Tag Archives: canopy walk

Rainforest Skywalk of Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC)

Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC), a Park in the Jungle

5 Replies

The Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) is one of the most accessible natural rainforest parks in Sabah. It sits by a lake at the edge of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in Sandakan. RDC has been in operation since 1996 for environmental education purposes. Today, it is a 3-in-1 park (i.e. wildlife, bird and botanical) for nature lovers and bird watchers where they can see the unique flora and fauna of Borneo. To students, it’s the best outdoor classroom to learn the rich biodiversity of tropical rainforest.

Rainforest Discovery Center and the adjacent Sepilok-Kabili Forest, and its lake. Boat is available for rent (RM5)

Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) is managed by the Sabah Forestry Department and one of the most popular Environmental Education (EE) centers in Sabah. A pristine lowland dipterocarp and Mangrove forest with astounding 300 species of birds are recorded in the area.

10 things you can do at Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC). RDC receives more than 30,000 visitors every year.

The 4,300-hectare Sepilok-Kabili Forest Reserve has gained birders recognition worldwide for its iconic Bornean Bristlehead, Black & Crimson Pitta, Blue-headed Pitta, Giant Pitta, Black Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill and more. The forest of Sepilok is declared as an Important Birding Area (IBA) by Birdlife International in 2009.

Jungle and Nature Trails

Visitors can walk along the trails and become acquainted with green giants such as the 40-Meter-tall mengaris tree, one of the tallest tree in Borneo. Besides soaking up the sight and getting a good workout, visitors can refer to the interpretive panels along the trail, which has descriptions about the unique residents of the forest.

Interesting fruit and plant at RDC. Left: Giant aroid (Alocasia robusta), endemic to Borneo; Middle: an unknown fruit; Right: Elephant tree, locally known as Simpoh Gajah or Ubah Rusa (Species: Dillenia borneensis), endemic to Borneo

Alert the little ones to keep an eye out for darting civets and flying squirrels (which can glide up to 100 Meters)! And lucky visitors have also spotted animals such as the elusive red leaf monkey, gibbon (the fastest moving primate in tree canopy), mouse deer, civet cat and many odd looking insects such as stick insect and lantern bug.

Giant trees of Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok Giant (left) and Kabili Monster (right)

The giant trees that you must check out are Sepilok Giant, a Yellow Seraya tree (Shorea acatissima), which is about 65 Meters in height, with an estimated age of 800-1,000 years old, and the 75-Meter-tall Kabili Monster, an Obah Suluk tree (Shorea pauciflora).

Trail map of Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC)

Another tree worths a good look is Belian Borneo Ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri), the 7th hardest wood in the world. The main trails are gravel path, and some sections are networks of well-trodden nature (soil) trails for you to explore deeper.

Plant Discovery Garden

RDC also has a Plant Discovery Garden, which covers about 3 acres of land. This garden will make any botanist smile with its rich collection of hybrid orchids, arid land plants, aquatic plants, pitcher plants, economic crops and tropical American plants.

Orchid and carnivorous plant (from America) in the Plant Discovery Garden of RDC

There are colourful outdoor interpretive panels with descriptions of all the plants, which are available in English and Bahasa Malaysia languages and makes learning not only easy but fun as well.

Interpretation panels with photographs and interesting facts of fruits and herb, description is available in English and Malay languages.

For serious learners, there are just too many local and exotic plants (flowers, herbs, spices, crops) to look at, just to name a few, peach palm, vanilla, tongkat ali, rubber, cassava, cinnamon, fig, and cycad (a living fossil and food of dinosaur).

From left: Kelumpang Sarawak (Sterculia megistophylla), fig tree, and red fruit of achiote plant (used as lipstick in the past)

Rainforest Skywalk (Canopy Walk)

The main attraction of RDC is Rainforest Skywalk, the longest Canopy Walkway in Sabah. Visitors can climb to the top of the observation towers and take in the breathtaking view from the 620-Meter-long and 25-meter-high metal platforms and walkway.

Towers of RDC. From left: Bristlehead Tower, Trogon Tower, nature trail under the tower

The walkway is two meters wide, is very sturdy and can hold the weight of a large crowd. RDC has three main towers that are named after the Bristlehead, Hornbill and Trogon and a single-column shelter called the Sunbird. With a height of 26.5 Metres (87 ft), Trogon Tower is the highest tower of RDC.

Rainforest Skywalk of Rainforest Discovery Centre is tall but still lower than many trees. Some of the trees were planted in 1970s and 1980s.

The designers of the canopy walkway made sure that it was not only safe for adults, but also for young children who are at kindergarten-level.

Fruiting next to the Rainforest Skywalk. From left: Artocarpus elasticus (Terap togop), Dacryodes rostrata (or cuspidata), poisonous Lampada Fruit (Tabernaemontana macrocarpa)

To the team at RDC, the younger children are exposed to the wonders of Mother Nature, the more they will appreciate our rainforest. During weekends, some local retired people also come here for birding regularly.

Rainforest Skywalk of RDC is 620 Metres long after an extension of 250 Metres completed in early 2022.

The highest platform of towers is about 26.5 Meters (87 feet) above the ground. Many birds, wildlife, fruits and insects live high on the tree, so these towers provide a great viewing point for bird watching and wildlife sighting. I’ve seen mother orangutan with her baby there before (see video).

Orangutan and Macaque could be seen at RDC, especially during fruiting season. They are not friendly so keep a distance from them.

Bornean Bristlehead normally feeds up in the mid and upper layer of tree canopy, and best seen from Canopy Walkway. You have higher chance of seeing them near Bristlehead and Hornbill Towers in RDC. On the skywalk, you don’t need to look up so much that your neck cramps. I’m confident to say that RDC has one of the best setting for bird watching in the world.

Information board about the tall rainforest trees around this area, so you can do a self-guided tour.

Many trees here are very old and over 50 Meters tall, most of these emergent trees are from the family Dipterocarpaceae, the main timber family of Sabah. During fruiting season, you will see many birds and wildlife coming here for feeding.

Bird Watching

Due to the tourist-friendly canopy walkway and nearby virgin rainforest where over 300 lowland bird species reside, RDC is really a haven for nature photographers and birdwatchers. RDC is also the most promising spot to see Bornean Bristlehead, the trophy bird species of birders, but you still need some luck. I saw it only once after three visits.

Birdwatching and bird photography are popular activities at RDC. Do bring a binocular with you.

Many endemic (13 species are Borneo endemic), rare and colorful birds are active around RDC, for example, Bornean Bristlehead, Hornbills, Pittas, Kingfisher (8 species), Trogons, Malkohas, Leafbirds, Minivets, Spiderhunters (6 species), Crested Jay, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Broadbills, Woodpeckers, and Bulbuls. For full list, you may see this Checklist of Birds in Sepilok.

Endemic birds of Borneo in Sepilok. The red-headed bird in pictures is Bornean Bristlehead (Nickname: headphone bird)

Therefore, for visitors who don’t want to travel far, RDC is the best alternative birding sites to Danum Valley and Tabin Wildlife Reserve, the world-class birding sites in Lahad Datu.

Trail signages and interpretation panel of birds in RDC

Some forest birds spend most of their time on canopy and best to be observed from RDC Canopy Walkway, while some prefers habitat in understorey and forest ground, so you need to explore the jungle trails for such birds. (Note: leeches might present during wet season)

Interpretation panels of birds in RDC are placed at the spots where sighting of birds in the pictures are possible. Some are placed on Rainforest Skywalk for birds that are active on canopy.

According to birding community, the 1.9-KM Kingfisher Trail is very productive (many birds). There are many direction signages in the RDC trail network, so you should have no problem to get around. What I really like is – RDC also places many information panels in different spots to inform you what birds, trees and wildlife are (probable) nearby.

Birds of RDC. From left: Red-bearded bee eater, Racket-tailed drongo, White-crowned hornbill, Bornean black magpie

Inside the forest there are small ponds used by many birds as natural bird bath for bathing and drinking. Most birds only dip their wings to splash water on their backs. Parts of the bath is just about 2 inches deep, just enough for small birds. Keep an eye for Red-eyed Bulbul, Emerald Dove and Hairy-backed Bulbul there. Garden birds such as sunbirds, spiderhunters and flowerpeckers are common visitors too.

Borneo Bird Festival is packed with activities for birders, children, photographers and tourists.

RDC is a preferred venue for Borneo Bird Festival, which is usually held in Sep or Oct annually, the best visiting time for bird watchers who are looking forward for exciting activities such as bird race, talks, bird photography contest, latest birding gears, and exhibition.

Exhibition Hall

The main visitor building has an exhibition hall that features the unique flora found in Sabah, plus the various icons in our animal kingdom including the Bornean pygmy elephant, orangutan, proboscis monkey and many more.

The Exhibition Hall of RDC is great for learning the biodiversity of Borneo

Visitors can also find information on reptiles and the main groups of birds. The building also has a multi purpose hall, which is often used for talks, screenings and other activities.

Information about flora & fauna of Borneo (available in both English and Malay languages)

Besides animals, visitors can browse good collections of plant, fruit, tree and insect specimens in the hall. The information is presented in gallery style, with a lot of beautiful photographs with minimal text, available in English and Malay languages.

Left: One of the display item: Ghost Durian (Durian Hantu) has no spikes and inedible, though it’s under the same family of Durian fruit. Right: Crocodile specimen in exhibition hall of RDC

This Exhibition Hall is air-conditioned, so I love to come here after a long walk under hot sun outside LOL (and for the toilet too). I must say the Exhibition Hall does a very good job in giving visitors an interesting overview of Borneo’s nature.

Other Facilities

The infrastructure of RDC is quite well-thought, this makes RDC an excellent attraction, as well as a great location to organize mid-scale events. They also added a 180-Metre flying squirrel zipline at the lake area.

Left: Keruing Cafe of RDC is located at the starting point of Canopy Walk and it serves simple meals and drink. Right: Kabili Mini Theatre for seminar, talks and conference
Left: Exhibition about Borneo birds in Drongo House. Right: Birders Rest Complex (toilet available), Both places are good shelters when it rains.

Entrance Fee

Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) is open from 8am to 5pm every day (include Public Holidays), but the trails and canopy walkway close at 8pm, so some visitors can do night walk and evening birding. RDC is a park opens to public, any walk-in visitor can buy a ticket to enter (see ticket prices below).

 MalaysianForeigner
Adult (18 & above)RM7RM20 (≈USD$4.70)
5-17 years oldRM3RM10 (≈USD$2.30)
Below 5 years oldFREEFREE
Entrance Fee to RDC (Last updated in Dec 2022). Starting 1st April 2024, the new entrance fees for Non-Residents will be RM30 for adults and RM20 for children aged 5-17 years old.

For more information, call +60 89-533780 / 533781, e-mail rdcsepilok@yahoo.com or visit RDC’s official website and Facebook.

All proceeds from ticket sales are used to organize environmental education programs for students, teacher training courses and other environment-related activities.

Night Walk

Most wildlife are nocturnal. You may not see a lot of wildlife during daytime in RDC, but a night walk there would probably give you some pleasant surprises. Depend on your luck, you would see civet, moonrat, Malay badger, sleeping birds, glow worm, owls, stick insect, firefly, frog, bearded pig, flying lemur, etc. You hit jackpot if you spot Bornean Tarsier or Slow Loris, the most mysterious primates of Sabah. Known as Ghost Monkey locally, Bornean Tarsier is the smallest primate of Borneo and has huge eyes bigger than its brain.

During dusk, people gather and wait for red giant flying squirrel to come out of the box. Far right: Tarsier

Night Walk is available (conducted between 6pm-8pm), you can register for the walk at ticketing counter (before they close at 5pm). The fee is RM30 (≈USD$8.50) per adult and RM15 (≈USD$4) per child (5-17 years old) for a minimum of 2 hours, RM15/person for each additional hour. A minimum of 4 visitors (but no more than 10) is required to form the night walking group, or you have to pay for the full amount RM120/group (≈USD$34). Do bring torch-light (flashlight) and raincoat with you. You can take photos but no camera flash is allowed for small animals.

How to get there

The Rainforest Discovery Center is located at Sepilok, Sandakan, Sabah, about 25 KM to the west of Sandakan City (see Location Map). Public transport to Sepilok is available readily and the journey takes about 45 to 50 minutes one way. You can hire a taxi for a return trip for about RM100 per car (≈USD$28)(negotiable).

RDC Shuttle Service (within Sepilok Only)

I strongly recommend you to visit Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center, which are only 2 KM away from RDC.

RDC Shuttle Service (within Sepilok only) is available only when licensed taxi not around and depend on staff availability. It’s no guarantee but good to know this option anyway. The standard rate is RM10 (≈USD$2.50) per car. You can request for transport in following time:
9am-5pm: enquire for taxi or shuttle service at ticketing counter
5pm-8pm: enquire shuttle service at security hut

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Poring Canopy Walkway, the highest in Sabah

13 Replies

Poring Canopy Walkway is not for those who have height phobia. The canopy is over 175 Meters long and 41-43 Meters in height, which is higher than a 8-floor building. I wonder if any 9-life cat can survive the fall. Next to Poring Hot Springs, the Canopy Walkway of Poring is the 2nd favorite activity of tourists.


The entrance to Poring Canopy Walkway is about 835 Meters away from park entrance. It is open from 9am to 4pm daily.


Above: the Ticket Inspection and Registration Counter of Canopy Walk.
Please note this is NOT a ticketing counter. If you didn’t buy any ticket, you will have to turn back to buy it at park entrance, or you can buy the 2-in-1 entrance ticket (Canopy Walkway + Butterfly Garden) from Butterfly Farm about 20 Meters away.


With effect from 1 Jan 2023, the entrance fee of Canopy Walkway is RM5 for Malaysian adult, RM10 (≈USD2.30) for foreigner adult. Add another RM5 (≈USD1.20) camera fee if you bring a camera with you. You can click the signboard picture above for all the fees and detail.


After the ticket inspection, you still need to walk 550 Meters on a gravel trail to go to the starting point of the Canopy Walkway.


The walk to starting point will take about 30 minutes. Just relax and go slow. It will help if you wear comfortable hiking shoes and carry some water. You better bring your umbrella just in case it rains.


Along the way, you will see many trees labeled with species tag. I’m not a botanist, so it’s meaningless to me.


The trail is ascending route but it’s not very steep. As I walk under the shade of dense canopy, I didn’t feel tired.


Above: a tall tree with huge canopy


After 350 Meters, there is a small shelter (named “Pondok Tagaut”, Pondok means Gazebo) for you to sit down and rest.


There was nobody around. I walked quietly, suddenly I heard girls screaming above. I looked up and saw the canopy walkway. No kidding, it’s really high.

Very soon I reached the tower (named “Pondok Manggas”) where the starting point located.


Above: the place where you start your first step
The canopy walkway is narrow and only can take 6-people load at a time.


The canopy walkway is a suspension bridge constructed with ropes, steel cables and a series of aluminum ladders bolted together. Laced with polyester ropes, the open rungs of ladders are covered with walking plank. Netting enclosed both sides for additional security.


The bridge is connected between 3 super-big trees of Borneo rainforest such as Menggaris (species: Kompassia excelsa) and Seraya (Shorea sp). This is the first tree-top platform.


75% of rainforest animals spend their time on forest canopy. Some of them never come to ground, so canopy walkway is great for observing these animals. The tree platform is supposed to be a good spot for bird watching, but I didn’t see much, probably the birds are less active in late morning.


The walkway is an elastic structure, so it will bounce and swing when we walk on it. Some find this thrilling, while some think it’s scary.


Isn’t it exciting to see tree crowns at your eye-level?


Above: My heart skips a beat when I look down
This is what it looks like when you are over 40 Meters off the ground. That’s why people with height phobia, hypertension or heart problem are not advised to try this, though it’s a safe activity. It’s the worst nightmare for height phobia.

However, I notice that kids enjoy canopy walkway more than adults. Most adults just walk carefully and busy imagining that they would fall.

You may watch the 2-minute video below to get a feel of the experience:

Site Map of Poring Hot Springs

You may click the picture above to see bigger map.

More Photos

You may check out my photo album on Poring for more nice pictures:

Other canopy walk in Sabah:
Skybridge of Maliau Basin (longest canopy walk)
Canopy Walk of Danum Valley (award-winning attraction)
Rainforest Discovery Center (best for bird-watching)

Other articles about Poring Hot Springs Park:

  1. Poring Hot Springs bath
  2. Gardens of Poring
  3. The Most Expensive Orchid in the world
  4. Accommodation at Poring
  5. Jackie, orangutan who owns a house
  6. Waterfalls of Poring
  7. Night walk in Poring rainforest

Photos taken in Poring, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Part 6 of 8. Trip to Maliau Basin, Sabah’s Lost World – Day 5

Leave a reply

Continued from Part 5

Hundred-Feet Observation Tower

I wake up early at 5am in day 5, when others are still in their dream. Next to the Nepenthes Camp is an observation platform on top of a 33-Meter Agathis borneensis tree. I want to climb up there early to see the sunrise.

Soon Mr. J and Mr. T also wake up to join me. Ms. S doesn’t join coz she has issue with the height and says there is no way she will do it. It is already frightening just looking at this tall tree. Anyway, adventure is doing something that scares you. At 5:15am, one by one, we climb up to the tree top with aluminum ladder that fixed to the tree body.

Imagine you climb a ladder to the top of a building over 10 floors high in the dark (about same height as the Karamunsing Complex in Kota Kinabalu). This is the second scariest climb that I attempt so far (the first is Batu Punggul). A misstep and you will be a free falling object for hundred feet.

One good thing to climb in the dark is, you can’t see anything under your feet, so it is not that terrifying. Mr. T and J got up there first. I hang the camera and tripod over my shoulder and move up carefully. After a few days of holding camera to take thousand of photos, my fingers are really painful. The extra camera weight also makes my legs tired and shivers. I have to stop a few times to rest. Finally, I reach the top within 10 minutes.


Above: a helipad not far away from Nepenthes Camp


Above: Nepenthes Camp looks so small from top. You can see the solar panel on the roof.

Strictly speaking, the observation tower is only a wooden platform on top of a tall tree. It is not really a tower. The structure is fenced and solid enough to take 5 to 6 persons. It is 5:40am. We look out from this platform and see that our house is so small under our feet. We also admire and appreciate the pretty Agathis borneensis tree that house the structure.


Above: the beautiful skin of Agathis borneensis tree, note the pocked-marked, greyish-reddish bark.


Above: Mr. J waits to video sunrise

The sunrise comes at 6:10am. The surrounding and the trees are painted with golden hue of colors. The birds also start their days. Many colourful birds such as Iora and Scarlet Minivet gather around the canopy of this tree. This platform is quite a nice bird watching spot. We climb down at 6:40am for breakfast, when the sunrise show is over. Damn it! I find a crack on the LCD protector. Luckily it helps to block the damage to LCD which would cost hundreds to fix.


Above: Mr. T climbing down


Above: it’s me climbing down the tree

Back to Maliau Basin Studies Centre (MBSC)

We are very relaxing today, coz we will leave the total wilderness of Maliau Basin and the trail is mostly descending (easy) path. Even though I am cut off from civilisation for many days, I don’t really feel homesick, it’s a sad day for me actually. After we have our breakfast, we depart at 8:30am to Agathis Camp, which is 7.5 KM away and a move from 1,005 to 421 Meters above sea level.


Above: trail in red is our path to Agathis Camp today


Above: the trail in 3D model

The guides warn us about the steep downhill trail and we should “brake” always and don’t run too fast. And they are right. The descending trail is not easy and it does not make us move faster, and it poses another challenge. There is no way you can tell if the soil is soft or solid until you step on it. The slope area is dangerous coz the soil is soft and slippery. The slippery “trap” is so evil coz the mud layer is just thin enough to make you slip, but not deep enough to hold your foot. I have to make sure both of my hands are supported by a rope or tree before I take the next step. I can survive a fall but my camera might not. Just be careful of the precipitous hills…

Over the days, I discover a special ability of women. They just can’t stop talking, during trekking, eating and sleeping, ALL the time. I am already out of breath trekking and they still talk to me. At the end, I just pretend I don’t hear them. Sorry, I am just too tired.


Above: lookout point, where you can see Maliau rim through gap between the trees.

Since this is the last jungle trekking of our trip, we just walk slowly, open all our senses and enjoy the surrounding view. We saw a family of 3 Bornean gibbons swings on tree branches. Red & Hose’s Leaf Monkeys (langurs) and Bornean gibbons are very common primates in Maliau. We also hear the distinct calls of Black & Yellow Broadbill and Bornean Bristlehead, and also the loud pecking noise of a woodpecker. Then Mr. T is very excited and shows me a flower of Dendrobium cinnabarinum. He says this flower is very rare, the two (all) varieties are found in Maliau Basin only.


Above: flower of Dendrobium cinnabarinum.

Finally at 12:30pm, we arrive Agathis Camp, where we have our pack-lunch. We are asked to take a shower and put on clean clothing, before we are allowed to sit in the beloved 4-wheel of the guide. Then we leave Agathis Camp and go to the hostel of MBSC, where we will spend the last night in Maliau Basin. After staying 3 days in jungle camp, the hostel is really a 5-star accommodation to us now. The guides and porters are very happy too coz now they can watch World Cup 2010 in MBSC.


Above: don’t know who brings this tiger leech back to the hostel. It is fully fed with 1 year worth of meal, so fat… lol

Skybridge (Canopy Walk)

You are wrong if you think we are holidayers who can sit still for day doing nothing. After we unpack our bags in hostel, we start to get restless and want to go to Skybridge (suspension bridges built between tall trees high above the ground). It rains heavily in the afternoon so we go around 4PM.

The Skybridge is only a 10-minute drive from MBSC. Constructed in April 2007 and linked up with about 8 super tall trees (Uratmata, Sepatir, Merbau and Seraya), Skybridge is the second longest canopy walk of Sabah, with a length of 293.8 Meters (Highest Point: 21.35 Meters).


Above: can you see them? They look so small…

Maliau Basin is an Important Birding Area. More than 290 bird species are found here, with more than 20 are endemic to Borneo, and 26% are listed as threaten or near-threaten by IUCN. Here you can find all 8 species of hornbill of Borneo, 6 species of kingfishers and all 9 species of Bornean barbets. We see fruits of fig species (Ficus), which is the favourite of hornbills, who visit as many as 240 species of fruit trees. We spend an hour here and back to hostel later.


Above: fruit of Ficus tree


Above: a weird praying mantis looking at us

Night Safari

Tonight we have a night safari at 8pm. We just sit on the jeep and let the guide scans for wildlife by using a spotlight. If the guide spots anything, the car will stop and he will show and tell us what we see. This is highly depends on luck. In bad day, you would see nothing.


Above: this wild boar (Sus barbatus) always comes to MBSC. She got 8 babies.

During an hour of fun drive, we see Malay Civet cat, Sambar Deer (cervus unicolor), Flying Squirrel, Rhinoceros Hornbill and Buffy Fish Owl.

We have been seeing the fresh dung of Banteng and elephants and hope to see them tonight, but too bad none of them turn up. Anyway, below are their photos for you to know how they look like.

Above: Banteng (Bos javanicus), Asian Wild Cattle or Bornean Wild Ox, known as Tembadau locally. Left is the female and right is male Banteng. Banteng is extinct in West Malaysia (since 1950) and Sarawak (since 1980). It was used to be the favourite game species of hunters but now it is endangered and protected in Sabah. The domesticated Banteng becomes Bali cattle. Note the white “stockings” on the legs. About 15 to 20 Banteng are recorded in Maliau.


Above: Pygmy elephant of Borneo is the smallest elephant species in the world.


Above: Common barking deer (Red Muntjac), known as Kijang locally. It can grow in length up to 98 to 111 cm, a height of 50 cm and a weight of 15 to 35 Kg. You can buy its meat as it is still the game species.

FYI, all 5 cat species (i.e. flat-headed cat, marbled cat, bay cat, leopard cat, clouded leopard) of Sabah are found around Maliau Basin. They are very elusive and secretive animals active at night, so they are very hard to spot.

Finally, we have joined all the programme In Maliau Basin and will go back to Kota Kinabalu tomorrow. But there is still one more unplanned programme waits for us tomorrow.

>> Next Article (Part 7)

Photos taken in Maliau Basin, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

All Articles of Maliau Basin Trip:
Part 1. Introduction to Maliau Basin
Part 2. Day 1 in Maliau Basin
Part 3. Day 2 in Maliau. Trekking to the 1st camp
Part 4. Day 3 in Maliau. Maliau Waterfall
Part 5. Day 4 in Maliau. Entering the garden of pitcher plant
Part 6. Day 5 in Maliau. Skybridge & Night Safari
Part 7. Day 6 in Maliau. Leaving Maliau
Part 8. Conclusion & Notes

More Photos

You may check out my Maliau Basin photo album for more pictures:

BONUS! More new photos of Maliau Basin…

Other canopy walk in Sabah:
Poring Canopy Walkway (highest in Sabah)
Canopy Walk of Danum Valley (award-winning attraction)
Rainforest Discovery Center (best for bird-watching)

Danum Valley, 130-million-year old Borneo rainforest

4 Replies

Though a large part of Sabah is covered by forest, very few have seen the beauty of virgin Borneo rainforest. Most forest that we see around our cities and countryside is degraded jungle or secondary forest. Compared to regenerated forest, undisturbed virgin forest is characterised by taller trees, with denser, richer and more biodiversified of flora and fauna.

If you want me to name the jungle that is best representing Borneo tropical rainforest, I will say Danum Valley. With a size of 438 square KM, this 130-million-year old forest is older than Amazon rainforest (60 million years) and the habitat of Borneo’s rarest and most precious plant and wildlife.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

5-STAR RAINFOREST

Mostly lowland dipterocarp and riverine forest, Danum Valley is one of the richest conservation areas in the world with over 200 species of tree per hectare. You could find huge commercial timbers such as Kapur,Keruing, Seraya and Belian everywhere. To lumbering companies, these trees look like standing gold bars. To scientists, this forest is the least explored treasure, which holds the secrets that can change our future. But sadly, to most Sabahans, these are just wood that ought to be cut to give way to development.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

I was in Danum Valley last month but stayed for less than 24 hours. Danum Valley is 97KM at west of Lahad Datu. After travelling over 2 hours over a gravel road, I reached Borneo Rainforest Lodge, the accommodation in Danum Valley, about 8pm. I left at 1:30pm in the following day, so I only tried night drive at night, 2.6-KM jungle trekking in next morning and canopy walk in next afternoon.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

NIGHT DRIVE

After every tourists got to the back of a jeep, we started our night drive around 8:30pm. The jeep moved slowly on the road, with a “spotter” who held a spotlight and scanned the surrounding forest for reflection of the animal eyes. Once an animal was spotted, the car stopped and the friendly guide would explain what we saw. That night we saw only flying squirrel (the tail), firefly, mouse deer, bearded pig and Sambar Deer, not much. Due to the bright full moon, most animals were hiding deep inside the jungle to avoid predators. Another group who did night walking inside the forest saw many interesting things though, e.g. huge stick insect, colourful frog, civet cats and leopard cat.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

JUNGLE TREKKING

The next morning we started our jungle trekking at 6am in the morning. I was already there at 5:40am and I saw a big orangutan fed on the fruit tree in front of Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL). According to the BRL staff, its name is “King” and it always comes here during fruiting season. There is also another orangutan family also comes here quite often. Seeing orangutan in the wild is such a wonderful experience. King didn’t seem to bother about the presence of people and carried on his feeding from branch to branch.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

There are over 50KM of jungle trails for visitors to appreciate the pristine rainforest in Danum Valley. One of the most recommended trails is the 2.6-KM View Point trail, the one that I was trying. Be observant and you will spot many types of orchids, lichens, lianas, fungus and mushroom along the trail. The morning of Danum Valley is always misty and cooling as if it has a macro-climate of its own. It’s a leisure walk coz of the cooling fresh air (but can be tiring to those who are lack of physical exercise). You also can hear lot of loud gibbon calls.

Ancient Kadazandusun Burial Site. After 40 minutes of walking, we took the junction that led us to an ancient burial site at a cliff. We were asked to be keep quiet and be respectful. The guide showed us a 200-year ancient coffin, who was made of strong Belian wood (Diamond Wood) and belongs to a chief. There is also a blowpipe inside the coffin. These coffins belong to Dusun Supan who lived around this area in the past (now they had moved to lowland at Kinabatangan). Later we went to a platform high above the ground, to see a small coffin of a child. Besides the coffin is a pile of old human bones and skeleton. Then we returned to the View Point trail and continued the trekking.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

View Point. After 16 minutes, we reached the View Point which has two wooden platforms to get a breathtaking bird eye view of rainforest and Borneo Rainforest Lodge. You won’t understand how happy I was to see an ocean of pristine rainforest. After seeing so many oil palm “forest” everywhere in Sabah, I had doubt if big forest really existed in Sabah. As a matter of fact, most Sabah wildlife attraction areas such as Kinabatangan are the “Concentration camp” of wildlife because the animals are pushed to small patches of forest fragmented by oil palm plantation.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

However, Danum Valley is naturally an animal kingdom and 124 mammals, 72 reptiles, 56 amphibians and 37 fishes live happily under one big mass of forest. Whichever rarest and endangered Borneo wildlife you can name, you find them all here in Danum Valley. For example, large mammals such as Sumatran Rhino, Sun Bear, Benteng and Pygmy Elephants, primates such as Orangutan, Proboscis Monkey, Leaf Monkey, Tarsier, Slow Loris and Macaque, highly secretive cats such as the Sunda Clouded Leopard, Bay Cat and Leopard Cat. The elusive Bay Cat, which is a sub-species endemic in Borneo, was only spotted in Mulu (Sarawak) and Danum Valley.

Our lodge looked so small under our feet. Couldn’t believe we walked that far. Too bad it was nearly 8am so sunrise view was not available. I took out my packed breakfast, with ham sandwich & fruit, and enjoyed a great break time with nice view.

Waterfalls & Pool. Later we dropped by the Fairy Waterfall (27 Meters high) and Serpent Waterfall next to the trail. Too bad it was dry season, the water volume was so small that the waterfalls didn’t look big and impressive. Though it was drought season, little sunlight contacts the forest ground so it is always wet. The last stop is a Jacuzzi Pool where you can swim and enjoy “fish massage”. The small fishes will nibble your feet and remove the death skin. It is a bit painful but doesn’t hurt. Lastly, we were back to the lodge about 11:30am. The jungle trekking took us about 5 hours, as we stopped briefly in every interesting site.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

Before the trip, we were warned that there were many big tiger leeches in Danum Valley, but we saw only two small brown leeches. If you are bitten by a tiger leech, you will be qualified to get a “Blood Donation” certificate from Borneo Rainforest Lodge. Of course this is for fun only, you still need to pay RM5 (about USD$1.50) to buy it. Since there was no leech biting me, I caught a leech and let it sucked my blood. Later I was told that it was a brown leech (not tiger leech), but I was still qualified to get the certificate. Well, I did it for fun but the 1-hour bleeding annoyed me.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

CANOPY WALK

I went back to my room, take a shower and packed my bag for check-out at 1:30pm. On the way out, we dropped by the Canopy Walk. For bird-watching, you will really appreciate the 300-Metre-long and 27-Metre-high canopy walkway built by Borneo Rainforest Lodge and it won the Best Nature Attraction award in Sabah Tourism Awards 2009. In year 2008, a bird guide Richard Webster discovered a new bird species (Spectacled flowerpecker) on this canopy. Who knows you might discover a beautiful new bird that can be named after your beloved wife (mother-in-law if it is an ugly and noisy bird). If you look carefully, you will see many bee hives on Menggaris tree, the favourite nesting tree of wild honey bees due to its height.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

In Danum Valley, you can see or hear flock of big hornbills flying over your head almost every hour. This is one of the few places in Malaysia where we can find 8 species of hornbills. Do you know there are more than 290 bird species in Danum Valley? That is almost half the bird species of whole Borneo! Some birdwatchers pay thousands to come to see only one bird in Danum Valley, the Bornean Bristlehead (only found in Borneo). Other rare birds include Great Argus, Bulwar’s Pheasant, Giant Pitta, Bornean flycatcher, Bornean Ground-cuckoo and many more.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

BTW, I saw a leopard cat and some long-tailed macaques on the road. The staffs say you might see elephants if you are lucky. I also saw the helicopter of Martha Stewart heading to Danum Valley. I don’t know why the whole world is so crazy about her. Anyway, too bad I didn’t see her. From her blog, she is so happy to see “King”, the orangutan. She is quite crazy about our Borneo wild man I guess. No wonder West Malaysians want to “steal” our orangutan. So the federal government is interested in rehabilitating our orangutan? A middle finger to you! You only want the tourist $$$. But I’ll be more than happy to send illegal immigrants to KL, as we have nearly million of them here. I can guarantee that they are also wild men.


Click Here to see more photos of Danum Valley >>

It is no surprise that Sabah government is planning to nominate Danum Valley as a world heritage site. Actually Sabah has only about 92,400 hectares of virgin forest, less than 5% of all forest area in Sabah. If we clear them, they will never be the same again; the millions-year old ecosystem will be lost, no matter how hard we try to recover them later. Rather than cutting down the trees for their wood and paper, we should keep the forest as nursery ground for our priceless wildlife, world-class research hub for tropical rainforest, sustainable income source for tourism and high quality conservation area to combat global warming. And no coal plant near to Danum Valley, please. The Sabah Chief Minister always says conservation is important to protect the eco-treasures of Sabah, but he is the one who approves the logging at Danum Valley and Maliau Basin. What a joke!

Other canopy walk in Sabah:

Poring Canopy Walkway (highest in Sabah)
Skybridge of Maliau Basin (longest canopy walk)
Rainforest Discovery Center (best for bird-watching)

Photos taken in Lahad Datu, Sabah Malaysia