Borneo wildlife holiday, Sarawak
Highlights
Kuching | Semenggoh Wildlife Centre | Bako National Park | Gunung Gading National Park | Batang Ai Lake National Park | Overnight in a jungle lodge | Mulu showcaves | Kota Kinabalu | Opportunities for orangutan viewing, jungle swimming and trekkingDescription of Borneo wildlife holiday, Sarawak
Sarawak, or the 'Land of the Hornbills' as it's also known, is sometimes overlooked over its more visited neighbour Sabah yet offers a host of excellent adventure activities to enjoy. This 14-day Sarawak holiday starts with an easy tour of Kuching 'Cat' city with its host of colonial buildings and local markets and also visits Bako National Park to hike the walking trails and search for local wildlife including the rare hornbill and proboscis monkeys. Explore Gunung Gading National Park in search of the world's largest flower, the rafflesia, which can measure anything up to 100cm in diameter and often have a very short flowering period.Travel to Batang Ai National Park and board a traditional longboat upriver to Nanga Sumpa Lodge, this is an opportunity to search for wildlife along the way in what is an important orangutan nesting area. Spend time with the local Iban tribe to enjoy a visit to the nearby Ensulai Waterfalls and learn about their unique way of life - you may even learn how to fish iban-style! Fly to the famous Mulu Showcaves and explore these natural wonders which were created over thousands of years by the simple passage of water through limestone rock. Clearwater Cave comes in at an impressive 200 kilometres in length (don't worry you won't be expected to walk the whole length!) and the caves are also home to millions of bats which can be seen leaving to seek food at dusk, a truly impressive sight.
End the trip with time to relax on the beach at the five-star Rasa Ria Resort in neighbouring Sabah which offers a luxury finale and an array of activities and excursions. Don't forget to include a visit to their 64-acre nature reserve which is home to an abundance of animal and birdlife. A fitting end to a wonderful Borneo adventure.
Day-by-day experiences
Day 1 | Depart the UK on an overnight flight to Kuching. |
Day 2 | Land Kuching and transfer to your hotel. This afternoon is free at leisure to relax after the flight. Overnight Kuching. |
Day 3 | Enjoy a morning visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to witness the feeding of the orangutans. Return to the city for lunch followed by a tour of this clean and riverine city. (B,L) |
Day 4 | Today head from the city to Bako National Park, home to a range of wildlife including proboscis monkeys and the rare rhinoceros horbill, the state bird of Sarawak. Explore the coastline and walking trails to search for the resident wildlife. Return to the city for overnight. (B,L) |
Day 5 | This morning head to Gunung Gading National Park in the hopes of seeing the world's largest flower, the rafflesia. Enjoy a jungle trek along the plankwalk to discover the flora and fauna of the park and relax by a small beach or jungle stream. Return to Kuching for overnight. (B,L) |
Day 6 | Depart the city and head into rural Sarawak this morning, namely the Batang Ai National Park. Stop en-route at Lachau bazaar to explore the native market and arrive at the Batang Ai lake. Board a traditional longboat and ruise upriver to Nanga Sumpa Lodge. Enjoy dinner at the lodge and the evening free at leisure. (B,L,D) |
Day 7 | After breakfast hike the jungle trails to see the wildlife, this area is an important monitored orangutan nesting site. Take a longboat upriver to the Ensulai waterfall for a swim and a riverside BBQ. Ask your local Iban guide to demonstrate fishing, iban-style! After lunch trek further through orangutan country to Lubok Kasai Lodge. Enjoy time to relax with a swim in the river. After dinner,enjoy a short walk near the lodge to look for nocturnal wildlife surrounded by the sounds of the jungle. Overnight in the lodge. (B,L,D) |
Day 8 | Return to Kuching this morning with lunch taken en-route. Overnight in the city. (B,L) |
Day 9 | This morning fly to Mulu, home of the magnificent Mulu showcaves. Enjoy a scenic plankwalk through the forest to Deer Cave which has the world's largest cave entrance. Also visit Lang's Cave with its impressive stalactites and stalagmites. Enjoy the spectacle of millions of bats departing the caves in search of food at sunset before trekking back to your accommodation by torch light. Overnight Mulu Park Chalets. (B,L,D) |
Day 10 | Proceed upriver this morning to Wind Cave and explore the 'King's Chamber'. Also explore Clearwater Cave via a plankwalk which is home to rare orchids and pitcher plants. Enjoy a packed lunch before returning to your accommodation for the afternoon at leisure. (B,LD) |
Day 11 | This morning return to Mulu airport and fly to Kota Kinabalu. Land and be transferred to the Rasa Ria Resort. Enjoy time at leisure. (B) |
Days 12-13 | Days at leisure to relax - there is the option to book resort excursions to their neighbouring 64-acre nature reserve. (B) |
Day 14 | Today is at leisure until you return to the airport for the flight back to the UK. (B) |
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comDeparture information
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.

This trip stays in Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort which offers an involved corporate social responsibility scheme split between EMBRACE and SANCTUARY. Sanctuary focuses on their nature project and centres on their nature reserve, the Rasa Ria Resort Nature Interpretation Centre. The centre has worked closely with the Sabah Wildlife Department for almost 20 years and is responsible for the first stage care of orphaned and injured orangutans, which usually lasts between 4 and 5 years, before they are transferred to Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan for their onward care and release. To date, 39 young orangutans have been rehabilitated and transferred to Sepilok and the centre has been responsible for the education of nearly 10,000 school children and of course countless hotel guests and other visitors. The Rasa Ria Resort also recently donated and sponsored a fully modified 4WD vehicle to the Sabah Wildlife Department. The Rapid Response Wildlife Enforcement Unit has been set up to address illegal wildlife poaching and killings in Sabah state and this 4WD donation will go some way to helping address the problem.
The resort also has their own bottling plant where they supply pure still water to all guestrooms and outlets. Since its implementation, there has been a reduction of up to 420,000 plastic bottles! Since February 2013 the resort has been composting waste in an attempt to convert it to something beneficial, as fertilizer for the gardens. Waste water from guestrooms is channelled to the resort’s own sewage treatment plant where the water is treated and used to water the golf course.
In conjunction with Orangutan Appeal UK, for every booking to Borneo we adopt our chosen Sepilok orangutan, Gelison, in your names for a year. Orangutan Appeal UK works to support the orangutans of Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre which provides 24hr essential care for orphaned and injured orangutans with the aim to rehabilitate them into the wilds of the adjacent Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve and beyond. Funds from the adoption costs go towards funding the Centre’s work providing food, medical care and a safe refuge for the orangutans as well as being an important educational tool for visitors.
The Impacts of this Trip
The Rasa Ria Resort's Embrace programme focuses on community work within the region. The resort has been sponsoring two secondary schools located in close proximity to the resort, SMK Sri Nangka and SMK Tamparuli (Special Education Centre), since 2012. Apart from scholarships, various educational support and the improvement of facilities and health support, the resort also provides skills training for sustainable futures.
The “A Meal a Day” programme was launched and established by the resort to provide meals to students from underprivileged, single parent and low income family backgrounds. Twenty students of SMK Sri Nangka were selected for this programme.
Our local Borneo ground agents employ only local guides and drivers thereby keeping all moneys paid to staff in the local community. They own and run the two jungle lodges used on the trip, Nanga Sumpa Lodge and Lubok Kasai. Both lodges were built in conjunction with the local Ulu tribe and roles are fulfilled by the Ulu tribes-people including boat transfers and lodge staff. Where possible, food served to guests at the lodges is sourced locally thereby providing a further income to local residents. The lodge provides excellent opportunities not only to explore the surrounding jungle reserves and search for the resident wildlife but also to learn a little about the Ulu Ai culture while generating an important source of income for the tribe.


This trip stays in Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort which offers an involved corporate social responsibility scheme split between EMBRACE and SANCTUARY. Sanctuary focuses on their nature project and centres on their nature reserve, the Rasa Ria Resort Nature Interpretation Centre. The centre has worked closely with the Sabah Wildlife Department for almost 20 years and is responsible for the first stage care of orphaned and injured orangutans, which usually lasts between 4 and 5 years, before they are transferred to Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan for their onward care and release. To date, 39 young orangutans have been rehabilitated and transferred to Sepilok and the centre has been responsible for the education of nearly 10,000 school children and of course countless hotel guests and other visitors. The Rasa Ria Resort also recently donated and sponsored a fully modified 4WD vehicle to the Sabah Wildlife Department. The Rapid Response Wildlife Enforcement Unit has been set up to address illegal wildlife poaching and killings in Sabah state and this 4WD donation will go some way to helping address the problem.
The resort also has their own bottling plant where they supply pure still water to all guestrooms and outlets. Since its implementation, there has been a reduction of up to 420,000 plastic bottles! Since February 2013 the resort has been composting waste in an attempt to convert it to something beneficial, as fertilizer for the gardens. Waste water from guestrooms is channelled to the resort’s own sewage treatment plant where the water is treated and used to water the golf course.
In conjunction with Orangutan Appeal UK, for every booking to Borneo we adopt our chosen Sepilok orangutan, Gelison, in your names for a year. Orangutan Appeal UK works to support the orangutans of Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre which provides 24hr essential care for orphaned and injured orangutans with the aim to rehabilitate them into the wilds of the adjacent Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve and beyond. Funds from the adoption costs go towards funding the Centre’s work providing food, medical care and a safe refuge for the orangutans as well as being an important educational tool for visitors.

The Impacts of this Trip
The Rasa Ria Resort's Embrace programme focuses on community work within the region. The resort has been sponsoring two secondary schools located in close proximity to the resort, SMK Sri Nangka and SMK Tamparuli (Special Education Centre), since 2012. Apart from scholarships, various educational support and the improvement of facilities and health support, the resort also provides skills training for sustainable futures.
The “A Meal a Day” programme was launched and established by the resort to provide meals to students from underprivileged, single parent and low income family backgrounds. Twenty students of SMK Sri Nangka were selected for this programme.
Our local Borneo ground agents employ only local guides and drivers thereby keeping all moneys paid to staff in the local community. They own and run the two jungle lodges used on the trip, Nanga Sumpa Lodge and Lubok Kasai. Both lodges were built in conjunction with the local Ulu tribe and roles are fulfilled by the Ulu tribes-people including boat transfers and lodge staff. Where possible, food served to guests at the lodges is sourced locally thereby providing a further income to local residents. The lodge provides excellent opportunities not only to explore the surrounding jungle reserves and search for the resident wildlife but also to learn a little about the Ulu Ai culture while generating an important source of income for the tribe.

Our travel guides
Our travel guides
Popular similar holidays
Borneo tour, Great Apes and Beach escapes
Explore bustling cities, lush jungles and paradise beaches
From £1658 9 days excluding flights
Borneo orangutan holiday
Trekking, wildlife and beach adventure holiday to Borneo
From £3460 14 days including UK flights
Borneo tailor made holidays, wildlife & beaches
A luxury tour of the best wildlife & beaches of Sabah
From £2865 15 days excluding flights
Borneo luxury holidays, tailor made
Rainforests, orangutans, beaches tailor made
From £3150 13 days including UK flights