amazingly rich diversity of birds, including rare and endemic species. The relatively low canopy with sufficient natural light makes birding and photography here a delightful experience.
Lipad Waterfall Visit
Trek through the lush green rainforest known for its rich diversity of plants and animal species to visit Lipad Waterfall. Take a dip in the natural pool and enjoy a refreshing shower under the waterfall. Alternatively, explore the surrounding vegetation or just relax.
Dusk Wildlife Drive
Set off on a dusk drive to look out for nocturnal wildlife and birds that come out to look for food during this time of the day.
Jungle Night Walk
Go for a night walk along the trail close to the resort in search of sleeping birds, frogs, and nocturnal wildlife.
Optional Activities - Day 10 HideShow
Tabin Rainforest Foot Soak
Try out the Tabin Rainforest Foot Soak, made with a natural blend of herbs to relax tired muscles after long jungle treks.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 11Tabin Wildlife Reserve/Kota Kinabalu
Enjoy a free morning at the reserve and choose to watch a video about Tabin Wildlife Reserve or maybe fashion some souvenirs using mud from the nearby volcano. Then, fly to Kota Kinabalu and take advantage of free time to get to know this coastal city.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 12Kota Kinabalu
Depart at any time.
Departure Day
Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.