8 days and 7 nights of pure adventure and new experience.
Join highly-qualified local guides to explore one of the last wildernesses under the guidance and safety of the experts.
You will journey by boat, foot, and small planes on this mind-blowing experience to delve into incredible natural wonderlands, laugh with local characters, and experience the Borneo lifestyle.
Book your flights into Kuching and out of Kota Kinabalu.
DAY 1
KUCHING: MEET UP BORNEO STYLE
Kuching is a beautiful old city, interlaced with quaint back streets and boasting a riverside promenade that rivals the lively riverfronts of Europe. Kuching’s streets are alive with the aroma of street foods, colourful wares and the smiles of the super-friendly locals.
Our hotel is situated amongst the bustling traders and Chinese Temples near Kuching’s Main Bazar. It also just a short walk to the riverside promenade of Sarawak River, a great place to take a stroll at any-time of day or night.
If you arrive early, check out the tin merchants in Carpenter Street, visit one of the many local museums or simply take a seat near the river and chat with the locals as you watch the world go by.
In the evening the group will visit a popular local restaurant and plan for the adventures ahead.
DAY 2
SEMENGGOH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY & RIVER KAYAKING
Kick start the day with a visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary to witness orangutans in a relatively natural setting.
Semenggoh was established more than 40 years ago as a rehabilitation center for endangered animals and now has expanded to become a research facility into orangutan biology and behavior, providing vital information to safeguard the orangutans’ precarious future. Semenggoh also provides a successful breeding environment for orangutans unable to be rehabilitated into the wild. We’ll have the chance to see the sanctuary’s semi-wild orangutans, ranging from heart-meltingly cute infants and boisterous adolescents to the powerful male adults, as they enjoy life in a secure natural habitat.
From Semenggoh we venture further out of the city to embark on a kayak journey along the Sungai Sarawak Kiri River, stopping at scenic locations for swimming, sightseeing and a traditional longhouse lunch at a Bidayuh Village. You’ll be amazed at the ambiance, pristine beauty and sense of isolation of this river, only an hour from the State capital.
DAY 3
MULU WORLD HERITAGE AREA
Today we travel into the heart of Borneo, to Malaysia’s iconic World Heritage Area, Mulu National Park. With no road into this area you can expect a pristine wilderness full of all the weird and wonderful things that awarded it UNESCO’s world heritage status in all four criteria.
Your accommodation here is perched under forest canopy and embraced by a series of self-guided walks trails through the rainforest.
Enjoy an easy afternoon walk and a dip at the local waterfall.
7pm-9pm night-walk
In the evening we regroup for a leisurely night walk on the walk trails around camp headquarters.
This two-hour guided tour will give you an insight into nocturnal jungle life.
Immerse yourself in the sounds of the rainforest, interpret the cacophony of jungle noises, watch the courtship dance of the firefly, search for luminescent fungi and scorpion and perhaps spot an elusive marsupial or two.
DAY 4
GARDEN OF EDEN / HIDDEN VALLEY
Venture into an enclosed valley aptly names "Garden of Eden'. We'll climb, walk and swim up the Eden River, we'll follow trails that wind around the valley until we reach a series of small waterfalls and rock pools. This secluded valley receives only few visitors and is an ideal location for our picnic lunch, a refreshing swim and enjoying the sounds of the rainforest.
It will be latter int he the day as we venture back into the tourist region of the park via the jaw-dropping Deer Cave. With a cathedral-like cavern snaking two kilometres under the earth and a ceiling never lower than 90m high, Deer Cave is the biggest show- cave in the world.
Its cavernous reaches are also home to around three million wrinkle-lipped bats that emerge from the cave most evenings around sunset. We time our walk to witness the phenomenon of these bats streaming from the cave entrance – a stand-out scene in David Attenborough’s Planet Earth series. Watching the bats swirl through the sky in meandering rivers of black is a truly heart- stopping experience.
DAY 5
BEGIN THE HEADHUNTERS TRAIL
VISIT LOCAL LONGHOUSE HANDICRAFT MARKET
CLEARWATER CAVE
Pack for a two day journey and say good-bye to your heavy backpack until you are reunited with them in Limbang (or Miri).
Today we begin the legendary Headhunters Trail.
As we travel by longboat upriver and venture out from under the forest canopy you’ll start to see the breathtaking beauty from a different perspective. Any boat ride on these rivers is like a meditation in nature and this one is no exception.
Stop at Batu Bungan (home to the Indigenous Penan tribe of Borneo) and test your skills with a blowpipe, pick up some local crafts direct from the women who collect and weave the products or try your hand (or should we say nose!), with a Penan nose flute.
Along the way there is time to relax and swim in the cool waters that gave Clearwater Cave its name and enjoy a picnic lunch before we venture further up river to commence our trek on The Headhunters Trail.
Averaging less than 200 visitors per year, the Headhunters Trail weaves through a pristine wilderness teeming with animals such as the samba deer, Borneo’s argus pheasant, a variety of monkeys and bird life including the rhinoceros hornbill.
From Kuala Litut we continue on foot to Camp 5. Camp 5 is nestled at the base of the Pinnacles and alongside the dazzlingly clear waters of the Melinau River. Cool off with a dip under a nearby waterfall or chill out riverside while you guides prepare dinner.
Tonight we’ll sleep on mats in rooms allocated to 10 people per room
DAY 6
MEDAMIT LONGHOUSE
We start the day early with a twelve-kilometre trek enroute to Mentawai Rangers Station. You’ll watch the vegetation change as we emerge from the darkness of the jungle and enter the heath-like kerangas forest where our longboats await.
Relax in the longboat and watch the forest skyline for your last sightings of hornbills and monkeys, or scan the riverbank for sun-baking water monitors.
We spend the night at a modern interpretation of a Sarawak longhouse, complete with running hot and cold water, electricity and shiny tiled living spaces. Your hosts at Medamit will provide a traditional feast for our final night together and no doubt tempt you with a glass or two of tuak (local rice wine) Drinking tuak is part of the traditional culture, but watch out - tuak bites!
DAY 7
MEDAMIT–LIMBANG–KOTA KINABALU
The next morning is our last longboat ride past a scattering of longhouses as we draw closer to the town of Limbang. From Limbang we fly to Kota Kinabalu .
We hope that your final days trekking and travelling to Limbang provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on your journey and to solidify the friendships of the like-minded travellers drawn to trekking and travelling with Borneo Explorer Tours. Together we will have enjoyed travel experiences that enrich mind, body and soul, both for travellers and those whose paths we cross.
Kota Kinabalu provides the perfect setting for a final night with our group (or our welcome dinner, depending which direction your tour is travelling). Enjoy a cocktail as you watch the sunset over the South China Sea, treat yourself to a massage or browse the sunset and morning markets for gifts and local delicacies.
We look forward to sharing this world with you.