Brief history

Little is known of Sabah’s early history, though archeological finds in limestone caves indicate that the northern tip of Borneo has been inhabited for well over ten thousand years. Chinese merchants were trading with local settlements by 700 AD, and by the fourteenth century the area was under the sway of the sultans of Brunei and Sulu.

Colonialism

Europe’s superpowers first arrived in 1521, when the ships of Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan stopped off at Brunei before sailing northwards. Almost 250 years later, in 1763, colonial settlement began when one Captain Cowley established a short-lived trading post on Balambangan Island, north of Kudat, on behalf of the British East India Company. Further colonial involvement came in 1846, when Labuan Island (at the mouth of Brunei Bay) was ceded to the British by the Sultan of Brunei. The 1870s were a pivotal decade: first the Sultan of Brunei signed over what is basically now western Sabah to the British in return for a yearly remittance, and soon after the Sultan of Sulu (the archipelago at the southern fringe of what’s now the Philippines) struck a similar deal covering eastern Sabah. By 1881 the British North Borneo Chartered Company had full sovereignty over northern Borneo.

First steps were then taken towards making the territory pay its way: rubber, tobacco and, after 1885, timber were commercially harvested. By 1905 a rail line linked the coastal town of Jesselton (later Kota Kinabalu) with the resource-rich interior. When the company introduced taxes, the locals were understandably displeased and some resisted; Mat Salleh, the son of a Bajau chief, and his followers sacked the company’s settlement on Gaya Island in 1897. Another uprising, in Rundum in 1915, resulted in the slaughter of hundreds of Murut tribespeople by British forces.

SECURITY in sabah

Certain areas of Sabah are subject to official travel advisories, as a result of incidents blamed on Muslim militancy in the southern Philippines. Alarming though this may sound, some perspective is called for: such events are sporadic and, as in other countries that have witnessed random acts of violence of late, ordinary people are going about their lives as normal.

Sabah has witnessed abductions on and off over the years, most recently since 2010. Some have involved tourists, seized on the dive islands off Semporna; in Sandakan, two local people were kidnapped and one was subsequently killed, apparently because no ransom was paid. Undoubtedly the most serious event was an incursion by armed insurgents near Lahad Datu in 2013, ostensibly to revive the old Sulu Sultanate claim on eastern Sabah; several dozen people, mostly militants, died in the ensuing fighting as the authorities regained control.

In general, however, Sabah remains as calm as any other part of Malaysia, and the travel warnings reflect this. At the time of research, for example, only the islands off the Tip of Borneo and off Semporna were included in a UK warning advising against “all but essential travel”, while the US was recommending general caution in eastern Sabah. Things can change for better or worse at any time, of course, so it’s best to keep abreast of the latest official advice.

Note that many local people avoid the water villages that still exist on the edges of many towns, as they may harbour undocumented migrants – the subtext here being because of petty crime and, perhaps, militancy. Such concerns may be overblown, but in any case most of these settlements aren’t really sights (unlike the one in Brunei’s capital) – the odd exception is mentioned in the text.

World War II and independence

On New Year’s Day 1942, Japanese imperial forces invaded Labuan Island; Sandakan fell less than three weeks later. By the time the Japanese surrendered on September 9, 1945, little of Jesselton and Sandakan remained standing (although the worst structural damage was inflicted by Allied bombing). Even worse were the hardships endured by civilians and captured Allied troops, the most notorious of which were the Death Marches of 1945.

Unable to finance the postwar rebuilding of North Borneo, the Chartered Company sold the territory to the British Crown in 1946, and Jesselton was declared the new capital of the Crown Colony of North Borneo. Within fifteen years, however, plans had been laid for an independent federation consisting of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and (it was intended) Brunei. The Federation was proclaimed at midnight on September 16, 1963, with North Borneo renamed Sabah.

Modern concerns

Kuala Lumpur feels very remote from Sabah, but federal politics have been gradually imposed ever since independence. Although local and indigenous parties have ruled Sabah in stretches, since 2002 the state has been firmly in the grip of the country’s ruling BN coalition. One factor in this is immigration – both legal and undocumented – which remains a live issue. Around a quarter of Sabah’s population is non-Malaysian, the highest proportion of any state in the federation, and in recent decades there has been a vast influx of largely Muslim migrants from the Philippines and Indonesia. Many indigenous Sabahans view their requests for residency (and in some cases citizenship) with suspicion, seeing them as a creeping way of Islamizing the state, but their opposition has been unfocused and ineffective.

Sabah was, for a time, the poster child for Malaysian tourism. It remains the state with the best environmental track record in the country (although critics might say it could be better managed still) and its wildlife attractions meant visitor numbers boomed in the first decade of the new millennium; for a while, KK even enjoyed direct flights from Australia. Unfortunately things fell off a cliff after a spate of security incidents (see box, below). At the time of research the sector was finally looking to be on the mend, despite another sad event, the Mount Kinabalu earthquake in 2015.

arrival and departure: sabah

By plane Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and the southeastern town of Tawau all have modern airports, but KK’s is the only de facto international gateway, with connections to various Southeast Asian cities. Tawau barely counts as international, with a few short flights to Tarakan in Indonesian Borneo; Sandakan may attract flights from abroad now that a runway extension is complete.

By bus The only overland route into Sabah is from Lawas in Sarawak. Express buses follow this route to KK from Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei and even from Miri in Sarawak.

By boat Ferries run between Labuan Island and Sipitang, Menumbok and KK; Labuan itself has connections with Limbang and Lawas in Sarawak, plus Brunei. Ferries also sail from Indonesian Borneo to Tawau, and from the Philippines to Sandakan.

visiting parks and reserves

A range of organizations manage Sabah’s wildlife sanctuaries. Sabah Parks (088 523500, sabahparks.org.my) runs the state’s nine state parks, six of which are out at sea. There’s usually a conservation fee to visit (typically RM10–20, although prices may rise in 2018). Note that accommodation and other facilities at the most popular parks – including Kinabalu – are largely privatized and can thus be pricey. Then there are forest conservation areas such as Deramakot, which fall under the Sabah Forestry Department in Sandakan (entry permits RM15 per day; 089 242500, forest.sabah.gov.my). Some sites are wholly or partly run by other agencies; details are given in the text, along with information on how to sort out a visit, but given the complexities involved it can be preferable to pay one of the many tour operators in KK or Sandakan to sort out the paperwork and transport – in some cases this is the only option.

Getting around

The relatively backward state of Sabah’s roads can make driving or bus travel a bit of a bore. Four-lane highways are memorable for their rarity, stretching from KK north to around Tuaran and south to Kinarut, and 60km east from Tawau, petering out halfway to Semporna. Highway extension plans seem to drag rather like the two-lane country roads you’ll rely on everywhere else. At least there is now a sealed road right through the southern interior to Tawau, and although it can be in a poor state between Sapulut and Maliau Basin, an ordinary car will cope; off the beaten track, you might need to rent a 4WD. It’s worth considering internal flights as a timesaver.

By plane MASWings’ nineteen-seater Twin Otters (maswings.com.my) serve the airfields at Kudat (near the Tip of Borneo) and Lahad Datu on the east coast.

By long-distance bus Long-distance buses provide a fairly comprehensive service but may peter out towards evening, and adherence to timetables can be arbitrary. Fares are reasonable, though; KK to Sandakan (335km) costs around RM45.

By shared minivans/taxis Shared taxis and minivans leave when full on routes of up to 150km, though most cover distances that are much shorter. Prices are at least twenty percent higher than bus fares for the same distance.

By train Sabah State Railway (088 262536 or 088 279300, railway.sabah.gov.my) provides a limited service that’s of little use to most visitors. The main part of the line runs from the outskirts of KK via several southwestern towns to Beaufort (2 daily; 2hr), where there’s a branch line to Tenom in the interior (2 daily; 2hr 30min). It costs only RM7.50 to travel the entire network. Unless timetables change, there are no convenient connections between the two parts of the network at Beaufort, in either direction.

< Back to Sabah

Kota Kinabalu

While first impressions of KOTA KINABALU (universally referred to as KK) may be of a glut of functional concrete, it does have a laid-back vibe and plenty of worthwhile amenities. In terms of sights, there’s nothing to warrant staying more than a couple of nights – highlights include the markets and the islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park – but the city’s role as a hub for transport and tour operators means you might pass through more than once. Another appealing thing about the place is its manageability: the city centre is a mere 4km strip stretching from the resort area in the southwest to Likas Bay in the northeast, its grid of streets crammed in between the sea and the ridge of Signal Hill.

Brief history

Modern-day KK has its roots in a failed British settlement at Gaya Island, which was burned down in 1897 by followers of the Bajau rebel Mat Salleh. Starting anew, in 1899 the North Borneo Chartered Company founded a new town on a site on the mainland opposite. Named Jesselton after Sir Charles Jessel, the company’s vice-chairman, the settlement soon prospered as the seaward terminus of the new railway line to Beaufort in the interior, allowing commodities to be brought efficiently to the coast for export.

The Japanese invasion of North Borneo in 1942 marked the start of three and a half years of military occupation; little of the old town survived subsequent Allied bombing. Soon after the war, Jesselton replaced Sandakan as Sabah’s capital, and in 1968 it acquired its present name – an apt choice considering that on a clear day, Mount Kinabalu is actually visible from Likas Bay, the airport and elsewhere. Since then KK has grown rapidly, attracting a true cross-section of Sabah’s population even though it sits in the Kadazan/Dusun heartland. In 2000 it finally gained official city status, and in terms of property prices, KK is now one of the most expensive cities in East Malaysia.

Gaya Street

There are echoes of the past in the names of the districts in KK’s centre: Api-Api was a Bajau fishing village in the area, while Kampung Air (“water village”) hints at the land reclamation that was necessary to flesh the centre out to its present size. For more tangible traces of the past, however, head to Gaya Street (Jalan Gaya), which still has the feel of a small-town main street even though all the architecture is postwar. The only two buildings of note are the whitewashed former General Post Office, which now houses the main tourist office, and the 1954 Jesselton hotel metres away, though this packs rather less old-world charm. Signage throughout reveals the presence of Chinese associations, and the odd hardware shop and picture framer can be found clinging on amid fairly obvious gentrification.

One of the very best street markets in Malaysia takes place here every Sunday (6am–1pm), when the entire street gets packed out with stalls selling items as varied as tropical fruit trees, hats, basketry and live rabbits. Buskers are usually on hand too.

Australia Place and Signal Hill

A stone’s throw south of the tourist office is Australia Place, so named because the Australian soldiers made camp here in 1945. From the back of the lane here, called Lorong Dewan (also known as Jalan Dewan), two sets of steps lead up the ridge behind KK’s centre to Signal Hill (Bukit Bendera), which is the highest point in town with a modern observatory platform for views over the centre and out to sea.

The oldest surviving structure in the city stands on a hillock just a couple of minutes’ walk west of Australia Place: the wooden Atkinson’s Clock Tower, built in 1903 to commemorate the first district official of Jesselton, Francis George Atkinson, who died of malaria at 28. Practically next door is Merdeka Field, where Sabah’s independence and simultaneous union with modern Malaysia was declared.

The waterfront

KK’s waterfront is no grand promenade, but a series of nondescript modern buildings with some overpriced restaurants and bars at the southwestern end (when locals use the term “waterfront”, they may mean this area specifically). The real highlights are its markets, most notably the handicraft market in the centre of the strip (daily 7am–8pm, though hours may vary). Also known by its old name of the Filipino market, thanks to the ethnicity of some of its traders, it’s a veritable warren of stalls mainly selling cheap clothes, with tailors doing alterations at antique sewing machines set up outside.

Next door to the southwest is the night market, a photogenic combination of fish market and stalls selling cooked food. At the other end of the handicraft market is the large central market (daily 6am–6pm), with its own fish market that’s at its best first thing in the morning; a few more outdoor food stalls set up in the afternoon and evening just beyond.

Sabah Museum

Jalan Muzium, on a hilltop 2km south of the centre • Daily 9am–5pm • RM15 • 088 225033, museum.sabah.gov.my • Take any Penampang-bound bus from the Marina Court stop; get off once the bus turns into Jalan Penampang, below the museum

Housed in a 1980s hunk of concrete styled to evoke Murut and Rungus longhouses, the Sabah Museum isn’t the most compelling of its kind, but some worthwhile exhibits make it a decent target, especially on rainy days. One highlight is the ethnographic collection, including human skulls dating from the Kadazan/Dusun’s head-hunting days, plus examples of traditional crafts, costumes and musical instruments such as the turali (nose flute). Elsewhere, there are various Chinese ceramic jars, including some sizeable ones used for funerary purposes as in Sarawak, plus nature dioramas that impart some fresh insights into rainforest fauna.

Outside the main building is a small gallery of carriages and equipment drawn from modern Sabah’s dalliance with railways. Much better is the Heritage Village (Kampung Warisan) on the leafy north side of the compound; head down a flight of steps and cross the suspension bridge to reach a lake ringed by wooden, bamboo and palm-thatch dwellings representing the building styles of ethnic groups.

Kota Kinabalu Wetlands

Jalan Bukit Bendera Upper, east of Signal Hill • Tues–Sun 8am–6pm • RM15 • 088 246955, sabahwetlands.org • A 40min walk from the centre up and over Signal Hill; alternatively any bus from Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (opposite Merdeka Field) signed “Likas” or “One Borneo” will head to Likas Square, from where it’s a short walk south and west

The patch of mangrove forest at Kota Kinabalu Wetlands is the only remnant of an extensive system that once covered the coastline. Designated as a bird sanctuary in 1996, it’s an important refuge and feeding ground for many species. From marked trails on boardwalks, you may catch sight of herons, egrets, sandpipers, pigeons and doves, as well as mudskippers and monitor lizards; for birdlife, it’s best to come early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The wetlands are managed by a non-profit conservation group, which does its best to defend them against pollution and fast-encroaching development.

The beaches

Tanjung Aru Beach starts 4km southwest of the centre, and minivans from the Marina Court bus stop can drop you near the start; Likas Bay is only 1km on from the Jesselton Point ferry terminal – take bus #6 northbound from Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman

They’re nothing much to write home about, but the public beaches in KK are out at Tanjung Aru and in the opposite direction at Likas Bay. The former is preferable, a 2km stretch in three sections – “first beach” near the Shangri-La resort the most popular; Likas Bay has nice views but can be a little dirty. Both beaches have basic showers and toilets. Jellyfish are an occasional problem, so it’s worth asking the tourist office whether there have been any recent stinging incidents before diving in.

Arrival and Departure: Kota Kinabalu

By plane

KK International Airport (KKIA) The airport (kotakinabaluairport.com) is 7km south of the centre in the Kepayan district. A shuttle bus (daily 8am–8.30pm; every 45min; RM5) runs from here to Merdeka Field, although getting a Grab car is a useful alternative if you’re travelling with others, as it may work out cheaper per person. Official taxis cost RM30 per trip.

Destinations Bandar Seri Begawan (6 weekly; 40min); Bintulu (2 daily; 1hr 15min); Johor Bahru (1 daily; 2hr 15min); Kota Bharu (3 weekly; 2hr 30min); Kuala Lumpur (at least 12 daily; 2hr 30min); Kuching (4 daily; 1hr 25min); Kudat (3 weekly; 40min); Labuan (4 daily; 30min); Lahad Datu (4 daily; 55min); Lawas (1 daily; 45min); Limbang (3 weekly; 45min); Miri (2–4 daily; 55min); Mulu (4 weekly; 55min); Penang (1–2 daily; 1hr 40min); Sandakan (6–7 daily; 40min); Sibu (2 daily; 1hr 35min); Singapore (2 daily; 2hr 10min); Tawau (6–7 daily; 55min).

By bus

City Bus Terminal North (Inanam) In the Inanam suburb 11km east of the centre, this bus terminal is used by buses to the east coast. Note that for Tawau, there are also buses via Keningau and the interior from Merdeka Field, which are often quicker even with the variable state of the road. Bus #4 (2 hourly; 40min) runs south from the Shangri-La bus stop in the city centre and then east to Inanam (heading into town, it’s a short walk south from the terminal to the main road). A taxi there or back will cost at least RM30.

Destinations Lahad Datu (14 daily; 8hr); Sandakan (at least 12 daily; 6hr 30min); Semporna (6 daily; 10hr); Tawau (via the east coast; 7 daily; 11hr); Telupid (frequent; 4hr 30min).

Merdeka Field The Merdeka Field car park right in the city centre is used mainly by shared minivans and taxis, although a handful of buses also operate from here.

Destinations Keningau (frequent; 2hr 30min); Kota Belud (1 daily; 1hr 30min); Kudat (1 daily; 3hr 30min); Tawau (via the interior; 2 daily; at least 10hr); Tenom (4 daily; 3hr).

City Park Bus Terminal Buses for the border town of Menumbok (for Labuan Island ferries) and as far afield as Miri in Sarawak (RM90) depart from close to the City Hall. There’s also a Brunei service from here run by Sipitang Express (sipitangexpress.com.my).

Destinations Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei; 1 daily; 8hr 30min); Beaufort (5 daily; 2hr); Menumbok (roughly hourly until 3pm; 2hr 30min); Miri (1 daily; 11hr).

By minivan and shared taxi

Minivans and shared taxis serve towns within about 4hr of KK from Merdeka Field, in all directions; signs indicate where each cluster of vehicles is bound. Taxis may fill up more promptly and are quicker generally. The cost with either to travel to Kinabalu Park, for example, is around RM20, although minivans are generally slightly cheaper.

Destinations Beaufort (2hr); Keningau (2hr); Kinabalu Park (2hr); Kota Belud (2hr); Kuala Penyu (for Pulau Tiga Park; 2hr 30min); Kudat (4hr); Menumbok (for Labuan ferries; 3hr); Ranau (3hr); Tambunan (1hr 45min); Tenom (3hr).

By ferry

Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal The terminal is at the north end of Jalan Haji Saman. Services to Labuan Island are operated by Double Power (daily 8am & 1.30pm; 3hr 30min; RM40 plus a terminal tax of RM7; 088 236834). If you’re aiming to reach Brunei, the 8am departure will leave you with a mere 2hr wait in Labuan for an onward ferry.

By train

Tanjung Aru station The train station is a gleaming new affair just off the highway, 5km southwest of central KK (088 279300), and provides a limited service. Any bus from Marina Court bound for Kepayan, Petagas or Putatan will pass close by, and they may detour into the station on request.

Destinations Beaufort (2 daily; 2hr); Papar (2 daily; 45min); Kinarut (2 daily; 20min).

Getting around

By bus or minivan Local buses and minivans are meant to use the Wawasan terminal in the southwest of the centre, but this was closed for long-term rebuilding at the time of research. Until it reopens, you can use the bus stop at the Marina Court condominium on Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens for southbound journeys; for destinations east and north of the city, some routes use the southbound bus stop by the central Shangri-La hotel, while others use the northbound stop on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, so check before travelling. Within the centre itself, there are three looping city bus services (#A, #B and #C), though there’s little reason to use them given the compactness of the place. Finally, buses and minivans more often display the suburb where they terminate rather than a route number.

By taxi A journey within the centre should cost RM10–15; taxis park up in little clusters all over the area. Grab cars are generally better value.

By car Companies include Extra Rent A Car, based at the Sabah Oriental Hotel off Jalan Kemajuan (088 251529, e-erac-online.com); Hertz, at the airport (088 413326, hertz.com); and Borneo Kinabalu Elegant Tours, on the ground floor of Wisma Sabah shopping mall (012 502 0608, visitmalaysiasabah.com.

Information

Internet access Check out Gaya Internet Centre, off Gaya Street (daily 9am–2am). KK City Wi-Fi is a free wireless hotspot available close to City Hall, along the waterfront and possibly elsewhere by the time you read this.

Magazines The free Sabah Malaysian Borneo magazine (facebook.com/smbmagazine), published every two months or so, covers new attractions and upcoming events; Sabah Tourism usually has copies.

Sabah Parks Ground floor, Block H, KK Times Square (Mon–Thurs 8.30am–1pm & 2–5pm, Fri 8.30–11.30am & 2–5pm; 088 523500, sabahparks.org.my). Information on Sabah’s state parks, including nitty-gritty details of facilities and so forth.

Sabah Tourism Board 51 Gaya Street (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat & Sun 9am–4pm; 088 212121, sabahtourism.com). Pick the brains of the knowledgeable, well-organized staff here as much as you can, because Sabah Tourism has no offices in any other towns. Their free tourist map of KK, although sketchy, can be handy for the suburbs.

Tourism Malaysia At the airport (daily 8am–11pm; 088 413359, tourism.gov.my).

Kota Kinabalu tour operators

KK has plenty of handy tour operators, many based in Wisma Sabah shopping mall on Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens. Their offerings are usually pricey, but can be worthwhile for destinations that are tricky to arrange independently or if you want to see several places in a short space of time. The companies are also useful for arranging day-trips from KK, such as wildlife cruises or firefly-watching at the Klias Peninsula, and rafting on the Padas or Kiulu rivers; a few firms even run their own resorts or attractions.

Adventure Alternative Borneo Orangutan Tattoo Parlour, Lorong Dewan adventurealternativeborneo.com. Specializes in off-the-beaten-track destinations such as the Deramakot Forest Reserve and Imbak Canyon. You can also try contacting their Kuching office

Bike Borneo Second floor, Block C, City Mall, Damai, 4km southeast of the centre 088 484734, bikeborneo.com. Offers mountain-biking escapades, including a three-day tour of the foothills of Kinabalu and another that combines a riverside ride with rafting.

Borneo Divers Ninth floor, Menara Jubili, 53 Gaya Street 088 222226, borneodivers.info. Diving specialist with its own resort on Mabul and a dive school at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park – they offer packages at both plus Sipadan Island.

Borneo Eco Tours Kolombong Jaya Industrial Estate, off Jalan Kolombong 088 438300, borneoecotours.com. Inconveniently sited out towards Inanam, they run the excellent Sukau Rainforest Lodge on the Kinabatangan River and a “farmstay” at Kiulu, northeast of KK, where residents can combine trekking with a taste of rice cultivation. Otherwise, they cover all the standard destinations, with birding tours a forte.

Borneo Nature Tours Ground floor, Block D, Sadong Jaya Complex, just west of the centre off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman 088 267637, www.borneonaturetours.com. Runs the luxurious Borneo Rainforest Lodge in the Danum Valley and has tours to Maliau Basin.

Borneo Refugia Level 12, Tun Mustapha Tower, far side of Likas Bay 088 326317, borneorefugia.com. Part of the Sabah Foundation, this set-up has package trips to forest reserves under the foundation’s stewardship, notably the Danum Valley and Maliau Basin, plus the new Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge near the Danum Valley. It can also organize expeditions to the little-visited Imbak Canyon (imbakcanyon-borneo.com.my).

Borneo Trails First floor, Wisma Sabah 088 235900, borneotrails.com. Has an unusually wide range of day-trips, including mangrove cruises and visits to the Kota Belud Sunday tamu, plus standard packages elsewhere.

Borneo Ultimate Ground floor, Wisma Sabah 088 225188, borneoultimate.com.my. Adventurous, extended tours that include longhouse stays, kayaking on the Kinabatangan or mountain biking, to name just a few options.

Nasalis Larvatus Second floor, 56 Lorong Bandaran Berjaya 5 088 230534, insabah.com. Titled after the scientific name for proboscis monkeys, this firm has its own accommodation at the Kinabatangan River, Sepilok and Libaran Island, and sells a full range of nature tours.

River Junkie/Scuba Junkie Ground floor, Wisma Sabah 088 277128 & 255816, river-junkie.com & scuba-junkie.com. Sibling firms with a growing range of eco/nature tours, including the Maliau Basin, Mount Trus Madi climbs and the Sapulut community tourism project, plus rafting trips, and diving and snorkelling off Semporna.

Sabah Divers Ground floor, Wisma Sabah 088 256483, sabahdivers.com. A good range of dive courses, plus packages at Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, the islands off Semporna, Lankayan Island off Sandakan, and Labuan’s waters.

Sticky Rice Travel Third floor, 134 Gaya Street 088 250177, stickyricetravel.com. Ecotourism specialist offering the usual attractions plus lesser-known ones, including the Tabin reserve of eastern Sabah, a multi-day trek in Kinabalu Park, plus climbing and trekking in the Crocker range.

Sutera Sanctuary Lodges Ground floor, Wisma Sabah 088 287887, suterasanctuarylodges.com.my. Offers climbing packages at Kinabalu Park, where they run much of the accommodation; that aside, they operate a resort at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.

Travel Rite Tours Tunku Adnan Sports Complex, Likas Bay 088 421088, travelritetours.com. Specializes in rafting trips, including some at the Kadamaian River near Kota Belud, where they run their own homestay; tandem paragliding can be thrown in, too.

Traverse Tours Second floor, Wisma Sabah 088 260501, traversetours.com. Has diving trips to Sepanggar Island just outside the Tunku Abdul Rahman park, where they run their own accommodation, with a similar offering at Mantanani Island much further north. They operate the Mari Mari Cultural Village, too, while their Riverbug wing sells the usual rafting packages.

Accommodation

KK has a great selection of hostels and hotels. If it’s the latter you’re after, it’s worth booking at least a couple of weeks in advance as hotels can be unpredictably packed out if there are lots of tour groups or a major conference in town. Note that practically all the budget hotels cluster in Kampung Air, a district local people consider seedy and possibly rough at night. It can certainly be rowdy into the small hours, which is as good a reason as any not to stay here, given the poor sound insulation of most cheap hotels. As for hostels, there are two little backpacker enclaves abutting the ridge of Signal Hill, at Australia Place and further south in the Bandaran Berjaya neighbourhood, both convenient for Merdeka Field.

Hostels

B&B@21 21 Lorong Dewan 016 883 3763, bb21@gmail.com; map. A very cool hostel tucked up against Signal Hill, with a superb garden at the back, a range of dorms and one private room. Dorms RM35, doubles RM90

Borneo Backpackers 24 Lorong Dewan 088 234009, borneobackpackers.com; map. As well as four double rooms and a number of dorms with up to ten beds, there’s a downstairs café here with occasional live music. All rooms have a/c. Dorms RM25, doubles RM80

The Bunk 113 Gaya Street 088 204526, thebunkborneo.blogspot.com; map. Right in the thick of the Gaya Street action, this is a hostel with designer aspirations: there’s a wood-panelled café/lounge plastered with old photos, and fancy bunk beds with privacy drapes, arranged in one jumbo dorm. A private room is available, too. Dorms RM30, double RM75

Lucy’s Homestay 25 Lorong Dewan 088 261495, backpackerkk@yahoo.com; map. A stalwart of the KK hostel scene, launched in the mid-1990s and truly old school. What you get is no-frills accommodation in an unmodernized family home, a slightly cluttered place with both dorms and private rooms. There’s no a/c or hot water, but the informality is one compensation. Another is Lucy and her son, both welcoming and knowledgeable hosts, who also run the laundry downstairs. Dorms RM25, doubles RM65

Masada Backpacker 9 Jalan Masjid Lama, on the edge of Bandaran Berjaya 088 238494, masadabackpacker.com; map. Rooms are clean and comfortable, breakfasts are better than average (including fruit and biscuits), staff are helpful and there’s a/c throughout – no wonder it’s constantly popular. Dorms RM35, doubles RM95

Refarer Lorong Berjaya 2, Bandaran Berjaya 088 257552, refarer@hotmail.com; map. There’s plenty of blond wood at the reception area and in the bunk beds of this quirky, vaguely upmarket hostel, where you can start your day with either a Western breakfast or nasi lemak. Dorms RM40, doubles RM100

Step-In Lodge Block L, Sinsuran Complex 088 233519, stepinlodge.com; map. A homely, buzzing hostel a stone’s throw from the waterfront, with an airy lounge and a plant-decked balcony for a bird’s-eye view of proceedings below in the bustling Sinsuran district. There’s a choice of dorms and private rooms, all with a/c. Dorms RM50, doubles RM100

Hotels and resorts

Eden 54 54 Gaya Street 088 266054, eden54.com; map. “Stark opulence” is how staff have styled this place, but forgive them the oxymoron; rooms feature tasteful modern decor and there’s a surprisingly large lounge, too. Note that the cheapest rooms, including the singles, are windowless. RM160

Hashtag 12 Boutique Hotel Jalan Block 3, Api-Api Centre, Lorong Api-Api 2 088 313007, hashtag12hotel@gmail.com; map. Despite its name, this is really a budget hotel that also wants to be a hostel – it has a mixed dorm. Everything’s fairly minimalist and a bit sterile, but the place is reasonably soundproofed. Look for the entrance stairway close to the Hong Leong Bank. Dorms RM50, doubles RM110

Horizon Jalan Tun Razak 088 518000, horizonhotelsabah.com; map. A massive block somewhat on its own and hard to miss, but a little disappointing inside, with a charmless lobby and rooms in often gloomy hues, some with old photos blown up across entire walls. The restaurants, gym, spa and sixth-floor pool make the rates half-bearable. RM350

Hyatt Regency Jalan Datuk Salleh Sulong 088 221234, kinabalu.regency.hyatt.com; map. Five-star comforts just metres from the waterfront, boasting oodles of restaurants, a wonderful swimming pool with sunset views and well-appointed rooms. RM500

Jesselton 69 Gaya Street 088 223333, jesseltonhotel.com; map. The oldest hotel in town – not that it means much in a city like KK – with Lady Mountbatten and Muhammad Ali among former guests. The place is reasonably well run but in truth it looks a little frumpy next to newer upstarts. RM260

Kinabalu Daya 9 Jalan Pantai 088 240000, kinabaludayahotel.com; map. A well-established, serviceable affair with snug, en-suite rooms, a ground-floor café and a street-side bar. RM180

Klagan Warisan Square, Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens 088 488908, theklagan.com; map. This mid-range hotel, part of a small local chain, offers a bit more character than much of the competition. Rooms have big, red designer chairs and swanky bathrooms, and there’s also a rooftop restaurant (rates usually include breakfast). RM270

Le Meridien Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens 088 322222, lemeridienkotakinabalu.com; map. A convenient location and sumptuous facilities, including high-spec rooms, pool, spa and gym. RM475

Little Gaya 52 Gaya Street 088 261838, littlegayahotel.com; map. Like its next-door neighbour, Eden 54, this just about counts as a boutique hotel and has a range of rooms, the cheaper ones windowless. There’s a more spacious feel here, though, as the bathrooms are only half-walled off so the sink area blends into the rest of the room. RM150

Maxim Bandaran Berjaya 088 262811, maximhotelkk@gmail.com; map. A small, decent budget option, with blandly modern rooms (ones with windows cost RM10 extra). RM80

Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort Tanjung Aru, nearly 4km southwest of the centre 088 327888, shangri-la.com; map. Perched on the beach at the tip of the headland, this luxury resort has everything you’d expect of a Shangri-La: rolling, landscaped grounds, two pools, a gym, tennis courts, water sports, plus several high-class food outlets and bars. There’s also the eleven-hole Kinabalu Golf Club just nearby. RM1200

Sixty3 63 Gaya Street 088 327888, shangri-la.com; map. Opposite the tourist office, this newish, rather bland affair has the usual range of rooms around a narrow rectangular atrium, but no restaurant. Good value, so often full. RM240

Sutera Harbour Resort Sutera Harbour, right at the southwest end of the centre 088 318888, suteraharbour.com; map. This development is so vast it has its own shuttle buses to whiz guests around. Besides a marina and golf course, it features two hotels: the palatial Magellan and the comparatively humble five-star Pacific; both feature enormous pool complexes, water sports and a spa. RM750

FROM TOP PYGMY ELEPHANT beside the KINABATANGAN RIVER; NIGHT MARKET, KOTA KINABALU

Eating

KK has a decent range of restaurants and kopitiams, although international cuisine is somewhat lagging. Some worthwhile places are tucked away in malls; by contrast, the glitzy ones at the Waterfront development tend to be overpriced and mediocre. Locally run indie cafés are popping up all over, but especially at Australia Place (Lorong Dewan), where quite a few have names reflecting the area’s past association with the printing industry.

Chilli Vanilla 35 Jalan Haji Saman 088 238098; map. A truly eclectic restaurant, with Middle Eastern-ish tiles and a menu that takes in goulash and chicken schnitzel (the owner is Hungarian), tortillas, Moroccan lamb stew, burgers and more. With something for almost everyone, the place is popular with travellers and locals alike. Mains from about RM25; the weekday set lunch is good value at RM20. Mon–Sat 10am–10.30pm, Sun 4.30–10.30pm.

D’Malindo Café 205A, second floor, Wisma Merdeka, Jalan Tun Razak; map. This hidden-away, no-frills place serves a terrific nasi campur spread of Malay and some Bornean food – such as “Sabah vegetable”, vaguely spinach-like greens more properly called sayur manis. Daily 8.30am–4.30pm.

D’Place Second floor, Shell Plaza, 29 Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman 010 228 2381; map. For many years KK lacked a decent place to try indigenous cuisine, but now this marvellous Kadazan/Dusun restaurant has made amends. Come for the terrific buffets (lunch around RM30, dinner RM40 with a cultural show) with dishes like pineapple chicken and samosas filled with hinava (raw fish salad). The accompaniments include reddish hill rice and ambuyat, the gluey sago staple also beloved in Brunei. Leave space for stodgy desserts such as stewed pumpkin in coconut milk, and perhaps imbibe some lihing (a rice brandy) too. If you’re feeling really brave, try one of the butod (sago grubs; RM5) in the box by the door, either eaten live and whole or baked into their butod pizza, in which case the cheese conveniently masks any larval flavours. Daily 11am–10pm.

El Centro 32 Jalan Haji Saman 014 862 3877; map. This compact restaurant and bar with multicoloured lights on the walls has fast become a favourite hangout for tourists and expats alike. There are ample portions of food from all over (Mondays feature Mexican specials, for example), plus a good selection of well-priced beers, wine and cocktails. Keep an eye out for regular quiz nights. Mains from around RM20; happy hour 5–9pm. Daily 11am–midnight.

Fook Yuen Ground floor, Menara Jubili, 53 Gaya Street 088 743406; map. A mini-food court and bakery rolled into one, this cafeteria chain deserves an award for sheer convenience. Noodles, rice, cooked dishes, dim sum, breads and cakes are all laid out at different counters; nearly everything is self-service apart from toast, eggs and drinks, which are made to order (watch for your order number to come up on the screen once you’ve paid the cashier). Only slightly more expensive than a standard kedai kopi. Daily 7am–late.

Grazie Third floor, Suria Sabah Mall 019 821 6936; map. Authentic wood-fired, thin-crust pizzas (from RM35), pasta and other dishes, plus a good range of Italian wines and liqueurs. Daily noon–9.30pm.

Jesselton Point Hawker Centre Jesselton Point, Jalan Haji Saman; map. These stalls roar to life in the evenings selling satay, fried fish and other popular dishes. There’s even an Aussie steakhouse and the seating is pleasantly alfresco, looking out over the harbour toward the islands. Daily 4–11pm.

Jothy’s Banana Leaf G9, Lorong Api-Api 1, Api-Api Centre 088 261595, jothyscurry.com; map. Excellent South Indian establishment serving satisfying dosai and a variety of delicious curries, including a classic fish-head variety. Their filleted chicken 65 is also a hit. Daily 11am–10pm.

October 13 Lorong Dewan 088 346129; map. This Korean-owned chain is among the best cafés at Australia Place. Go for the house blend (roasted by the boss himself) or a single-origin coffee to accompany one of the scrumptious cakes or (daytime only) snacks such as the Korean omelette toasted sandwich. Daily 11am–midnight.

Sinsuran Night Market Pasar Sinsuran, Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens; map. Next door to the handicraft market, dozens of stalls set up in the evening, either part of a frenetic seafood market or selling barbecued fish, grilled meat and other delights. You can have a full meal with accompanying rice and vegetables or just grab some chicken on a stick or even a Bajau snack like koci (conical rice dumplings). Daily 5–10.30pm.

Tam Nak Thai Third floor, Suria Sabah Mall 016 832 9928; map. Fine Thai cuisine and a pleasing ambience (and some tables with a view) make this place popular. The green curry is good, as is the pineapple rice. Around RM30/head, minus drinks. Mon–Sat 11.30am–2.30pm & 6–10.15pm, Sun 6–10.15pm.

Tavern Ground floor, Imago mall, Jalan Coastal 012 586 0093, tavern.com.my; map. With gaudy wall panels and tables spilling out onto the concourse, this bar-restaurant serves an upmarket take on American, Italian and Asian standards – burgers, pasta, fried rice – sometimes fusing them to good effect (stir-fried seafood spaghetti, for instance), with Sabahan ingredients like tuhau (wild ginger) in the mix too. They also serve up a mean range of cocktails, mocktails and humongous milkshakes. Happy hours 3–6pm & 10pm–midnight. Daily 10am–midnight.

Welcome Seafood Ground floor, Star City complex, off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman 088 447866, wsr.com.my; map. Massive Chinese restaurant that’s a little out of the way but is better value than its more prominent rivals in Kampung Air. There are open-air and a/c sections, and plenty of live fish and crustaceans in dozens of tanks, priced by weight. If you eschew the seafood, a slap-up meal could cost as little as RM40/head, minus drinks; otherwise you could easily pay double that. Daily noon–midnight.

Yee Fung 127 Gaya Street 088 312042; map. One of several old-school Chinese kopitiams here with a devoted following, in this case for their claypot chicken rice and laksa – it’s not uncommon to spot people lining up here at various times of day. Mon–Fri 7am–6pm, Sat & Sun 7am–5pm.

Kaamatan

Kaamatan is to Sabah’s Kadazan/Dusun what gawai is to Sarawak’s Iban, a rice harvest festival culminating in public holidays on 30 and 31 May. As ever people try to return to their longhouses or villages for the event, with much quaffing of the usual rice-based alcoholic drinks; inevitably, malls get into the spirit too, sporting decorations styled after steamed rice cakes and ears of grains. Most importantly, at the Kadazan/Dusun Cultural Assocation (KDCA; kdca.org.my) in the KK suburb of Penampang, there’s a gradual build-up in festivities from mid-May, with arm-wrestling and cookery contests, and sometimes even buffalo races. The climax is a two-day jamboree of music and dance, kicking off on 30 May with sugandoi, a traditional singing competition. The following day sees the Unduk Ngadau pageant, with women in tribal costume vying to be chosen as the individual who embodies the qualities of Huminodun, a mythical figure; smaller versions of it are staged even in longhouses. The KDCA events aren’t ticketed, so get the latest details from Sabah Tourism if you’d like to attend.

Drinking and nightlife

Although there are a few good bars, KK is not noted for its nightlife. Besides the places listed below, the El Centro and Tavern restaurants are also great watering holes. KK can seem like a cultural desert most of the year, but towards the end of May there are performances for Kaamatan (see box, opposite). The city also hosts annual film (kkiff.com) and jazz (kkjazzfest.com) festivals.

999 Jalan Haji Yaacob 088 283889; map. The most over-the-top club you’ll ever see, in a converted cinema with Corinthian columns and statues of centurions outside. The interior is hangar-like and sometimes hosts live bands in addition to DJs. No dress code, but pricey drinks. Tues–Sun 9pm–late.

BED Waterfront development 011 2986 8804; map. Best Entertainment Destination, to give its full name, features Philippine bands playing popular standards most nights. Daily 8pm–late.

Sharikat Biru-Biru 24 Lorong Dewan 011 1412 3490; map. Informal venue with an old-fashioned Malay/Chinese signboard and quirky décor, including an old bicycle stuck to one wall. A good selection of beers and spirits, plus light bites, salsa sessions and acoustic and open-mic nights keep travellers and locals happy. Daily 11am–11pm.

Shopping

Books

The Borneo Shop Ground floor, Wisma Merdeka, Jalan Haji Saman 012 385689; map. Head to this shop for specialist books on Borneo, including titles published by the KK-based National History Publications. Mon–Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–5.30pm.

Times Bookstore Level 2, Suria Sabah Mall 088 487118; map. For general books and magazines, try this bookstore. Daily 10am–10pm.

Camping and outdoor equipment

KK is a good place to stock up for a Kinabalu climb or exploits elsewhere in the country.

Montanic Adventure Begins Basement level, Suria Sabah 088 274538, montanic.com; map. Sells high-end branded rucksacks, anoraks and camping equipment. Also has a branch on the first floor of Imago mall (088 274699). Daily 10am–10pm.

Mr DIY Level 1, Imago mall; map. Nationwide chain selling household items, also great for head torches, water bottles, cycling gloves and other basics. Daily 10am–10pm.

Outdoor Gear Level 3, Centre Point 088 260585; map. Cheap but with a limited range of products. Daily 11am–9.30pm.

Malls

It’s not hard to notice there’s a glut of malls in KK, which means only a handful are thriving.

Centre Point Mall Jalan Tun Razak; map. The busiest of the Asian-style shopping complexes, housing small stores. Daily 10am–10pm

Imago Mall Just beyond the KK Times Square office complex imago.my; map. This enormous, Western-style mall is the very best of the lot, and it’s packed with major stores and franchises. Daily 10am–10pm

Suria Sabah Mall Opposite Wisma Sabah suriasabah.com.my; map. KK’s second best mall, with the usual range of eating outlets and boutiques. Daily 10am–10pm

Souvenirs and crafts

Make a beeline for the Gaya Street Sunday market, offering a host of interesting local products including tribal instruments such as the sompoton (like pan pipes stuck to a gourd) and handmade soaps containing unusual ingredients such as seaweed. Items sold at the handicraft market are of variable quality and may originate in the Philippines or Indonesia. Grocery shops on Gaya Street, plus Kadaiku and stalls at the central market, stock edibles made with local produce, including chocolate and Tenom coffee.

The Borneo Shop Ground floor, Wisma Merdeka, Jalan Haji Saman 012 385689; map. This bookstore also has some textiles and beadwork. Mon–Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–5.30pm.

Kadaiku/Sri Pelancongan Block L, Sinsuran 088 232121, kadaiku.com; map. Kitsch orang-utan and proboscis monkey soft toys infest the wares of Kadaiku/Sri Pelancongan, a Sabah Tourism subsidiary, though they also sell handicrafts, including woven textiles; the tourist office has a small selection of these and other items. Mon–Fri 8am–6pm, Sat 10am–6pm

Supermarkets

City Grocer Third floor, Suria Sabah 088 488844; map. Has the widest range of local and imported produce, including alcoholic beverages. Daily 10am–10pm.

Tong Hing 55 Gaya Street 088 230300; map. Specializes in imported products but is expensive, although many swear by its bakery’s bread. Daily 8am–10pm.

Arrival and Departure: Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

By boat A dozen or so operators run boats to Manukan, Mamutik and Sapi from the Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal (departures from around 8.30am, last boat back leaves around 5pm). Try to get there by 9.30am, if not earlier, as the first set of departures sell out quickly and you may not get your preferred outward (or return) slot if you’re tardy. Prices vary slightly between operators, but are typically RM23 for one island, RM33 for two or RM43 for all three, plus a RM7.20 terminal tax. The operator should explain the arrangements for island-hopping and returning. You might also be able to charter a boat for around RM35 per person for one island. Some boat firms and other companies at the terminal also arrange activities; rent your snorkelling gear at the terminal if you plan to go to more than one island.

Activities

Jetskiing and parasailing Jetskiing (RM175 for 30min) and parasailing (RM110 for 10min) are among the watersports available at Manukan, Sapi and Mamutik islands, through operators like Sea Quest Tours (088 248 006, seaquesttours.net).

Seawalking This peculiar activity has people donning what look like astronaut suits with air piped in from above, in order to spend half an hour wandering the sea floor (around RM270). One operator has an office at the beach on Sapi, and Sea Quest Tours can arrange this as well.

Snorkelling and diving Snorkelling and, to a lesser extent, diving are worthwhile around the islands, with a decent amount of marine life around though the health of the coral is variable. Beachside outfits rent snorkelling equipment (RM15 for mask, snorkel and fins); diving packages can be arranged in advance with tour operators in KK or on Manukan, Sapi and Mamutik.

Zip lining It’s possible to descend, from high above the sea, from Gaya to Sapi using the Coral Flyer zip line, billed as the longest inter-island line of its kind (RM70; seek out the team near the Sapi jetty or enquire on 011 2984 2023, coralflyer.com). The experience is so brief that it works out at RM2/second, but then it’s the adrenaline rush you’re really forking out for.

Accommodation

The prices for resorts here represent starting prices during high season if booked early, and include breakfast and boat transfers except where stated; discounts of around twenty percent may be available at other times. Camping is allowed on Gaya, Mamutik and Sapi (permits RM5.30/person; tents may be available to rent for RM30, but it’s better to have your own).

Bungaraya Island Resort Gaya 088 380390, echoresorts.com/bungaraya. Offers luxurious timber villas hidden away within the forest; rooms are spacious and some feature their own jacuzzi or mini-pool. There’s a gym and spa, and guests can partake of activities at their sister Gayana Marine Resort. RM1400

Gaya Island Resort Gaya 018 939 1100, gayaislandresort.com. A lavish affair blending contemporary design with traditional elements, nestled neatly into a bay on Gaya’s north shore. There’s a spa, pool, dive shop and several restaurants of course, and the resort also has its own marine conservation centre. Price excludes boat transfers. RM1400

Gayana Marine Resort Gaya 088 380390, echoresorts.com/gayana. This resort has attractive chalets, many built out over the sea, with its own dive shop and marine conservation centre where guests can get involved in simple projects. RM1100

Manukan Island Resort Manukan 017 833 5022, suterasanctuarylodges.com.my. Features small, somewhat characterless units resembling little houses. Unusually, the beach units are cheaper; the “hillside” ones are fancier and more removed from the noise of day-trippers. Price excludes boat transfers. RM850

Monsopiad Heritage Village

13km south of KK on Jalan Putatan Ramayah, Penampang • Daily 9am–5pm • RM20, or RM55 with tour and cultural show • 088 734657, infomonsopiadcultu.wixsite.com/monsopiadheritage • Bus #13 (or minivan) south to Donggongon, then a Terawi-bound bus

Themed around the tale of a legendary head-hunter, the Monsopiad Heritage Village provides an introduction to the history and traditions of the Kadazan/Dusun people. The star attraction is a hut where Monsopiad’s grisly harvest of 42 skulls is displayed, although you can also sample rice wine and test your blowpipe skills. If you’ve paid for the full experience, knowledgeable guides will explain traditions such as the rituals practised by the bobohizan (priestess), and there’ll be a dance show to take in too.

Mari Mari Cultural Village

18km east of KK, Kionsom • Compulsory tours daily 10am, 2pm & 6pm (2hr) • Day-trips without transport RM100, or RM110 in the evening; day-trips including transport plus one meal RM180, or RM200 in the evening with an additional fire-breathing show; book through Traverse Tours, which runs the village, or other KK tour operators • marimariculturalvillage.my

Mari Mari Cultural Village has more of an orchestrated theme park feel than the Monsopiad Heritage Village, and unlike Monsopiad it tries to cover a broad sweep of several of Sabah’s ethnic groups, with recreations of their traditional houses on site. It sometimes feels a little phoney, but if you take it in the right spirit, you will come away both entertained and educated. Activities and demonstrations include rice-wine tasting, starting a fire using bamboo, making the lacy sweet fritter kuih jala and using a blowpipe; for this option, a buffet lunch, tea or dinner is thrown in too.

< Back to Sabah

The southwest coast

The coast southwest of KK, inhabited in particular by the Bisaya and Kedayan ethnic groups, is a largely mundane area. The Klias Peninsula here is prime country for day-trips organized by tour operators in KK, whether for rafting or wildlife watching. Offshore is Tiga Island, the setting for the first series of the TV show Survivor.

KK to the Klias Peninsula

The first town of any size on the coast road is Kinarut, with a smattering of factories and a decent beachside resort; it’s here, some 20km southwest of KK, that you finally feel you’ve left the environs of the city behind. The scenery soon turns much more rural until at Papar, around 15km further on, you’re treated to vistas of paddy fields with the Crocker mountain range constantly looming to the east. An old-fangled railway bridge spanning the Papar River is the most memorable thing about the town itself. Another 15km on, the otherwise scraggly Kimanis boasts a gleaming petrochemical facility, processing Sabah’s offshore oil and gas, and also marks the start of the road up and over the Crocker range to Keningau and the southern interior. Within another 15km, the coast starts veering ever further away as the road enters the Klias Peninsula.

throwback rail journeys

Sabah’s tiny rail network features two contrasting journeys that might be worth considering. One uses a specially built steam train running from Tanjung Aru station to the small town of Papar (Wed & Sat at 9.30am; 4hr; RM350 including breakfast and lunch on board; book with suteraharbour.com). Billed as the North Borneo Railway, this is a semi-luxurious 66km round trip using a wood-burning British Vulcan, plus five carriages constructed to a vintage design in the 1970s. In truth they’re the most attractive thing about the trip, as the scenery isn’t much to write home about.

The other noteworthy journey involves the branch line between the town of Beaufort and agricultural Tenom in the southern interior. This is an ordinary passenger service (2 daily in each direction; 2hr 30min) distinguished by the antiquated, very basic carriages and the fact that the line shadows the Padas river valley; indeed rafting packages often include the train ride as a prelude. With endearingly rural scenes en route, there’s something for non-railway buffs as well. Whichever direction you do it in, be aware that there were no sensible connections at Beaufort, so a day-trip will require two bus journeys at either end unless you stay the night (Tenom is far preferable to Beaufort).

Accommodation: KK to the Klias Peninsula

Langkah Syabas Kampung Kinarut Laut 088 752000, langkahsyabas.com.my. Appealing, small-scale beachfront resort, managed by an Australian/Malaysian couple and attracting plenty of Antipodean guests. The older chalets are set in a garden and encircle the swimming pool, while the newer ones facing the sea cost fifty percent more. The restaurant does a popular Sunday roast, and they make their own surprisingly good cheese on the premises. Rates include breakfast. RM250

The Klias Peninsula

The gateway to the Klias Peninsula is the forgettable Padas River town of BEAUFORT, on the main KK road some 40km southwest of Kimanis and 65km from the border with Sarawak. Named after an early governor of British North Borneo, the town itself is utterly forgettable, distinguished only being the hub of Sabah’s puny rail network. The Padas, however, is a fine choice for whitewater rafting, arranged through tour operators in KK, while the peninsula offers an excellent chance of spotting proboscis monkeys on the Garama or Klias rivers, or at Weston near the mouth of the Padas, with fireflies also visible night. Note that although these locations may be signposted nearby, you can’t just fetch up and get on a trip, as the boatmen work for the tour companies; however, some firms may offer a discount if you get here under your own steam.

Kuala Penyu

Around an hour northeast of Beaufort, or 45 minutes from Menumbok, at the northern point of the peninsula, KUALA PENYU is the departure point for Pulau Tiga Park. It’s a simple grid of streets with little more than a few basic stores and kedai kopis.

Menumbok

The most westerly settlement on the Klias Peninsula, tiny MENUMBOK is notable only for its frequent boat connections with Labuan Island.

Crossing into Sarawak

Note that because Sarawak maintains its own immigration controls, passports will be stamped by the authorities of both Sabah and Sarawak at the Merapok border post; the Sarawak stamp entitles visitors to a thirty-day stay. There will be another three border checkpoints to negotiate if Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei is your final destination – add one more if heading for Miri.

Arrival and departure: klias peninsula

Beaufort

By bus and minivan Buses and minivans park up at a tiny station opposite a yellow-domed mosque less than a 10min walk away from the east bank of the Padas River. There are services to KK (hourly; 2hr) and more sporadic ones to Menumbok and Kuala Penyu (1hr), plus Keningau (at least 2 daily; 2hr 30min).

By train The train station is on the east bank of the river. At the time of research there were no convenient connections between trains on the Tanjung Aru line (2 daily; 2hr) and Tenom line (2 daily; 2hr 30min), whichever direction you’re heading in.

Menumbok

By bus Buses for KK should leave roughly hourly (2hr 30min), but often delay departures considerably to await arriving ferries. There are also a couple of daily buses for Keningau in the interior (3hr 30min).

By minivan or shared taxi Minivans and shared taxis leave sporadically for KK (3hr), Beaufort (1hr) or Kuala Penyu (45min). If you can’t find a vehicle to Kuala Penyu, catch a Beaufort one to the junction (simpang) for Kuala Penyu and try to flag down onward transport there.

By boat Speedboats (1–2 hourly; 20min; RM13) and car ferries (5–6 daily between 8am–8.30pm; 1hr 30min; RM5/person plus RM40/car) travel daily between Menumbok and Labuan Island; note that there’s also a ferry terminal tax of RM2–3/person.

Kuala Penyu

By minivan It takes just over 2hr to travel by minivan to KK’s Merdeka Field bus stand from Kuala Penyu, or you can get a minivan to Beaufort. These vehicles leave from one block back from the jetty.

Pulau Tiga Park

RM10 conservation fee • A 20min boat ride from Kuala Penyu – the Survivor Lodge provides boats at 10am & 3pm for guests (non-guests can use these for RM100 each way/person if arranged in advance) • sabahparks.org.my

Nestled in the South China Sea 12km north of Kuala Penyu, Pulau Tiga Park is a beautiful and peaceful place that acquired a degree of fame in 2001 as the paradise location for the first series of the American reality TV show Survivor. It used to consist of three islands, one of which has since been reduced to a mere sand bar by wave erosion. Of the remaining two – Tiga and Kalampunian Damit – only the former holds accommodation; the latter is normally visited as part of a morning snorkelling trip from the Survivor Lodge.

Most visitors content themselves with relaxing on the sandy beaches and snorkelling or diving in the azure sea. It’s possible to hike right around the jungle-cloaked island in six hours, but the paths are poorly maintained so it’s best to check at the park office which ones are passable. The best is the easy twenty-minute walk to the centre of Tiga, which leads to a couple of mud volcanoes.

Accommodation and eating: pULAU tIGA pARK

Two luxury resorts were in the works on Tiga at the time of research, and may be open by the time you read this; meanwhile, the only place to stay is Survivor Lodge. Camping is allowed with your own tent (camping permit RM5.30/person).

Survivor Lodge 088 240584, sdclodges.com/pulau-tiga. Also known by its former name, Pulau Tiga Resort, this has dozens of twin-bed chalet. It also has its own dive shop and restaurant, and offers kayaking too. Price is for a full-board package, including boat transfer. RM400

< Back to Sabah

Labuan Island

A short distance west of the Klias Peninsula, the 15km-long LABUAN ISLAND is surprisingly appealing, with wide, clean streets planted with flowering shrubs and a relaxed pace of life. It’s striking how unlike Sabah the place feels, which is half-explained by the fact that it isn’t part of Sabah at all, being instead Federal Territory – meaning it has the same administrative status as Kuala Lumpur. The rest of the explanation lies in the wealth generated by Labuan’s offshore oil and gas, although the island has lately fallen on hard times with the plunge in crude oil prices. For now, Labuan is keeping up appearances, with its eponymous main town still offering decent accommodation, eating, nightlife and duty-free shopping. With far fewer oil workers passing through, the authorities are desperate for tourists to keep things going, and in truth the island isn’t a bad place to spend a day or two en route between Brunei and Sabah; there are a few minor sights and beaches, and wreck diving is possible in Labuan’s own marine park. Most sights outside Labuan Town are a little too far away to walk. Labuan has a basic bus network and taxis, but it’s worth considering cycling around the island – there are proper cycle lanes on long stretches of the coastal road, and traffic isn’t that heavy outside of peak hours.

Labuan Town

The main urban centre, simply called LABUAN TOWN, lies on the island’s southeastern side. Despite its nondescript modern appearance, the town dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, when the British – having newly prised Labuan from the Brunei Sultanate – established a free port called Victoria here. Centred on the padang, with older quarters to the west, the town is pleasantly walkable, with a couple of museums to visit and a beach not far away to the northeast. Labuan Town is one of Malaysia’s duty-free centres, but the selection of goods is rather more limited than at, say, Langkawi. Once you’ve browsed the imported chocolates, alcohol, perfumes and cigarettes on sale at the ferry terminal there’s little to be gained by exploring outlets elsewhere in town.

Labuan Museum

Behind the padang • Daily 8.30am–5pm • Free • 087 419451, www.jmm.gov.my

Although lacking in artefacts, the small, yellow Labuan Museum is worthy of an hour’s visit. Downstairs, display boards offer a decent account of the island’s history and constantly evolving political status: shunted from Brunei to the East India Company, then the British North Borneo Chartered Company, then the Straits Settlements, then Sabah – which it left in the 1980s to become Federal Territory. Displays upstairs outline the customs of Labuan’s various ethnic groups including the largest, the Kedayan.

Marine Museum

1.5km east of the centre at Labuan International Sea Sports Complex (Kompleks Sukan Laut), Jalan Tanjung Purun • Daily 8.30am–5pm; fish feeding Sat 10am • Free • 087 425927 • Bus #1, #3 or #4

Housed in a gleaming modern building at the eastern end of town, the Marine Museum contains various displays on coastal and deep-sea ecosystems, plus the environment around Labuan. Its main attraction, however, is its aquarium, with more than a dozen tanks plus a touch pool.

Diving around Tiga

Tiga’s prime dive site is probably Asmara Point, close to the Sabah Parks jetty. With a maximum depth of 10m it’s a nice, easy dive, albeit sometimes with a slight current, with good coral attracting lionfish, Moorish idols and groupers, plus sometimes sea turtles. Other good sites include Phukat Point (where they very occasionally see white-tip sharks) and Larai Point (notable for its excellent coral). The dive shop at Survivor Lodge charges around RM110 per person for the first dive (minimum of two people), excluding equipment rental, and also does Discover Scuba course (RM210 per person).

Labuan War Cemetery and Memorial

3km northeast of Labuan Town on Jalan Tanjung Batu • Mon–Fri 7am–4.30pm • Free • cwgc.org • Bus #1

Containing the remains of approximately 3900 Allied soldiers, many of them unidentified, Labuan’s war cemetery is Malaysia’s largest by far (the one at Taiping in Perak is a distant second). Many were victims of the Sandakan “death march”; hundreds more were transferred here from Kuching, site of an infamous prisoner-of-war camp. Inside the compound, white stone markers are poignantly arrayed on manicured lawns. There’s also a red-brick, columned memorial to one side, commemorating the 2300 Australian and other troops who died in Borneo and the Philippines during World War II, and have no known graves.

Chimney Museum

On the northeast tip of the island on Jalan Tanjung Kubong • Daily 8.30am–5pm • Free • 087 463603, www.jmm.gov.my • Bus #6

One of the most bizarre museums in the country must be Labuan Island’s Chimney Museum, which celebrates the mysterious red-brick tower next door. Most of the museum is actually given over to a passable history of coal-mining in Labuan – under the British, the northeast of the island was a major centre for this until the early twentieth century. Dioramas and antique equipment attempt to spice up the story, but the great lacuna is just what role the square chimney itself – so heavily restored that you’d swear it was built a few years back, although it’s thought to date from 1900 – actually played. Indeed, no one is even sure that the chimney had anything to do with mining at all.

The beaches

There are beaches dotted all around Labuan’s coastline, the nearest to Labuan Town being Tanjung Batu Beach, 2.5km to the northeast; it’s a so-so stretch, let down by brownish sand and views of shipping and the odd oil rig. Rather better are the half a dozen or so beaches dotted all along the northwest coast, which all offer good sunset views. If you only have time for one, make it Layang-Layangan Beach, smack in the middle of the stretch and including Surrender Point, where Japanese troops acquiesced at the end of World War II. The adjoining Peace Park, built in the 1980s with Japanese funds, is a pretty spot to relax.

Arrival and Departure: Labuan Island

By plane Labuan Island’s airport is 5km north of Labuan Town, served by all the local minibuses except #1; a taxi into the centre costs RM15.

Destinations KK (6 daily; 30min); Kuala Lumpur (3–5 daily; 2hr 20min); Miri (5 daily; 40min).

By boat Passenger ferries serving Sabah and Sarawak dock at Labuan Town’s international ferry terminal on Jalan Merdeka (087 581006). Car ferries, which only serve Muara in Brunei (RM35) and Menumbok in Sabah, leave from a jetty close by to the east. In addition, there are Menumbok speedboats, which use the international terminal (1–2 hourly; RM15). Schedules do change, so check to be sure.

Destinations KK (2 daily; 3hr 15min); Lawas (1 daily; 2hr 15min); Limbang (1–2 daily; 2hr); Menumbok (speedboats hourly; 20–30min; car ferry 5–6 daily; 1hr 30min); Muara (Brunei; 4 daily; 1hr 15min).

getting around

By minibus Labuan has six numbered local minibus services operating to an irregular timetable; details are given here where relevant. They leave between dawn and the early evening from the bus station to the northwest of Labuan Town.

By taxi Taxis park at the bus station and charge around RM10 for a short ride, rising to RM30 to head right across the island.

By bicycle A counter at the ferry terminal offers bike rental for RM5/hr or RM30/day.

By car If you’d like to rent a car, you can try Hertz at the airport (087 410740), or LDA Travel & Tour at the ferry terminal (087 413155).

Information

Tourist information Tourism Malaysia is at Jalan Merdeka, close to the Labuan Museum (daily 8am–5pm; 087 423445). The Labuan Corporation, the body that runs the island, also operates an information counter at the airport (Mon–Thurs, Sat & Sun 8am–1pm & 2–5pm, Fri 8–11.30am & 2–5pm; pl.gov.my).

Internet access Labuan has a free Wi-Fi service available at facilities like the ferry terminal.

Visiting Labuan’s marine park

Labuan’s marine park, 5km southwest of Labuan, encloses three islands, Kuraman (the largest by far), Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil, along with four wreck dive sites. With no regular boat service, however, the only way to visit is on a trip organized by an operator in Labuan. It’s possible to overnight here, though don’t expect resort-style luxury; the only accommodation takes the form of simple A-frame chalets, with a/c and bathroom, on Rusukan Besar. Note there is a RM30 conservation fee.

Tour operators

Borneo Wreck Divers Dorsett Grand hotel, Labuan Town 013 808 8678. This operator offers a basic diving package to the marine park that costs RM320/person, excluding food and the park conservation fee, while wreck diving starts at RM380; snorkelling and Discover Scuba courses are also available.

Emma Glorious Tours Near the airport 087 423688. To explore the marine park without diving, contact Emma Glorious Tours, whose trips feature snorkelling and a fair amount of beach time. Their day-trip to Rusukan Besar includes lunch (RM240); alternatively, see all three islands on a two-day package (RM380), including a night’s stay on Rusukan Besar and four meals – one a beach barbecue dinner. Prices are per head and require at least two people; the conservation fee isn’t included. The company is located out of town, but can do airport and hotel pickups.

Accommodation

Hotels in Labuan Town are mostly geared towards business travellers and so are struggling somewhat in the face of the local economic slump. Rates here reflect the resulting discounts, but you should expect some volatility. There are no hostels, and the handful of budget hotels are usually undone by one thing or another, such as being located close to the noisy nightlife of the Jati district. Elsewhere, there’s a beach resort worth considering, and it’s also possible to stay on the islands of Rusukan Besar (within the marine park) and Papan (just to the southeast of Labuan Town).

Billion Waterfront Jalan Wawasan, Labuan Town 087 418111; map. All rooms at this fancy complex are basically the same; prices vary according to location and view. Amenities include a pool, fitness centre, restaurant and – perhaps best of all – a poolside bar where Saturday night buffets are served (RM50). RM275

Labuan Avenue Jalan OKK Awang Besar, Labuan Town 087 427157, lbn.avenue@yahoo.com; map. This newish budget option is a godsend, as it’s quiet, homely and, unlike most of its peers, not bad to look at either, with a snazzy lobby and pantry where a self-service breakfast is available. Conveniently placed for just about everything in the centre. Rooms with windows cost about ten percent extra, and rates rise by ten percent at weekends. RM95

Palm Beach Resort & Spa Jalan Batu Manikar, near the island’s northern tip 087 418700, palmbeachresortspa.com; map. A tranquil, likeable affair where the rooms, in modern blocks, are unremarkable, but the leafy grounds and beachside pool really hit the spot. RM250

Eating

Labuan Town holds the usual mix of no-frills kedai kopis plus more formal restaurants for Western basics or seafood (as ever, priced by weight).

Choice Restaurant Jalan Okk Awang Besar; map. Spacious, inexpensive a/c place with a long à la carte menu, as well as a good nasi campur spread. The roti and dosai are excellent – try the ghee masala dosa for breakfast. Daily 8am–10.30pm.

Fratini’s Jalan Bunga Kesuma 087 417555; map. Outpost of the Bruneian chain known for its reliable thin-crust pizzas. Daily 10am–11pm.

Mawilla Yacht Club Tanjung Batu Beach, just beyond the edge of town 087 423888; map. An unpretentious affair, despite the grand name, in an open-sided beach bungalow with a fairly standard menu of Chinese stir-fries, plus seafood. Reckon on RM25/head without drinks, or more with seafood. Daily 7am–1am.

New Sung Hwa PCK Building, Jalan Hujong Pasir 087 411 008; map. Hidden upstairs in a featureless concrete block, but highly popular for its reasonably priced Chinese seafood, including crispy squid. Some tables have views west across the channel to Labuan’s two water villages. Daily noon–2pm & 5.30–10.30pm.

Raff Jalan Merdeka, next to Maybank 019 897 2799; map. This simple restaurant has sea views and a range of Malay food, with a nasi campur spread in the morning and à la carte service thereafter. Specialities include ayam penyet (pounded, tenderized chicken) and Sarawak laksa – the friendly owner hails from Kuching. Dishes cost RM15 or less. Daily 10.30am–10.30pm.

Drinking

The town was once known for its nightlife, with oil-industry workers coming here to unwind. Things have quietened down somewhat, though you might not think so if you’re anywhere near the raucous karaoke bars of Jati, with one or two more venues clinging on near the western edge of town – but nowhere is particularly appealing.

Fah Fah Jalan Bunga Mawar 087 425 5863; map. With some seating outdoors on a street corner, this slightly desultory place serves bak kut teh and a few other dishes, but it can be busy with people enjoying a few beers. In fact, the drinking starts pretty early in the afternoon. Daily 7am–1am.

Accommodation: mantanani Islands

Mari Mari Backpacker Lodge c/o Traverse Tours 088 260501, mantananiisland.com. A collection of simple two-person sulaps (huts) on stilts, with a hammock and chairs under each one, plus a hostel. Rates given include transfers from KK, breakfast plus one snorkelling session; extra nights cost much less. Dorms RM270, huts RM660

Sumangkap and Bavanggazo

Beyond Kota Belud, it’s only half an hour’s drive to the start of the road up the Kudat Peninsula, which is inhabited by the Rungus people, one of several subgroups of the Kadazan/Dusun and known for their beadwork. The first point of interest, signed some 140km from KK and 42km short of Kudat, is the village of SUMANGKAP, where gong-making is a cottage industry. Just about every house seems to be festooned with them, some looking like freakish saucepans, and villagers can be seen (and heard) in their front yards hammering away at them, listening closely to the tones they produce. Hardly anyone can explain their work in English, but that shouldn’t prevent you haggling to buy a souvenir gong if you wish. Be sure to check out the field at the back of the village, where one monumental gong is as tall as a two-storey house.

Only a couple of kilometres beyond Sumangkap, a few traditional Rungus longhouses have survived the shift to modern housing in the village of BAVANGGAZO, where there are a couple where tourists can stay.

Arrival and departure: Sumangkap and Bavanggazo

By bus or shared taxi Sumanggkap and Bavanggazo are some 140km from KK and 40km short of Kudat; Sumangkap is near the main road, but Bavanggazo lies 2.5km off it. Any bus or shared taxi between KK and Kudat can drop you at the turning for either village. If you are starting from Kudat and want to charter a taxi, expect to pay up to RM30 one way.

Accommodation

Bavanggazo Longhouse The second of the two longhouses in Bavanggazo, further in off the main road 019 842 6990. There are mattresses, each with their own mosquito net, on low sleeping platforms in one of 21 rooms; bathrooms are shared and there’s no a/c. Rate here is per person and includes half board and a cultural show. RM95

Kudat

Dreary little KUDAT is the jumping-off point for the Tip of Borneo and for Banggi island in the Tun Mustapha Park, and that’s the best that can be said for it. The town centre sits on a tongue of land jutting into Marudu Bay. The main road in, Jalan Ibrahim Arshad, passes right by an orange-hued Chinese temple, with a couple of rows of old timber shophouses just beyond. The road then changes its name to Jalan Lintas, curling past the harbour to the southwest, with a new centre – holding a few banks – on its northeast side. The temple, the sea views and the market area on Jalan Lintas are the only things worthy of a few minutes of your attention.

Arrival and Departure: Kudat

By plane MASWings (maswings.com.my) call at Kudat’s airfield, 9km northwest of town, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays en route between KK (40min) and Sandakan (50min). A taxi between town and the airport costs about RM10.

By bus Salam Bumimas buses leave from a tiny station near the beginning of Jalan Lintas for KK (daily at 2pm; 3hr 30min) and Sandakan (Tues, Fri & Sun at 9.45am; 5hr).

By boat Ferries to Karakit town on Banggi Island (daily 8.30am, 9.30am & 2.30pm, returning 7.30am, 1.30pm & 2pm; 1hr; RM20; buy tickets on board) leave from an easily spotted jetty In the harbour area.

By taxi Shared taxis serving Kota Belud and KK (RM30) park up northeast of Jalan Ibrahim Arshad in the old part of town.

Accommodation

Kinabalu Jalan Melor, off Jalan Lintas and opposite KFC 088 612022. This place is good value and well kept for a budget hotel. While rooms are very dated, they do have a/c and private bathrooms. RM75

Ria Jalan Ibrahim Arshad 088 622794, riahotel.blogspot.com. This mundane, squarish block towers over other buildings in Kudat and holds the best rooms in the centre. Suites cost more than double the ordinary rate, but they do have their own jacuzzis. RM140

Eating and drinking

It speaks volumes that the KFC is one of the slickest-looking restaurants in the centre, but many of the drab kedai kopis aren’t too bad at all for cheap meals.

Bharat Valai Hotel, start of Jalan Lintas 088 621866. With pot-plant-lined parapets and moody lighting at night, this rooftop bar is the closest thing to a proper watering hole in Kudat. Daily noon–10pm.

Hari Hari Seafood Kampung Kelapa complex, Jalan Pasar Awam, off Jalan Lintas 088 623218. Home to more than one restaurant, the Kampung Kelapa complex is easily spotted north of the market, with what look like giant drums (modelled on Rungus baskets) outside. Inside, under Chinese lanterns, Hari Hari has an extensive menu of stir-fries and seafood dishes to choose from (the breakfast selection is limited, though); most dishes cost RM10–15 for a small serving. Daily 6am–11.30pm.

The Tip of Borneo

Chartering a taxi to or from Kudat costs RM50–60

Some 6km short of Kudat, a pair of northbound turnings give access to the triangular cape of the Tip of Borneo (Tanjung Simpang Mengayau), which is still fairly rustic and totally bypassed by public transport. The main draws include scenic vistas of azure waters and a good dose of calm, but on the downside, the beaches are of variable quality, some pristine, others periodically strewn with detritus.

All roads eventually funnel into the road to the tip itself, which first passes a lovely 2.5km arc of sand – the southern section is Kosohui Beach, the northern part Kalampunian Beach. At the tip just to the northeast, a small landscaped area is crowned by a globular monument, with Balambangan and Banggi islands, part of the Tun Mustapha Park, visible on the eastern horizon.

As for activities, mangrove trips, surfing, kayaking, snorkelling and diving are available, although seas can be rough from November to January, and you should be wary of currents at other times. Jungle and coastal walks are possible, for example to Kelambu Beach 6km south of Kosohui, where a spit of sand links a forested islet to the mainland, but the lack of bike rental can make for some sweaty treks along shadeless roads.

Accommodation: The Tip of Borneo

A handful of places to stay cluster around Kalampunian Beach and the tip itself, with other options scattered all over the area. The most distant of these is noteworthy as it’s the only place offering trips to the Tun Mustapha Park. Most of these places have at least a simple kitchen serving breakfast, if not a full restaurant. Wi-fi isn’t commonplace, and even a phone signal can be hard to come by.

Hibiscus Villa 2.5km southwest of Kosohui Beach on Jalan Marang Parang 019 895 0704, hibiscusvillaborneo.com. Savour life in your very own seaside mansion at this immaculate two-storey, three-bedroom affair, set in lush gardens and with its own infinity pool. The place sleeps up to nine, with prices depending on group size. If your pockets aren’t deep enough, ask about their neighbouring property with just two chalets, each rented separately. Rates include breakfast. RM1100

North Borneo Biostation Bak Bak Beach, some 20km southeast of the Tip of Borneo and 8km north of Kudat 010 803 7310, borneobiostation.com. Part resort, part field station, with unusually spacious A-frame chalets complete with a/c and open-air bathrooms, plus a huge range of activities and trips. Rates include breakfast. RM275

Secret Place Signed off Jalan Marang Parang about 3km south of Kosohui 010 414 5291, secretplaceborneo.jimdo.com. A no-frills outfit offering camping on a secluded stretch of sand, with communal toilets and showers as well as a simple restaurant. Two-person tents RM50

Tampat Do Aman Jalan Marang Parang, 2.5km from Kosohui Beach 013 880 8395, tampatdoaman.com.my. This Rungus/British-run place offers a kind of back-to-basics experience. It’s true there are some quite comfortable sulaps and chalets, all with bathrooms though no a/c, but many guests go for the basic longhouse rooms with shared showers and composting toilets. A small museum of Rungus culture is a noble feature. The fly in the ointment is the distance from the beach, something several daily free shuttles doesn’t quite overcome. Rates exclude meals (only breakfast is served on site – or at their all-day beach restaurant, depending on your taste). Longhouses RM100, chalets RM175

TSM Merrimas Villas Tip of Borneo 019 833 2199, merrimasvilla.com. This competently run outfit is set above a secluded cove and has a range of a/c, en-suite chalets on both sides of the road, from very plain ones along a terrace to quite striking bamboo units and substantial timber ones. All have two or even four double beds, apart from the basic chalets (RM180). RM275

Eating

Secret Place About 3km south of Kosohui Beach on Jalan Marang Parang 010 414 5291, secretplaceborneo.jimdo.com. The restaurant at this beach campsite does simple Malay meals, and best of all they offer evening seafood barbecues on request (minimum charge RM20/person). Daily 9am–6pm.

Tip Top Kosohui Beach. Sister operation to Tampat Do Aman, with its own little pizzeria operation as well as a kitchen churning out Western and Asian basics, including their house special chicken curry and spaghetti bolognese. Pizzas start at RM20, other dishes at RM10; wine and beer available. Daily 8am–9pm.

Tokow Kosohui Beach 013 558 9052. Next door to Tip Top, this Malay-run place is great for simple, filling rice or noodle variations, with yummy coconut shakes to watch them down. Nothing costs more than RM7. Daily 8am–6pm.

Tun Mustapha Park

No conservation fee or permits at the time of research • sabahparks.org.my

The waters north and northeast of the Kudat Peninsula form the Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah’s newest state park, which was created to try to protect sealife following years of overfishing and general neglect. Covering 9000 square kilometres, the park extends all the way to the Tip of Borneo, encompassing dozens of small islands plus three major ones – none of them have been set up for tourism, however. In principle, it’s possible to do a half-day trip by ferry to the largest island, Banggi, which is 40km northeast of Kudat. The sights there aren’t anything special, though: a beach on the northeast coast a couple of hours from the main settlement, Karakit, and the 529m Mount Sinambung, where the 70m-high Sinambung Waterfall nestles in the jungle.

Taxis are the only way to get around independently (at least RM150), so it’s far better to visit on a package trip run by the North Borneo Biostation resort. The main draw is, of course, the marine life, but in addition to diving and snorkelling they offer an excursion to Balambangan Island, west of Banggi, where there are limestone caves to explore (around RM150 per person).

< Back to Sabah

Kinabalu Park

Main entrance daily 24hr; park office daily 7am–7pm • RM15 conservation fee • 088 889095, sabahparks.org.my

The journey to Kinabalu Park is one of the most scenic anywhere in Malaysia, traversing a classic, winding mountain road with views of mist-shrouded valleys and the jagged spectre of its eponymous mountain constantly arresting the eye. The mountain is revered as aki nabalu (home of spirits of the dead) by the Kadazan/Dusun, and dominates the park’s 750 square kilometres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its ecology and geology. All other hikes within the park pale in comparison with the prospect of reaching the summit at Low’s Peak (4095m), but climbing slots can be tricky to get, and the climb itself obliges you to stay one night on the mountain – an expensive affair, given the logistics of running facilities at altitude.

In view of those downsides, not every visitor is here to tackle the mountain, and the park has other temptations lower down. Trails loop the montane forest around the park headquarters; for great views, try either the 1082m-long Bukit Burung Trail or the 465m Bundu Tuhan View Trail. There’s also the chance to visit Poring Hot Springs, reached by another park entrance to the east.

Mount Kinabalu

Climbing permit RM200/person; guide (compulsory) RM230/group of up to five; porter (optional) RM65/10kg up to Panar Laban; summit certificate (optional) RM10.60; insurance (compulsory) RM7; left luggage RM12

Hugh Low, then British colonial secretary on Labuan, made the first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu in 1851, though he baulked at attempting its highest peak, considering it “inaccessible to any but winged animals”. Seven years later, Spenser St John, British consul-general to the native states of Borneo, found his progress blocked by Kadazan/Dusun “shaking their spears and giving us other hostile signs”. The peak, subsequently named after Low, was finally climbed in 1888 by John Whitehead.

Things are much easier now, of course, with a main trail to follow – actually an exhausting 8.7km-long series of steps and rocky tracks that weaves steeply up through forest on the south side to the bare granite of Low’s Peak in the northwest. Its existence is one of the joys of Kinabalu, as no climbing skills or special equipment are needed. Indeed, every two years, elite runners race from the park HQ to the summit and back down again, with winners covering the 26km in five hours or less (climbathon.my).

Even so, Kinabalu deserves respect: conditions can be miserably cold and blowy up top, and you need to watch out for cramping and altitude sickness. Take care as you go, as you really don’t want to be stretchered down by porters – which takes hours – because you twisted your ankle high up. At the same time, don’t overthink the challenge; this is a mountain that can be climbed by anyone of reasonable fitness.

The Timpohon Trail is the main route up, and the only one available following the Kinabalu earthquake. It’s possible to set off for the park from KK on the morning of your climb, but staying the previous night in the area is a lot more restful. Allow half an hour at the park office to register, meet your assigned guide, and sort out porters and any luggage you want to store. Note that the guides’ main job is to chaperone you up and back down in one piece – consider knowledge of flora and fauna or advanced linguistic skills a bonus.

Timpohon Gate to Panar Laban (around 6km; typically 5–7hr)

The whole climb operates to a timetable, with climbers setting off from the park HQ (1564m) from 8am until about 10.30am; many save time and avoid the tiresome 4.5km trudge up the road to Timpohon Gate (1866m) by using park transport (15min; RM17 for up to four people). Beyond the gate, the trail skirts Carson Waterfall around 500m on and, via countless steps, passes six rest huts, with toilets and water supplies, en route to the accommodation at Panar Laban (often called Laban Rata after the accommodation of that name; 3272m). From the outset you’re in montane rainforest, with its delicate ferns, mosses, rhododendrons and orchids, and it’s worth making time to appreciate the vegetation and vistas – the South China Sea is visible at times – rather than plod on. Many climbers pause for a lunch break at Layang-Layang hut (2700m), beyond which the vegetation becomes noticeably sparser, dominated by withered sayat-sayat trees occasionally decked with blond strands – a type of lichen. Look out for pitcher plants, notably Nepenthes villosa, its sizeable pitchers ribbed at the rim. If fatigue hasn’t struck yet, it may well bite hard now, turning the last kilometre or so into a grind.

Panar Laban to the summit (2.7km; 2hr 30min–4hr)

After dinner, served from late afternoon, there’s time to sleep until 2am (the electricity may be turned off around 8pm), when there’s another meal before climbers resume. There’s a choice of routes at this point: either the standard Ranau Trail or the shorter, steeper Kota Belud Trail (the latter must be arranged beforehand at the park HQ). They reunite at the Sayat-Sayat Checkpoint, which is 1.2km from Panar Laban via the Ranau Trail. Stragglers must make this checkpoint by 5.30am or will be turned back without reaching the top.

On the Ranau Trail everyone gets bunched together at first like a huge caterpillar, but when the stairs end the faster ones break free to tackle the granite slopes of the mountaintop, with ropes on the steeper sections. The aim is to arrive at Low’s Peak shortly before taking in the sunrise around 5.40am, to avoid lingering at the exposed summit longer than need be (although you may have to line up to have your picture taken at the summit signboard).

Climbing Kinabalu: key points

• The ascent and descent via the main trail takes two days in total, with hikers setting off in the morning, staying the night near the summit, and then reaching the top at dawn on day two.

• At the time of research no more than 135 people were allowed to start the climb daily, although this might return to the pre-quake figure of two hundred once Sabah Parks’ new accommodation opens.

• The essential first step is to book accommodation up the mountain at Panar Laban. You should aim to do so weeks if not months ahead, although last-minute places do pop up if people cancel. If it seems impossible to get a bed for the dates you want, consider paying more for a via ferrata package as Pendant Hut is more likely to have spaces.

• Only with proof of accommodation can you obtain a climbing permit at the park HQ. You should bring adequate cash for this and to pay for the guide, transport and everything else; the nearest bank is 5km away in Kundasang.

• If conditions are very wet and/or windy when the final summit push is meant to start, it will be cancelled. Rescheduling and partial refunds aren’t possible.

What to pack

• Climb as light as you can, carrying only essentials. It can be worth paying a porter to lug anything else up to Panar Laban, but you should leave those items there for the final ascent.

• Clothing is tricky. The daytime hike is warm to mild much of the way, while on the pre-dawn climb temperatures can dip below 10°C and there may be a vicious wind chill; at the same time, the slog will work up a bit of a sweat. A suitable compromise for many people is to don regular clothes for the tropics (trousers, not shorts) and pack a sweater or thermal vest, plus a light to medium jacket and warm headgear. A cheap plastic poncho will keep you dry in the rain and adds warmth. Bring sports gloves, not just for insulation but also to grip the ropes comfortably.

• As for equipment, sturdy shoes with a good grip will be especially helpful for the moist, slippery granite at the top. You must have a head torch as the trail is unlit (check the batteries are fresh). Many people also swear by climbing poles to take the pressure off your knees and leg muscles in general. A small water bottle will do, as you can refill it at rest huts along the way. Sugary snacks are handy to refuel.

The descent

Heading down in daylight, you can finally take in the breathtaking scenery: the horned South Peak, seldom climbed; the curving granite rock face that seems to funnel up towards Low’s Peak; and, on a clear day, views of green plains and distant ranges. Back at the Sayat-Sayat Checkpoint, climbers who booked with Mountain Torq head off to tackle the via ferrata; the rest continue down to Panar Laban for a late breakfast and then retrace their steps to Timpohon Gate. The whole descent might take a quarter less time than the climb, although you might be hobbled by aching legs – stairs may be difficult for a couple of days afterwards.

FROM TOP Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre; Butterfly fish, Sipadan island

Arrival and departure: Mount kinabalu

If you’re heading to the park from KK, the best option is to get a shared minivan or taxi from the central Merdeka Field terminal. Returning to KK, however, you may find that these are full, so catching a bus for the inconveniently located Inanam terminal is the better option.

By bus In daylight hours, it’s often possible to flag down buses travelling between KK and the east coast, but you may need to be patient as some will be practically full. Also, the fare may be calculated from the last town the bus called at.

Destinations KK (frequent; 1hr 30min); Lahad Datu (14 daily; 7–8hr); Sandakan (at least 12 daily; 6hr); Semporna (6 daily; 9–10hr); Tawau (7 daily; 10–11hr); Telupid (frequent; 3hr).

By shared taxi and minivan Shuttling between KK and Kundasang/Ranau, shared taxis and minivans are a convenient way to reach the park. If you intend to set off for the park on the morning of your climb, aim to be at Merdeka Field no later than 7.30am.

Information

Tourist information Clustered very near the gates are the park HQ (daily 7am–7pm), a Mountain Torq office and a Sutera Sanctuary Lodges counter and shop with a left luggage service. The park office, which is swarming with climbers in the morning, can provide maps and general information, and also find specialist birding guides if contacted in advance.

Internet access Depending on your phone network, you can either get online for much of the mountain trail or not at all. Celcom has 4G coverage at Panar Laban.

The VIA Ferrata

If the huge trek up to the summit doesn’t sound like enough of a challenge, then you might want to book your climb with Mountain Torq (Level 2, MAA Building, Lorong Api-Api 1, KK; 088 268126; mountaintorq.com), who offer two-day full-board packages (from RM1650) and operate the via ferrata – pathways of rungs, bridges, rails and planks running along Kinabalu’s cliffsides. Their introductory Walk The Torq route is suitable for anyone over 10 (2–3hr), while the alternative Low’s Peak Circuit has a minimum age of 17 (4–5hr). It’s exhilarating stuff, with some incredible views and the assurance of being tethered or hooked to something all the time; it’s also even more tiring as it slots in soon after you’ve conquered Low’s Peak With either route, you will still be back at Timpohon Gate by late afternoon. If that sounds too rushed, consider a longer package, possibly with an abseiling course thrown in. In all cases you’ll stay in dorms at the firm’s own Pendant Hut at Panar Laban.

It’s also possible to add the via ferrata last-minute to an ordinary climbing package: pay on day 1 of your climb (at least RM820 for Walk The Torq; credit cards accepted) at Mountain Torq’s office at the Park HQ or at Pendant Hut.

Accommodation

Park accommodation at the HQ is run by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges (SSL) and is overpriced; there are better deals within 2km of the park entrance. Up the mountain at Panar Laban, however, climbers have three outfits to choose from: SSL, Mountain Torq (for via ferrata packages) and Sabah Parks itself. One snag other than sheer demand is that SSL normally steers climbers into buying a three-day package, with the extra night spent at its accommodation at either the park HQ or Poring Hot Springs; the two-day package is on sale only if they have unsold Panar Laban beds with a month to go. The Sabah Parks alternative is Lemaing Hut, where foreigners can only get beds if there are vacancies with a few days to go (to register your interest, call the park office or just turn up and ask). The good news, however, is that Sabah Parks’ new accommodation at Panar Laban promises to be a game changer and should be open by the time you read this, although no prices were available at the time of research. All the options listed here have their own simple restaurant unless otherwise stated.

Park hq and around

D’Villa Rina Ria Lodge On the main road 750m southeast of the park entrance 088 889282, dvillalodge.com.my; map. This place is not much to look at but isn’t a bad choice, with a twelve-bed dorm as well as standard rooms with balconies offering valley views. The restaurant is better than average. Breakfast included. Dorms RM30, doubles RM120

J Residence 300m west of the park entrance 012 869 6969, jresidence.com; map. Offers eleven rooms spread over six units on the mountainside among the pines, including three in a villa with a kitchen. The design and furnishings are much slicker than most places around here, though there are no mountain views and no meals. Prices leap by half at the weekend. RM150

Kinabalu Mountain Lodge At the end of a steep, winding 800m road that starts 1.2km west of the park entrance 016 208 4909; map. Popular with backpackers, this peaceful wooden building on a spur of the mountain has a lovely view from the terrace, but the trek from it to the park is a drag. Rooms are fairly basic, and en-suite ones cost quite a bit more. Meals aren’t included, but don’t cost much. Dorms RM35, doubles RM110

Mile 36 Lodge On the main road 1.5km southeast of the park entrance 088 888161, mile36lodge.com; map. A real hotchpotch of chalets and rooms, ranging from rather bare affairs to genuinely comfy units that are suitable for groups and cost two to three times as much. The best thing about it is the view of Kinabalu from the edge of the sprawling, leafy grounds. Breakfast included. RM100

Nikgold Garden Signed 1.5km southeast of the park HQ, then another 500m down a steep valley road 088 888112; map. An imposing set of two-storey timber buildings staggered up a slope, with spacious modern bedrooms and the mountain towering close by. No meals. RM120

Sutera Sanctuary Lodges On the road to Timpohon Gate 017 833 5322, suterasanctuarylodges.com.my; map. Sprinkled inside the park north of the HQ are several cosy “lodges”, which range from plain-looking chalets to quite plush bungalows and sleep two, four or six people, plus the Grace Hostel that has dorms. Rate includes breakfast at the park’s Balsam restaurant. Dorms RM370, lodges RM520

On the mountain

Laban Rata Resthouse Panar Laban 017 833 5311. It feels like a dated student hostel, but this veteran place is still a welcome refuge on the bitter mountainside. There are just three private rooms – the rest are dorms. Climbers will find the buffet meals gloriously satisfying, though anything ordered off the menu is pricey – if you’re tempted to moan, remember the porters plodding up the trail laden with eggs, melons and other supplies. Those roped into SSL’s three-day package will pay RM150–200 more for the extra night’s full board down below in a dorm bed. Bookings through SSL in KK. Rates here are for two-day full-board packages, though big discounts are sometimes on offer. Dorms RM980, doubles RM2000

Lemaing Hut Panar Laban. Tiny hostel aimed at Malaysians with two cramped 20-bed dorms and basic bathrooms – it’s clean but unmemorable. This is a bargain for foreigners who are able to get a last-minute place – the rates here include meals at Laban Rata Resthouse. Book through Sabah Parks. Full board per person RM215

Eating

Balsam At the park HQ; map. Run by SSL, the park’s restaurant offers predictably expensive yet satisfying buffets with local and Western dishes; breakfast, lunch and dinner cost RM45, RM50 and RM75 respectively. Daily 6.30am–9pm.

Panataran Kinabalu On the main road opposite park turning 088 889117; map. Sabah Parks’ co-op restaurant is the best spot for inexpensive food close to the park, with a menu of largely Chinese dishes. Many dishes are under RM10. Daily 6.30am–8pm.

Poring Hot Springs

North of Ranau and some 40km east of the main park entrance • Daily 7am–5pm • RM15 including use of outdoor tubs; RM15/hr for indoor tubs; canopy walkway RM5; RM15 conservation fee (not payable if you have visited the park HQ the same day) • 088 870102, sabahparks.org.my

The Poring Hot Springs were developed during World War II by the Japanese, who installed wooden tubs that have since been replaced by tiled versions. Don’t come expecting natural pools, luxury or solitude, but it can still be a good place to relax aching muscles after descending from Mount Kinabalu. It’s least crowded early or late in the day.

There are also a few other attractions within the site, including an orchid garden, a butterfly farm, a canopy walkway and a few walking trails. Outside the gates, households occasionally advertise that they have Rafflesia flowers to see in their grounds; expect to pay around RM30 to see them.

The 2015 Kinabalu earthquake

It struck at 7.15am on June 5, 2015 – an unprecedented magnitude 6 quake with its epicentre at Kundasang, close to Kinabalu Park. In KK, 50km to the southwest, the tremors sent people scurrying into the stree, but it was on the mountaintop that the impact was terrible. Eighteen people died, including six Singapore schoolchildren on the via ferrata, as well as several guides; in many cases, the victims were crushed by falling rocks.

Mount Kinabalu had been in the headlines just days earlier, when a group of foreign climbers partially disrobed for a photo at the summit. Flaunted on social media, the image caused some outrage locally, and when the quake hit some pointed to vengeful spirits. A few of those involved in the stunt were soon charged in court.

Extensive repairs kept the park closed for several months after the quake. The scars are still easy to see, with slopes denuded by landslides and boulders strewn on valley floors; at the summit, Kinabalu’s “donkey ears” rock formation is now one ear and a stump. The once-popular Mesilau Trail, starting several kilometres east of the main park gate and joining the main trail 2800m up, is out of commission, as is its Mesilau Nature Resort, with no date set for their reopening. Signs at the park now warn against “unethical acts (including nude)” and, in the same spirit, notify visitors that drones are banned.

Arrival and Departure: Poring Hot Springs

By bus or minivan Park shuttles run between Poring Hot Springs and the park HQ (1hr; RM18). For long-distance travel, you can hop in a minivan (RM10) from outside the park gates to get to Ranau, where you’ll find plenty of options for onward transport.

Accommodation

Besides accommodation run by SSL, this part of the park has a campsite (RM50/person) and a great jungle camp.

Lupa Masa A 40min walk outside the park entrance lupamasaborneo@gmail.com. This place, whose name means “forget time”, has everything you could want in a jungle lodge – so long as you aren’t that fussy about creature comforts. There are tents, huts and, fanciest of all, some river-facing chalets. Staff collect guests daily at 3pm in Poring. Rates are for full board. Camping per person RM70, chalets RM200

Sutera Sanctuary Lodges Within the park 088 878801, suterasanctuarylodges.com.my. The official accommodation includes a slick dorm, a handful of mid-range doubles and very pricey lodges sleeping up to six. Breakfast included. Dorms RM180, doubles RM280

Eating

Rainforest Restaurant Just inside the park 088 877215. The restaurant at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges serves buffet lunches and dinners if they have enough guests staying, but otherwise you have to order off the menu and prices are steep. Buffet breakfasts RM45. Daily 7am–10pm.

Round Inn On the main road close to the entrance 088 879584. This place stands out on the main road, not least for its circular entrance and large drum, which customers are allowed to beat. Decent Chinese meals will set you back around RM15/person. Daily 9am–8.30pm.

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Around Kinabalu Park

The area southeast of Kinabalu Park is known for its agriculture, the fruits of which can be glimpsed in tiny Kundasang, where simple stalls sell local produce – although the town is also on the tourist trail for its war memorial. Further east there’s a tea plantation with tours and accommodation. In between, the mundane town of Ranau is known for paragliding.

Kundasang War Memorial

Just off the main road in Kundasang • Daily 8.30am–5.30pm • RM10 • Buses and minivans stop close to the main junction on the highway, though for onward travel you will have to flag them down

Five kilometres southeast of the main entrance to Kinabalu Park, the Kundasang War Memorial commemorates the victims – although no soldiers are buried here – of the Sandakan Death Marches of 1945, when Japanese troops force-marched POWs from Sandakan to Ranau. There’s an information centre that shows an Australian documentary about the death marches, plus three peaceful and well-tended memorial gardens (Australian, British and Bornean).

Accommodation: Kundasang

Cottage Hotel Off Jalan Kundasang Kaluan, which runs north of the main road through town 088 888882, thecottagehotel.com.my. The rooms here are small and a little dated, though some have lovely views over hills and vegetable farms. There’s also a Chinese restaurant specializing in hot pot dishes. Breakfast included. Prices increase by twenty percent on weekends. RM115

Ranau and around

RANAU is an undistinguished transport hub, where the main road between the west and east coasts is joined by the interior road for Tambunan and other points east of the Crocker Range. The town hosts a large and lively tamu on the first Sunday of the month, based 1km out of town towards Sandakan, and there’s also a smaller tamu there every Saturday.

Ranau Paragliding Park

6km northeast of Ranau • Daily 10am–4pm • Tandem flight RM220; optional video RM30 extra • 019 860 8700, borneoparagliders.com

The valleys and consistent winds around Mount Kinabalu make the area a good site for paragliding, and novices can come here to try a thrilling tandem flight starting at 700m; with an early start, it’s feasible as a day-trip from KK. There are multi-day paragliding courses on offer, too.

Sabah Tea Garden

18km east of Ranau in Nalapak • Factory tours RM14 • 088 440882, sabahtea.com.my • Long-distance buses between KK and the east coast will drop passengers here on request; local buses from Ranau can drop you at the start of the turning, from where it’s a 15min walk.

The Sabah Tea Garden is a well-run organic tea plantation and factory that makes a worthwhile place to stay for a night or two, but may also be worth a daytime visit if you’re just passing through. Make sure you also ask about getting a fish massage at nearby Luanti, where surprisingly large river fish converge to nibble at customers’ feet.

Arrival and Departure: RANAU AND AROUND

By bus Long-distance buses stop on the main road beside the turning into town.

Destinations KK (frequent; 2hr); Lahad Datu (14 daily; 7hr); Sandakan (at least 12 daily; 5hr 30min); Semporna (6 daily; 9–10hr); Tawau (7 daily; 10–11hr); Telupid (frequent; 2hr 30min).

By shared minivan and taxi Shared transport parks up at the eastern edge of town and heads to Merdeka Field in KK (2hr) plus the interior town of Tambunan. (1hr 15min)

Accommodation

Sabah Tea Garden Nalapak, 18km east of Ranau on the road to Sandakan 088 440882 or 088 876611, sabahtea.com.my. This plantation has a campsite and longhouses that are popular with student groups, as well as cosy cottages that are equipped with flat-screen TVs and include breakfast. Batik-painting sessions are available, as are organized jungle treks (both RM20/person), although for the latter there must be a minimum of ten people. Camping costs half the price if you bring your own tent. Camping per person RM30, longhouses RM140, cottages RM280

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Eastern Sabah

Despite being seemingly engulfed in tracts of oil palm, eastern Sabah is still a superb place for having animal encounters. In the vicinity of the northeastern city of Sandakan alone, it’s possible to see orang-utans and sun bears in Sepilok, proboscis monkeys at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and turtles at the Turtle Islands Park. Heading further south, the Kinabatangan River features prominently and various jungle lodges offer cruises to seek out pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys and more. Then there’s Danum Valley, a verdant rainforest area with a majestic canopy walkway, and the equally appealing Tabin Wildlife Reserve, both in the southeast. In the same area, the bustling coastal town of Semporna is the gateway to superb diving around world-famous Sipadan, Mabul and numerous other islands.

Sandakan

Situated at the northern edge of Sandakan Bay, facing the Sulu Sea, the town of SANDAKAN was all but destroyed during World War II; postwar reconstruction has created a cramped centre of indistinguishable concrete blocks, now plagued by the worst case of inner-city decay anywhere in Malaysia. It is possible to see most of the surrounding wildlife attractions and the Sandakan Memorial Park without really setting foot in town, and many visitors do just that, though there’s nothing rough or seedy about the centre and it’s still worth a visit to see the echoes of the colonial past so absent in KK – notably the Agnes Keith House, a shrine to the American writer who once brilliantly chronicled Sabah. The town also has a visitable water village where you can dine, as well as a sprinkling of tour operators.

Brief history

Although eighteenth-century accounts mention a trading outpost called Sandakan within the Sulu Sultanate, the town’s modern history really begins in 1879, when a settlement named Elopura got going thanks to the efforts of the Englishman William Pryer. By 1884, it was the capital of British North Borneo. Its natural harbour and proximity to sources of timber, rattan and edible birds’ nests would transform it into a thriving centre, one that lured so many Chinese settlers it was nicknamed “Little Hong Kong”. In January 1942 the Japanese seized what was now known as Sandakan, establishing the POW camp from which the death marches to Ranau began. What Allied bombing failed to destroy, the Japanese burned down, and the end of the war saw Sabah’s administration shift to Jesselton (KK). Nevertheless, by the 1950s the rebuilt town was profiting from the timber boom, so much so that by the 1970s it was said to have the world’s greatest concentration of millionaires. Business then faltered due to the overexploitation of the forests, forcing Sandakan to look to cocoa and oil palm; today, tourism aside, much of the town’s prosperity hinges on servicing the oil-palm industry.

The old town and waterfront

Sandakan’s old town centre is squeezed between the sea and Trig Hill (Bukit Bendera) to the north, but has been extended slightly thanks to land reclamation south of Jalan Pryer. The modern waterfront area, including a large development called Harbour Square to the northeast, has tried its best to breathe some life into the town, but the shops and restaurants are, by and large, a bit mundane. Just beyond here is the sizeable central market (daily 6am–8pm), which is unusually tidy and well laid out. The rest of the old centre is lively enough by day but tends to peter out by nightfall, when many of the shops close up.

Sandakan Heritage Museum

Off Lebuh Empat • Daily 9am–5pm • Free • 089 222679, museum.sabah.gov.my

The tiny Sandakan Heritage Museum holds the usual mock-ups of tribal houses, but is mostly taken up by vintage photos of the old town. There are also wilder ethnographic-type images, some relating to the exploits of American explorers Martin and Osa Johnson, who spent time in Borneo in the 1920s and 1930s. If you’re heading up Trig Hill from here, look out for the small row of monuments on Lebuh Empat itself, one bearing the barely legible name of William Pryer, the modern town’s founder.

The Agnes Keith House

Jalan Istana, Trig Hill • Daily 9am–5pm • RM15 • 089 221140, museum.sabah.gov.my

In The Land Below the Wind (1939), Agnes Keith wrote: “When we sat in that house and looked out through its open doors the harbour of Sandakan with the dark mangrove swamps in the distance became a background to our entire world. I knew then that was where I wanted to live”.

Today, Trig Hill – reached by the so-called hundred steps leading up from Lebuh Empat – still has the feel of a leafy colonial refuge, and offers views out across the sea to the far side of Sandakan Bay. Its showpiece is the Agnes Keith House, a shrine to the American writer whose works introduced many in the West to the peoples of Borneo. The building isn’t the actual one Keith wrote about, but a spacious two-storey postwar replacement where she and her husband stayed on their second stint in Sabah. Over-restoration and air conditioning have rendered the museum rather sterile, and the vintage furnishings, including a writing desk that sports a sewing machine, are unconvincing – but if it gets you to seek out Keith’s three books, on sale all over Sabah, it will have done its job.

Around the Padang

Close to the Padang are a couple of the oldest buildings in town. On the northern side, the Taoist Sam Sing Kung Temple (daily 7am–3pm; free), completed in 1887, is dedicated to three deities – Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei – who were the heroes of the fourteenth-century Romance of the Three Kingdoms. On a hilltop west of here and reachable by steps off Jalan Singapura, the Anglican St Michael’s and All Angels Church (Mon & Wed–Sat 8.30am–4.30pm; RM10) still has something of the feel of an English country church. Although it dates back to 1893, its most notable features are the lurid stained-glass remembrance windows, commemorating Allied war dead, and the POW chapel dotted with regimental plaques.

Sim-Sim Water Village

Jalan Buli Sim-Sim • Look for minibuses signed “Sim-Sim” from Jalan Coastal or take a taxi (around RM15)

The Sim-Sim Water Village is split into a sprawling Muslim section starting 1km east of the centre, and a Chinese one 2.5km away; their numbered boardwalks are respectively signed jambatan (bridge) and lorong (lane). Most visitors are here for the seafood served up by several restaurants in the Chinese section. The set-up feels not dissimilar to Penang’s clan jetties, with a grid of boardwalks laid out over the sea, flanked by largely timber houses. If your aim is to wander around and take pictures, be sensitive about residents’ privacy, as the lanes take you right past their windows.

Sandakan Memorial Park

Mile 7, 11km west of Sandakan • Daily 9am–5pm • Free • Any bus displaying 7 or higher; taxi from the town centre RM30

Sandakan Memorial Park marks the site of the World War II POW camp where the infamous death marches began. In 1942, around 2700 British and Australian soldiers were sent from Singapore to Sandakan and set to work building an airstrip. They were kept in appalling conditions and around three hundred had already died by early 1945, when the decision was made to relocate them to Ranau (260km away through mud and jungle). Around five hundred prisoners died on three forced marches, while many more perished after they arrived in Ranau or – if ill or injured – were left behind to die in Sandakan. In the end only six soldiers, all Australian, survived.

Signboards provide explanations for the few scattered remnants of the camp, while a small but moving museum covers the harsh conditions in the camp and the actual marches. If you are interested in a cycling tour that covers part of the death march route, contact TYK Adventure Tours in KK (088 232821, tykadventuretours.com).

Arrival and Departure: Sandakan

By plane Sandakan’s airport is 11km north of town, and a taxi into the centre from here costs about RM30. Buses hardly serve the airport, although occasional shared minivans do set off for the main road into town, where you can pick up onward transport or hop on a minibus bound for Sepilok (any vehicle displaying the number 14 or higher) .

Destinations KK (6–7 daily; 45min); KL (4 daily; 2hr 45min); Kudat (3 weekly; 50min); Tawau (1 daily; 30min).

By bus The expected transfer of the long-distance bus station to a new terminal at Mile 2 1/2 was several years overdue at the time of research. In the meantime, express buses are using a makeshift car park in the new suburb of Litat Jaya, which is a RM20 taxi ride away from the centre. Mile 4 buses signed “Taman Mesra” will drop you here on request, but to head back to town you may need to catch an outbound Mile 4 bus, as it will turn around sooner or later.

Destinations Kinabalu Park (at least 12 daily; 5hr); KK (at least 12 daily; 6hr 30min); Kudat (Mon, Thurs & Sat 8.15am; 5hr); Lahad Datu (at least 4 daily; 3hr); Semporna (at least 4 daily; 5hr); Tawau (at least 4 daily; 5hr); Telupid (at least 12 daily; 2hr 30min).

By minivan The only out-of-town service of interest to travellers is a private minivan to Sukau (019 536 1889), leaving around 12.30pm from Lorong Satu.

By ferry Aleson Shipping (089 216996, aleson-shipping.com) operates services to the Phillippines (RM280 economy) from the Karamunting Jetty, 4km southwest of town via any Pasir Putih-bound minivan.

Destinations Zamboanga (Philippines; Tues afternoons; 20hr).

sandakan tour operators

Sandakan’s tour operators tend to focus on packages involving resorts that they run, notably around the Kinabatangan River or Sepilok, but they usually offer other trips, too.

Borneo Sandakan Tours Harbour Square 089 215754, borneosandakan.com. Offers trips to all the key attractions of eastern Sabah and elsewhere across the state.

Pulau Sipadan Resort and Tours Mile 6, on the main road opposite the Giant supermarket 089 673999, dive-malaysia.com. Besides the nearby Sepilok Nature Resort and the Lankayan Island Dive Resort off the coast here, they also run resorts at Sipadan and Kapalai islands off Semporna.

Sepilok Tropical Wildlife Adventure Eastern end of Lebuh Tiga 089 271077, stwadventure.com. Well-established operator that runs Bilit Adventure Lodge on the Kinabatangan River, plus Sepilok Jungle Resort.

SI Tours Block Harbour Square 089 213502, sitoursborneo.com. Runs Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge and a second lodge on the Kinabatangan River, as well as offering tours.

Sukau Greenview Block Harbour Square 089 212912, sukaugreenview.net. Runs the inexpensive Sukau Greenview B&B on the Kinabatangan River.

Getting around

By shared van or minibus Shared vans depart from Lebua Dua, and are much faster than the ageing minibuses that use the bus station on Jalan Pryer. As ever, transport grinds to a halt around dusk.

By taxi It’s not hard to find a taxi on the main streets or outside hotels, and you can expect to pay a minimum fare of RM10; a trip to Sepilok will cost you around RM50. Grab cars (grab.com/my) are, as ever, better value.

By car If you’d like to rent a car, you can try Borneo Express, which has a base at the airport (016 886 0789, borneocar.com).

Information

Addresses As there’s only one main road out of town (Jalan Utara), most suburban addresses include a distance along it – in miles (batu). Likewise, the numbers displayed by many minibuses and vans aren’t routes, but how far in miles they go up that main road before turning off into one suburb or another. To reach a Mile 6 suburb, you should catch any vehicle numbered six or higher – but make sure you know the right spot on the main road to get off. To avoid what might be a long walk, it’s safest to ride only a Mile 6 bus that also displays the name of the suburb you want.

Internet access If you need a reliable spot to check your emails, try Sandakan Cybercafé Wisma Sandakan, Lebuh Empat.

Tourist information The San Da Gen Café has an informal information point with leaflets, and staff can also offer basic transport and sightseeing tips. Local travel firms have put together an information app called The Sandakan (Android only at the time of research).

Accommodation

Central Sandakan has several worthwhile places to stay, although it’s feasible to base yourself at Sepilok instead and take a day-trip into town.

Four Points By Sheraton Eastern end of Harbour Square 089 244888, fourpointssandakan.com; map. Sandakan’s most upmarket hotel is a steal – the rooms are undoubtedly plush, there are good wining and dining options, and the view from the rooftop infinity pool over the town and the bay, ringed by green hills, is unrivalled. RM300

Harbourside Backpackers Harbour Square 089 217072, harboursidebackpackers.com; map. This is a good-value hostel with sleek bathrooms and dorm beds that all have their own power points. There’s also an assortment of private rooms – pay twenty percent more for an en suite. Dorms RM30, doubles RM70

Marine Bay Harbour Square, opposite the Central Market 089 203339; map. This is a cheapish hotel with predictably unexciting rooms, but it’s clean, well kept and fairly snug. Pay RM20 extra for a sea view. RM110

May Fair First floor, 24 Jalan Pryer 089 219855; map. An old-fashioned cheapie with rather eccentric owners, at least a dozen electrical sockets in each room and a vast hoard of DVDs. All rooms are a/c and en suite – try to get one that’s well removed from the reception’s TV. RM60

Nak Hotel Jalan Pelabuhan Lama 089 272988, nakhotel.com; map. If there’s a glimmer of a revival in the town centre, this wannabe boutique hotel is it – though don’t expect Penang-style slickness. There are some vintage Chinese touches such as the colourful chests in the lobby and blue-and-white porcelain sinks in the rooms, and the café and rooftop restaurant are excellent. RM140

Sabah On the main road, 1.5km north of the centre 089 213299, sabahhotel.com.my; map. Venerable hotel with restaurants, a swimming pool and various sports facilities, all set within lush grounds spread up a low hill. The walk into town isn’t that convenient, though. RM170

Sandakan Backpackers Harbour Square 089 211213, sandakanbackpackershostel.com; map. Snazzy wall art added by past guests aside, the decor here isn’t particularly vibrant, though there’s a leafy terrace with great bay views, and the owners are friendly and really know their city – you will genuinely feel right at home. Pay a little extra for an en suite or sea view. Dorms RM35, doubles RM70

Eating

There are a handful of worthwhile restaurants and kedai kopis in Sandakan’s centre, but it’s out in the suburbs – especially at Mile 4 and Mile 6 – that you’ll find the full range of outlets you’d expect in most large Malaysian towns. There are also a few seafood places out over the water in the Chinese section of the Sim-Sim Water Village, east of town, plus two markets mainly selling cooked meals and snacks: one in Kim Fung (a Mile 4 neighbourhood; Sat 5–9pm, with a cultural performance by a school group most weeks), the other at Lebuh Dua in the centre (Sun 7am–1pm or so).

7-Heaven Dessert Parlour In the grid of blocks about 200m up Jalan Cicely North, Bandar Indah, Mile 4 089 220326; map. This place isn’t worth a special trip unless you have a very sweet tooth, but there’s a huge range of ice cream and frozen yoghurts in flavours like green tea, as well as sinful sundaes (around RM10) and cakes. Mon–Thurs & Sun noon–5.30pm & 7–10.30pm, Fri & Sat noon–5.30pm & 7–11.30pm.

Ba Lin Nak Hotel, Jalan Pelahuban Lama 089 272988, balin-sandakan.com; map. Hearty quantities of inventive Western cuisine in stylish surroundings – this rooftop bar-restaurant ticks all the boxes. The pizzas (from RM25), with unorthodox toppings such as pumpkin and pine nuts or salmon and crab, are terrific, as are the daily specials such as stewed lamb shank (RM60). There’s an extensive brunch menu (until 5pm) and a range of cocktails, too. Happy hour 3–7pm. Daily 9am–midnight.

Borneo Ethnic Cuisine Jalan Cicely North, Bandar Indah, Mile 4 010 933 5980, facebook.com/borneoethniccuisine; map. This simple restaurant, with walls adorned with woven baskets and hats, is a terrific place to try Kadazan/Dusun cuisine. The extensive menu includes classics like sup nangka ayam (chicken soup with chewy young jackfruit), kerabu pakis (fern stir-fried with coconut) and the smelly, unripe-mango-like bambangan, plus a smattering of Malay and Chinese standards. Wash it all down with the special ginger/lemon grass drink or tapai (rice wine).You can eat well for RM20/person. Closed every other Tues. Daily 11.30am–10.30pm.

English Tea House Jalan Istana 089 222544, englishteahouse.org; map. Sited near the Agnes Keith House and with a lawn crying out for croquet, this bungalow restaurant majors on English favourites including shepherd’s pie and tea for two with sandwiches, scones, jam and cream (RM30). The service can spoil the fantasy. Daily 10am–10pm.

My Harbour Harbour Square 016 367 6499; map. One of several inexpensive, so-so places for a waterfront meal, with Chinese noodle options like watan ho (flat, white noodles with a gooey, eggy coating), plus seafood and meat stir-fried in any of about two dozen sauces. Most dishes under RM15. Daily 8am–8.30pm.

Nam Choon Northern end of Lebuh Tiga; map. One of not that many surviving old-school kedai kopis in the centre, serving four dishes: chicken rice; nasi paha-paha atas (the same, with chicken on the bone), nasi fish balls and nasi ikan (with fish). Each dish is brilliant and costs just a few ringgit. Mon–Sat 6am–3pm.

San Da Gen Café Nak Hotel, Jalan Pelahuban Lama 089 272988; map. With its marble tables and pristine floor tiles, San Da Gen blends the best of the old kedai kopis with modern decor. The menu concentrates on hawker standards with veggie variants (most dishes around RM10). It’s also one place to try a Sandakan speciality whose Chinese name literally means “cowdung tart” – more attractively branded here as the UFO tart, with a disc-shaped sponge topped with a “cabin” formed of a meringue ring enclosing custard. Daily 8am–5pm.

Seafood Sim-Sim 88 Lorong 8, Sim-Sim Water Village 017 816 2283; map. One of the most popular of the various restaurants in the Sim-Sim Water Village, with lots of open-air tables and colourfully lit tanks of marine creatures awaiting an encounter with the wok. Daily 7.30am–9.30pm.

Drinking

Best Brew Four Points By Sheraton, Harbour Square 089 244602; map. It might be a bit slick for some tastes, but this hotel bar has outside tables for sea views, plus a pool table and electronic darts machines inside. Mon–Thurs & Sun 5pm–midnight, Fri & Sat 5pm–2am.

Shopping

Borneo In Books Ground floor, Four Points by Sheraton hotel 089 219739; map. Sells not just books but also its own range of locally sourced cultured pearls. Daily 8am–7pm.

Harbour Mall The waterfront; map. This mall is admittedly a bit of a let-down, but has the usual necessities plus a Mr DIY outlet with a few basic camping/outdoor goods. Daily 10am–10pm.

Arrival and Departure: Sepilok

By bus Sepilok is at Mile 14 on the Sandakan road, so any bus numbered 14 or higher from town can drop you at the start of the turning; express buses bound for Sandakan will do the same on the north side of the main road. Only the sporadic Mile 14 bus (5–6 daily) travels the full 3km of the Sepilok road. To flag down express buses for the rest of Sabah, wait at the start of the turning.

By taxi A taxi between Sepilok and Sandakan should cost around RM50.

Accommodation

Keen competition means Sepilok’s accommodation is generally good value. Rates include breakfast except where stated.

Nature Lodge Sepilok 1.5km south of the main road 089 535889, insabah.com/nature-lodge-sepilok. On its own little hillock, this assembly of buildings has surprisingly slick rooms, some with open-air bathrooms at the back opening onto private patches of greenery. There are four-bed dorms, too. Dorms RM32, doubles RM160

Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat Taman Hiburan Jalil Alip, a private forest track 2km northwest of the Sepilok turning 012 868 1005, paganakandii.com. A brilliant jungle hilltop haven, this timber and bamboo complex boasts slick chalets with a/c and open-air bathrooms (RM160), plus cheaper longhouse-style fan rooms and dorms. Facilities include an elevated open-air lounge area, a lookout tower and zip line. Breakfast included; other meals from RM15 or so. Dorms RM32, doubles RM165

Sepilok B&B Jalan Fabia 089 534050, sepilokbednbreakfast.com.my. A friendly place with timber lodges and chalets set in sprawling grounds. The decor isn’t the most lavish, but some units come with sizeable living rooms and kitchens that more than compensate. There’s also a campsite (own tent required) and dorms (though you’ll have to pay a bit extra if you want a/c and hot water). Only campers pay for breakfast. Camping per person RM20, dorms RM45, doubles RM140

Sepilok Forest Edge Resort 700m up Jalan Rambutan, a turning 2.5km from the main road 089 533190, sepilokforestedgeresort.com. This place has small dorms and a series of appealing chalets, some boasting open-air showers, all dotted around a multilevel landscaped garden with a plunge pool. Their Nest restaurant serves up sophisticated takes on local cuisine, plus fusion creations such as lamb shank in a Thai curry sauce; mains from RM20. Dorms RM45, chalets RM300

Sepilok Jungle Resort 200m up Jalan Rambutan 089 533031, sepilokjungleresort.com. A large complex with its own lake, somewhat dated faux timber dorms and rooms, and a pool (RM35 for non-guests). If you take a double room, a/c will cost you around RM65 extra. Dorms RM40, doubles RM85

Sepilok Nature Resort Jalan Sepilok, close to the Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre 089 535001, sepilok.com. The plushest place to stay in Sepilok, with spacious and eco-aware chalets nestled amid lush jungle. The restaurant, looking out on to the resort’s lake, is predictably on the pricey side (main courses from RM25). Rates exclude breakfast. RM320

Uncle Tan’s B&B 300m down the Sepilok road 016 824 4749, uncletan.com. This place has a stream running through the grounds and has long been a favourite with backpackers because its rates include meals. It closed early in 2018, but its owners intend to relaunch accommodation in the near future. They also offer packages at their Kinabatangan River set-up and provide a free shuttle to the Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre. Dorms RM50, doubles RM110

Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary

Near Samawang, a kampung 15km up a signed turning 30km (i.e. at Mile 19) up the Sandakan road • Daily 9am–5.30pm; feeding times: platform A 9.30am & 2.30pm, platform B 11.30am & 4.30pm • RM60; RM10 camera permit • 089 672133, proboscis.cc • Shuttle minibus (RM20 one way) leaves Sandakan 8am, Sepilok 10.30am, returning at 3pm & 5pm • Taxi from Sandakan RM80 (or RM200 both ways, with a wait)

Set amid mangrove forest and reached via a track through an oil-palm plantation, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary functions as a companion to the more famous orang-utan sanctuary at Sepilok. Most visitors come on a day-trip from Sandakan or Sepilok, which is significantly closer, but it’s also possible to stay overnight.

Two large observation platforms offer perfect vantage points from which to view the monkeys; you might also see silverleaf monkeys scavenge fruit left behind, and there’s some fantastic birdlife including hornbills. On a day-trip you could see all four feedings if you like, or even leave after just one, but it’s more usual to see one from each platform. Using the shuttle bus makes sense as the site is quite spread out, and it will take you to two feedings and the restaurant at lunchtime.

Accommodation and Eating: Labuk Bay

Nipah Resort Labuk Bay 089 672133, labukbay.com.my. Amid the tangle of mangroves of Labuk Bay, with eight chalets sleeping two, a couple of three-bedroom family units and a couple of longer buildings with fan-cooled dorms. Rates include breakfast at the restaurant, which serves fairly standard rice, noodle and stir-fry offerings. Dorms RM35, doubles RM180, chalets RM550

Lankayan Island

Ninety minutes’ boat ride north of Sandakan in the Sulu Sea lies the Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area, managed by a Sandakan nonprofit organization called Reef Guardian (reefguardian.com.my). Only one of its three islands, Lankayan Island, is visitable, with a delightful resort and an active turtle-hatching programme; that said, diving and snorkelling are the real pull. Hard and soft corals surround the island and are in very good condition, and the macro life in particular is excellent. Divers may see whale sharks in April and May.

Accommodation: Lankayan ISland

Lankayan Island Dive Resort c/o Pulau Sipadan Resort and Tours 089 278000, lankayan-island.com. This is a delightful resort with large, comfortable chalets, helpful staff and a competently run dive shop. The rate shown here is for a two-night package for two, including transfers from Sandakan and the conservation fee – you should add an extra RM1000 to the price if you’d like to try your hand at diving here. RM4100

Turtle Islands Park

Trips operated by Crystal Quest 089 212711, cquest1996@gmail.com; enquire for latest prices or book through a travel agent

Peeping out of the Sulu Sea 40km north of Sandakan is the Turtle Islands Park, where green and hawksbill turtles haul themselves laboriously above the high-tide mark to bury their clutches of eggs most nights. Although all three of the islands – Selingan, Bakungan Kecil and Gulisan – hold hatcheries, tourists can only visit Selingan; full-board overnight packages offer accommodation in 25 double rooms, all en suite and with air conditioning.

Before dark (when a beach curfew kicks in) there’s plenty of time for swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing. At night, besides seeing a mother turtle laying her eggs, you can watch as the park wardens release hatchling turtles that waddle, Chaplin-like, into the sea.

Along the Kinabatangan River

Sabah’s longest waterway, the 560km Kinabatangan River, ends its journey to the Sulu Sea southeast of Sandakan Bay. Whereas logging has had an impact on the river’s ecology upstream, the area covered by the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary offers some of the state’s best opportunities for seeing wildlife – days of trekking in Sabah’s jungle reserves may yield paltry rewards by comparison.

Day-trips from Sandakan and Sepilok are possible with some tour operators, but tend to offer just one river trip bookended by meals – it’s far better to book at least a one-night package to get an evening and a morning crack at the river or a trek. With a few exceptions, most lodges are located either in or around the villages of Sukau or Bilit, from either of which you can visit the Gomantong Caves, where edible swiftlet nests are harvested. Note that from November to February, rainy-season floods can disrupt trips or close some lodges.

Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary

The last 70km or so of the Kinabatangan River forms the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, a large forested floodplain, peppered with oxbow lakes and mangrove swamps. The designation of 260 square kilometres of land close to the river as the reserve in 2005 was commendable, but it is still broken up into eleven pockets interspersed with villages of the local Orang Sungai (literally “river people”) and oil palm plantations. Policing remains a headache: in 2013 a plantation was illegally extended, and there have been sporadic discoveries of dismembered sun bear carcasses, the handiwork of poachers. At least there was one success in 2017 when, following opposition from conservationists – including David Attenborough – the state government scrapped a planned road bridge over the river at Sukau that would, opponents argued, have seriously impeded the movement of animals.

For now, the sanctuary offers visitors a half-decent chance of seeing mammals such as pygmy elephants, orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, macaques and gibbons; dolphins are occasionally seen near the river mouth (away from most lodges). The resident birdlife is as impressive, including hornbills, brahminy kites, crested serpent eagles, egrets, exquisite blue-banded and stork-billed kingfishers, and oriental darters, which dive for food and then sit on the shore, their wings stretched out to dry. Some lodges offer night cruises with opportunities to photograph owls and sleeping birds using floodlights.

Gomantong Caves

Reached by a 4.7km turning off the Sukau road, 19km east of the main road • Daily 8am–6pm • RM30; camera permit RM30 • 019 882 0759, wildlife.sabah.gov.my • Without your own transport, take a Sukau-bound minivan from Sandakan to the start of the turning and walk/hitch the rest of the way.

The Gomantong Caves are inhabited by swiftlets whose nests, formed of hardened saliva, are harvested for the bird’s-nest-soup trade (usually February to April and July to September). There are nineteen limestone caves in all, and they’re also home to a huge number of bats that emerge at dusk in sinewy streams – although visits as part of Kinabatangan packages are never timed for this.

Tourists usually visit Simud Hitam, the “black cave”, which gets its name because it mostly contains dark nests produced by the black-nest swiftlet. It’s quite an impressive chamber, and of scientific interest because recent laser- and drone-mapping suggests that the acidic bird and bat guano has substantially enlarged the cave over millennia by speeding erosion. That said, the stinky guano attracts hordes of cockroaches that crunch underfoot or crawl on your feet, so sandals aren’t a good idea; some visitors don ponchos, in addition to the helmets provided, to keep extra-clean. The even larger Simud Putih beyond, from where the bats emerge, is generally closed to all but nest collectors, who head there for the more valuable constructions of the white-nest swiftlet.

Sukau and Bilit

SUKAU, 134km from Sandakan, was where the first tourist lodges on the Kinabatangan opened. Linked to the main road by its own sealed one, the village sits on the north bank of the river and is a particular target for independent travellers. By dint of its popularity, however, Sukau is not the place to seek solitude, with dozens of boats on this stretch of river at peak times. If this doesn’t appeal, BILIT lies a little further upriver and remains a quiet place to stay – it can be reached by a turning off the Sukau road.

Arrival and Departure: Along the Kinabatangan rIVER

By tour Tour operators generally arrange transport to their respective lodges from Sandakan and Sepilok, as well as boat transfers – sometimes all the way from Sandakan – for lodges on the right bank.

By bus If you’re travelling independently or arriving from somewhere other than Sandakan or Sepilok, you can reach Sukau by public transport. Any express bus plying the main east-coast road – en route between KK/Sandakan and Lahad Datu and beyond – can drop you at the Sukau turning, 89km from Sandakan, from where Sukau minivans travel the remaining 45km to the village (45min; RM20). For Bilit, arrange with your accommodation to be picked up at the Sukau turning. If you’re departing, you’ll need to ask around about the best time to be back at the main road, as buses tend to leave in clusters – there’s usually a group of southbound buses departing daily between 9 and 9.30am, for example.

Accommodation

Kinabatangan package accommodation ranges from swanky timber lodges with eco-friendly credentials to fairly basic affairs, and this is one part of Malaysia where homestays are worth considering. Single-night packages always offer an evening boat ride plus a short trek or a second cruise at dawn the next day, and can be totally satisfying if a bit rushed. Two-night packages may only cost thirty percent more and generally include three boat rides, plus a trek and sometimes the Gomantong Caves. Independent travellers can save money by choosing a B&B or homestay and then adding boat trips (from RM50) and activities as desired. Don’t expect cheaper places to serve alcohol, and make sure you dress conservatively if you choose a homestay – the local Orang Sungai are largely Muslim. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are for two people sharing and include all meals and transport to/from Sandakan.

Sukau and around

Borneo Nature Lodge 089 210718, borneonaturelodge.com.my. This mid-range option, attractively surrounded by tall trees, has its own observation tower and a/c restaurant – a rarity in these parts. RM1950

Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge 089 213502, www.sitoursborneo.com. A slick timber affair whose bougainvillea-laden decking adds a splash of colour to the river. The two-night package includes trips to see the orang-utans and sun bears in Sepilok and boat transfers to/from Sandakan. RM4500

Sukau Greenview B&B At the end of the Sukau road 089 212912, sukaugreenview.net. This place is cheap and cheerful and thus popular with independent travellers, although you get what you pay for – boats are a little older and English-speaking guides occasionally have to be shared between them. Rooms and dorms are unremarkable but all have a/c and bathrooms. What makes this a good deal is that their one-night package squeezes in three boat rides, one by night (RM335 with dorm; RM720 with double). Dorms RM45, doubles RM120

Sukau Rainforest Lodge 088 438300, sukau.com. This has been a sound choice for many years, as it has its own spa and a range of recreational activities including batik painting. Their boats are some of the speediest, giving them an edge whenever wildlife heaves into view. Two-night packages are the basic option, but given that they are run by birding specialist Borneo Eco Tours, there’s also a three-night birdwatching package. RM3650

Village View Homestay Various locations 013 869 9026, sukauhomestay.com. This homestay programme arranges B&B accommodation, to which you can add other meals (RM15 each) and boat trips. B&B RM80

Bilit and around

Bilit Adventure Lodge 089 271077, stwadventure.com. This was the first lodge to open in Bilit and is still popular, with two dozen fairly simple en-suite rooms, some with a/c. The owners have a sense of humour: if you get bitten by a leech, you’ll be awarded a blood donor certificate. Price is for a one-night package including the Gomantong Caves. RM1100

Bilit Homestay Programme Various locations 013 891 3078, bilithomestay.wordpress.com. The usual options, including one boat trip plus a dawn trek if you’re on their one-nighter; other activities such as fishing and night treks on request. Prices vary depending on numbers, so call them to discuss. RM350

Kinabatangan Jungle Camp (KJC) 089 220299 or 016 826 9088, kinabatanganjunglecamp.com. The rooms here are fairly simple en-suite affairs, minus a/c, but owner Robert Chong offers specialist birding and photographic tours in addition to the usual trips. RM1000

Last Frontier 016 676 5922, thelastfrontierresort.com. This chic guesthouse is set on a jungle-swathed hill, only accessible via 538 steps (ask about porters if you need help with your luggage). There are just four rooms, which all offer excellent views over the surrounding plains. Packages include river trips (only one on the one-night option). Transfers from Sandakan cost extra – RM40/person one way. RM1000

Myne Resort 089 278288, myne.com.my. This place offers an attractive clump of chalets and slightly cheaper longhouse rooms nestled amid the forest, as well as an airy restaurant and a huge-range of add-on activities, including cycling and night walks. Price is for a one-night package including the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre and the Gomantong Caves. RM1900

Nature Lodge Kinabatangan On the eastern bank near Bilit 088 230534, naturelodgekinabatangan.com. This good-value option has one wing of dorms and another of quite pleasant chalets, a few with a/c. If you’re staying two nights, you can enjoy an optional jungle trek to an oxbow lake an hour away (RM27/person), and you can also do a spot of kayaking (free). Transfers from Sandakan or Sepilok cost RM40 extra/person. Dorms RM400, chalets RM1000

Other locations

Danau Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp At the Tanjung Bulat oxbow lake, west of the main road and south of Kota Kinabatangan 016 812 0704, oxbowlakeborneo.simplesite.com. A basic timber lodge with a dorm consisting of mattresses on a raised platform, plus some private rooms. They do the usual two- and three-night deals, with Gomantong Caves as an option, and can pick guests up near the town of Kota Kinabatangan. One-night package per person RM300

Miso Walai Homestay/Tungog Rainforest Eco Camp Mengaris village, near the road bridge over the Kinabatangan 089 551064, misowalaihomestay.com. Also known as Mescot, the name of the overall community initiative, this excellent scheme offers a choice of village homestay with activities paid for separately, and basic rainforest camp with the usual boat trips plus a trek, and optional trips to funerary caves nearby. Visitors can also sign up for their volunteer programme, doing anything from building maintenance to tree-planting. Full board, per person: homestay RM70, rainforest camp two-night package RM500

Moido Waloi Homestay Abai, near the rivermouth and 45km from Sandakan 014 674 6619, moidowaloihomestay.com. Besides the usual evening river trip, the basic package here includes a night-time firefly cruise plus either tree-planting or a dawn cruise the next day. During the rainy season there’s an optional trip to try to spot river dolphins (RM150 per person). Prices plunge if there are more guests; one night for just two people costs RM1500

Uncle Tan’s Wildlife Camp Beside the Lokan River, a Kinabatangan tributary 016 824 4749, uncletan.com. “The camp is not exactly the Hilton” is the owners’ own description of their camp in the wilds, where the huts are elevated against floods and lack doors and windows. Electricity is by night only. Still, this is as close as you’ll get to a back-to-nature experience here, and they also offer morning and evening river trips and treks. Price is for a one-night package per person. RM375

Lahad Datu and around

Tiny LAHAD DATU is a bland but pleasant enough seaside town on the northern shore of Darvel Bay, 173km from Sandakan by road. The town has been a magnet at times for Indonesian and Filipino migrants, often undocumented, who come to work on plantations and in the construction industry, and in 2013 the place hit headlines when the worst of Sabah’s recent security incidents took place.

The few visitors who come to Lahad Datu usually pass through en route to the Danum Valley and the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, though it’s often necessary to stay at least one night and the town has a few nice diversions to help pass the time – nearby Mount Silam offers a much cheaper taste of the jungle than its celebrated counterparts, for one.

The waterfront market

The main road through town is Jalan Teratai, one block south of which is the seafront Jalan Pantai and the waterfront market, which is divided across three buildings: the pasar ikan (fish), pasar rakyat (meat and vegetables) and pasar kain (cheap clothes and bags). The most entertaining of these is undoubtedly the fish market, where tourists are still something of a novelty for the traders who sit within circular enclosures amid the day’s catch.

Kwan Tee Temple

Jalan Dahlia • Daily 6.30am–4.30pm • Free • Look for the police post on Jalan Teratai then head north a short distance from there

It isn’t anything grand, but the Chinese Kwan Tee Temple is worthy of a brief look for its colourful wall reliefs showing a green-robed figure on horseback. Often seen toting a halberd, this is none other than Kwan Tee, a semi-mythological character who may have lived circa 200 AD. Deified as the Chinese god of war, he takes pride of place on the central altar, with his halberd-bearer immediately to his right.

Arrival and Departure: Lahad Datu AND AROUND

By plane Lahad Datu’s airport has MASwings flights to KK (4 daily; 55min). It’s only 1km or so from Jalan Teratai, the main road – head uphill onto Jalan Kastam Lama from the roundabout at the southern end of the runway, and you will shortly arrive in the centre. A taxi into town costs around RM10.

By long-distance bus By the time you read this, the new express bus station should be open at First Palm City Centre, a development 800m northwest of the centre. For now, buses line up on a lane on the west side of the Fajar neighbourhood, about 1.2km northwest of the centre. Walking around 1.2km east from here will bring you out onto Jalan Kastam Lama – turn right for the town centre.

Destinations Kinabalu Park (14 daily; 7hr); KK (14 daily; 8hr); Sandakan (4 daily; 3hr); Semporna (3–4 daily; 2hr); Tawau (7 daily; 1hr 30min).

By shared taxi, minivan and local bus Shared taxis and minivans leave from a few points around the centre, although most use a station at the corner of Jalan Pantai and Jalan Bunga Raya, towards the eastern end of the centre, which is also used by slow local buses to Tawau and Sandakan. The only vehicles here you might want to use are for Semporna.

Information and tours

Danum Valley information Three offices linked with the Danum Valley stand side by side, facing the airport runway. The Danum Valley Field Centre office (closed weekends; 089 880441) takes bookings for their accommodation, issues permits and can provide general information on the conservation area. Next door you’ll find Borneo Nature Tours (089 880207, borneonaturetours.com), which runs the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, as well as an office representing Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge.

Tours Bike and Tours has some distinctive offerings alongside its accommodation, including – as their name suggests – a combination tour and bike ride to Mount Silam, plus diving at Darvel Bay. They as well as the owner of Tabin Lodge run trips to the Bukit Piton reserve, where there’s a decent chance of spotting orang-utans. Make bookings in advance as time is needed to secure permits and other necessities.

Accommodation

Bay Hotel Western end of Jalan Teratai 089 882801, bayhotelldu@yahoo.com. Offers surprisingly pleasant rooms in an otherwise mundane four-storey block. No breakfast and no lifts. RM130

Bike and Tours B&B 2km northwest of the centre in Taman Hup Heng, near the northern end of the airport runway 089 868109, bikeandtours.com. Simply furnished but very comfortable a/c double rooms in the sprawling suburban home of Swiss/Malaysian couple Simon and Itisha, which has its own little garden pool at the back. The cheapest rooms are on the cosy side and share bathrooms. Free guest pick-ups; breakfast for two costs RM20 extra, with other meals on request. RM200

House 11 Off the western end of Jalan Teratai, behind and around the corner from Maybank 089 881007. A good budget option in what’s basically a narrow, modern two-storey house with a/c, en-suite rooms on either side of a central aisle. Avoid the ones at the front, where you’ll hear kids playing outside and the reception’s TV. RM70

Tabin Lodge Jalan Urusetia Kecil, near the eastern end of Jalan Teratai 017 892 0158, tabinlodge.com. This must have been quite a guesthouse in its heyday, but some fittings now look museum pieces. Still, the dorms and rooms are perfectly serviceable and come with optional a/c and en-suite bathrooms, though the latter are sometimes simply half-walled off from the rest of the room. Dorms RM22, doubles RM55

Eating

Auliah Down a lane opposite the Executive Hotel on Jalan Teratai, close to the RHB Bank 089 880266. Featuring a dazzling selection of inexpensive curries and roti/rice variations, including the bright yellow local speciality nasi kuning, this is a classic mamak place, busy even late in the evening and popular with the entire cross-section of Sabah society. The upstairs tables have a/c. Daily 24hr.

Sakura Seafood Look for Bismi Catering on Jalan Teratai, then head down the lane opposite 013 543 1111. The name is misleading on two counts: this unassuming restaurant isn’t Japanese but Chinese, and it does a lot besides seafood, including a highly original sizzling venison (pasai) with cheese sauce. The salted egg prawns are also good. Most dishes cost RM10. Mon–Fri 10.30am–3pm & 5–10.30pm, Sat & Sun 10.30am–10.30pm.

Mount Silam

15km southwest of Lahad Datu • Daily 8am–5pm • Forestry permit RM15; guides RM100/day • 089 881560 • Any southbound local bus from Lahad Datu or express bus can call here

The tallest peak in the vicinity of Lahad Datu is the 884m Mount Silam, within the Sapagaya Forest Reserve. From the entrance on the main road, a 10km lane snakes its way up the mountain; en route is an elevated viewpoint, the 33m Tower of Heaven (Menara Kayangan), with terrific vistas out to the islands in Darvel Bay and, in the opposite direction, the jungle centred around the Danum Valley. Besides the lookout tower, there are also several jungle trails of varying lengths – you may see sambar deer, Bornean gibbons, pig-tailed macaques, the arboreal loris, pitcher plants, and, if you’re very lucky the small and orange-red silam crab, unique to this mountain.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve

Some 40km northeast of Lahad Datu • wildlife.sabah.gov.my • Take the daily minivan (departs 8am, returns 1.30pm; 1hr 30min) from the resort’s office at Lahad Datu airport

Tabin Wildlife Reserve, twice the size of Singapore, combines primary and secondary forest with excellent opportunities to see wildlife. Pygmy elephants, macaques, wild boar and orang-utans can be spotted, as can the rare clouded leopard if you’re lucky. Birdwatchers can look out for more than three hundred kinds of birds, with endemic species such as the Bornean bristlehead, blue-headed pitta and all eight local species of hornbills. You can take a walk to a mud volcano, used by animals as a mineral lick, or head off on a hike (the longest trail is 2.8km) or a night drive. The reserve also houses Malaysia’s last two known Sumatran rhinos, cared for by the Borneo Rhino Alliance (borneorhinoalliance.org), although this particular sanctuary isn’t open to the public. It’s difficult to have a proper taste of Tabin with a one-night stay, so it’s worth budgeting for at least two.

Accommodation: Tabin Wildlife Reserve

Tabin Wildlife Resort 088 267266, tabinwildlife.com.my. This place offers a range of chalets with high ceilings, half of them by a river and the other half spread up a hillside; all of them come with nice private balconies, and buffet meals and transport to/from Lahad Datu are provided in the rates. Price is for two nights. RM4800

Danum Valley

About 90min from Lahad Datu by 4WD • Conservation fee RM50; camera permits RM10; vehicle permits RM20 • 088 326320 • Reached by a signed turning 15km southwest of Lahad Datu

The Danum Valley is “perhaps the last area of primary lowland forest in Southeast Asia which remains truly pristine”. That glowing description isn’t from a tour operator brochure, but from the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (searrp.org), an international scientific collaboration that’s been based here since the 1980s – and you can meet their biologists if you stay at the field centre. Wildlife includes bearded pigs, orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, elephants and more than 320 species of bird, and the area is also home to the world’s tallest known rainforest tree, a 94m Shorea. Be aware that, as ever, spotting animals in dense jungle is a challenge.

There are just two (very different) places to stay here, located apart from each other. Packages at the slick, pricey Borneo Rainforest Lodge include the services of professional guides who accompany you on a 300m canopy walkway, a 3km trek to a burial cliff and a night drive, for example. At the prosaic Danum Valley Field Centre, it’s possible to trek to waterfalls up to three hours away, and rangers can be hired as guides – though their skills in this area vary (RM32/hr).

Accommodation: Danum Valley

Borneo Rainforest Lodge 77km from the Danum Valley turning. Resort-style accommodation in the heart of the jungle in hardwood chalets, all naturally ventilated rather than with a/c. The more expensive units face the Danum River and have a private outdoor tub or even an infinity pool. Book through Borneo Nature Tours in KK or Lahad Datu. Price is for a two-night package for two including transport. RM7000

Danum Valley Field Centre Beside the Segama River, 63km from the Danum Valley turning 089 841101. The place where researchers and most travellers stay, featuring a campsite (tents provided), dorms (bunk beds in cubicles for two), en-suite doubles and two chalets with upmarket doubles. Meals cost an extra RM140/day. The 4WD for the Field Centre leaves the Lahad Datu office at 3pm on Mon, Wed & Fri, and vehicles depart the Field Centre at 8am the same days (RM85 one way). Try to book at least a month in advance – you’ll need to call the Field Centre or the Lahad Datu office for the latest email address. Camping per person RM80, dorms RM95, doubles RM290, chalets RM400

Semporna

Fringed by water villages on either side, SEMPORNA is inhabited largely by the Bajau Laut (sometimes dubbed sea gypsies) who once lived nomadically on houseboats (lepa) – although only a fifth of those in the area now do. As a prelude to the marine marvels of Sabah’s southeastern islands, the town is pretty unappealing. The only tourists who seem to relish being here are the ubiquitous groups from China, who saved the local dive industry when security scares kept Westerners away – it’s worth booking dive packages a few weeks in advance whenever there’s a holiday in China.

Most visitors avoid the grubby centre and stick to the area around Bandar Baru (the “new town”), the tiny grid of modern seafront blocks southeast of the Ur-Rahman mosque (look for its silvery dome) and beyond the main market. There’s little to see except during the touristy Regatta Lepa in April (sabahtourism.com), a pageant contested by lepa with colourful sails.

Reserves around the Danum Valley

The Danum Valley is the brightest star in a constellation of forest reserves covering thousands of square kilometres in southeast Sabah, all belonging to the non-profit Sabah Foundation, which uses the proceeds of logging to fund scholarships. There are two nearby reserves, reached via the Danum Valley turning, that are also worth visiting.

Kawag reserve, 36km in from the coast road, offers a “jungle-lite” experience in secondary forest northeast of Danum, which has now been restored after logging. The vegetation is noticeably more open here. Wildlife includes gibbons, pig-tailed macaques, elephants, martens, flying squirrels and the usual range of creepy-crawlies. Visitors stay in fairly plain, en-suite rooms at the Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge (book through Borneo Refugia), an upgraded former research station that also offers short treks up to 1.5km, including one to a stream where you can swim and try tubing. A two-night all-inclusive package, with transport to and from Lahad Datu, costs around RM2200 for two.

Further east and quite different is the Bukit Piton reserve. The big draw in this badly logged region, which is being slowly reforested, is the orang-utans, which were unfortunately marooned here between oil palm plantations to the north and the Segama River to the south. Day-trips run from Lahad Datu are the only way to visit.

Arrival and Information: SEMPORNA

By plane Tawau airport is the gateway for many visitors to Semporna, and is about 110km away. A taxi between the two costs RM100–120.

By bus The main bus terminal is off the coast road about 50m west of the mosque, although one company, Dyana Express, uses a space 100m inland from here. Most buses leave before 9am or after 6pm.

Destinations KK (6 daily; 10hr); Lahad Datu (3–4 daily; 2hr); Sandakan (at least 4 daily; 5hr); Tawau (5 daily; 1hr 30min).

By minivan Most minivans leave from just beside the main bus terminal, though Tawau services set off from close to KFC a little further inland.

Destinations Lahad Datu (daily 7am–5pm); Tawau (RM30; RM20 to airport).

Accommodation

Best Bunk Beds Northern corner of Bandar Baru 019 851 8039, bestbunkbeds@gmail.com; map. The bunk beds are crammed together and the management is somewhat bureaucratic, but the whole place is immaculate. The free breakfast – eggs, noodles, cake, toasted sandwiches – is about as good as it gets for a hostel. Dorms RM50

Cube Bed Station Bandar Baru 089 784000, cbshostel.com.my; map. Swanky capsule beds with privacy drapes and a handful of double rooms with beds on wooden platforms, and roughly rendered walls lending an industrial chic touch throughout. An en-suite sea view room costs nearly twice the standard rate. Dorms RM60, doubles RM160

Scuba Junkie Dive Lodge Bandar Baru 089 785372, scuba-junkie.com; map. This is a functional affair with dorms and double rooms (a few with private bathrooms), but a real bargain if you’re diving or snorkelling with them as accommodation prices halve. Dorms RM55, doubles RM170

Seafest Hotel Jalan Kastam Extension 089 782333, seafesthotel.com; map. This is the smartest hotel in town, with a pool and gym plus a new “boutique” wing across the road where rooms are actually around twenty percent cheaper. Buffet breakfast included for the more expensive room types, otherwise it’s an extra RM25/person. RM160

Eating

Ocean Treasure Live Seafood Northern corner of Bandar Baru 016 787 9965; map. The food isn’t anything special and is a little overpriced, but this airy place is a hotspot for Western travellers and offers lovely views of boats zipping around the harbour. Mains around RM10. Daily 11.30am–10.30pm.

Thien Wang Bandar Baru 019 842 7688; map. This place is deservedly popular among Chinese visitors, who flock here for the excellent fresh seafood. The menu is extensive, with simple one-plate meals such as rice and butter squid (RM8) alongside sizzling tofu, lemon chicken and a dozen noodle variations. Daily 8.30am–9.30pm.

Diving and snorkelling around Semporna

Many of Semporna’s dive shops focus on selling packages at their own accommodation on the islands, but also sell diving and snorkelling day-trips from town – count on at least RM225 for two dives, RM275 for three.

Scuba Junkie Bandar Baru 089 785372, scuba-junkie.com. This impeccably organized firm runs courses from Discover Scuba right up to instructor level, and takes a strong conservation-oriented stance. They use their Semporna branch for trips to Tun Sakaran Marine Park and their Mabul one as a base for Sipadan trips.

Scubaholics Bandar Baru, above the Century store 019 812 7867, scuba-holics.com. This is a popular indie operator covering all of the usual diving destinations in the area.

Sipidan Scuba Holiday Dive Inn, Bandar Baru 089 919148, sipadanscuba.com. A little cheaper than Scuba Junkie, with trips to some less-visited spots.

Islands around Semporna

Two marine parks lie off the coast of southeast Sabah. Most famed is Sipadan Island, a park in its own right and the prime destination for experienced divers, although nearby Mabul Island and Kapalai Island (which don’t lie within a park) are also renowned for marine life – all three lie south of Semporna. North and east of the town in Darvel Bay are the eight islands of the Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

Sipadan Island

Acclaimed by Jacques Cousteau as “an untouched piece of art”, Sipadan Island is mindboggling, its waters teeming with turtles, moray eels, sharks, barracuda and vast schools of colourful tropical fish, as well as the occasional dolphin and pilot whale. The diversity of coral found here is also comparable to that of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Only 120 visitor permits are available for Sipadan daily (RM40), so it’s likely you’ll spend a day here with your dive operator and then a few around the nearby islands.

Most of the dozen-plus commonly visited dive sites around Sipadan offer the chance to see abundant turtles and white-tip sharks. The most popular spot, Barracuda Point, is a drift dive where divers hold onto rocks while shoals of barracuda pass by. Another great site is the Drop-off, close to the jetty, where you often find large schools of barracuda, bumphead parrotfish and Napoleon wrasse. Close to here is the entrance to Turtle Cave, where you’ll find the skeletal remains of turtles that have strayed in and become lost.

Mabul Island

Mabul Island is split between dive accommodation and the shanties of the Bajau Laut. There are beaches on the north shore but refuse is a problem in some areas, and while it’s possible to stroll round the entire island in 45 minutes, most visitors focus on the attractions offshore. Visibility is less reliable than at Sipadan, and the muck diving – seeking out creatures in the sediment – is famous here. Among the marine life close to the island are many turtles of all sizes, seahorses – including the rare pygmy seahorse – frogfish, cuttlefish, mimic octopuses, lionfish, stonefish and ribbon eels.

Kapalai Island

Really a sandbar, tiny Kapalai Island is exquisite and otherworldly. The house reef has five minor wrecks, and divers are drawn by macro life such as pygmy seahorses, harlequin ghost pipefish and mandarinfish. There’s one pricey resort, although Kapalai is accessible from Mabul, too.

Tun Sakaran Marine Park

Conservation fee RM20

The most interesting islands at Tun Sakaran Marine Park are Sibuan Island, with a breathtaking beach, shallow reefs and calm waters, making it suitable for inexperienced divers and learners; and Mantubuan Island, where you can dive to see rare black (actually multicoloured) coral, resembling a forest of underwater Christmas trees. Accommodation lies just east of the park on two immaculate little islands, namely Pom Pom Island and teardrop-shaped Mataking Island – the latter has a wall dive where you might see turtles, rays and sharks.

Accommodation: Islands around Semporna

All accommodation lies outside the two marine parks (the lion’s share of it on Mabul Island), and is mostly sold in packages including boat transfers and meals, with diving and snorkelling either charged separately or with a fixed number of dives included. Pricing is often quoted per person – unless noted, room prices given here are for two people for one night (though longer stays are better value), excluding diving. Details of booking offices in Semporna are given where relevant.

Mabul

Mabul has resorts and a few basic guesthouses of variable quality; all places on the south shore are on stilts out at sea amid the scruffy water villages, although guests are largely insulated from that by dint of arriving and leaving by boat.

RESORTS

Borneo Divers North shore of Mabul 088 222226, borneodivers.info. A great mid-range choice, with fifteen two-room chalets in well-kept grounds centred around a freeform pool. There’s a nice restaurant, a bar and spa, too. Two-night diving package RM3800. RM3100

Mabul Beach Resort North shore of Mabul. The perfect middle ground between resort and guesthouse, with dorms as well as en-suite rooms equipped with rain showers and outdoor hammocks (although only some rooms have a/c and hot water). There are decent buffet meals and there’s an upstairs bar, too. Given Scuba Junkie’s conservation stance, they run a small turtle hatchery and don’t serve seafood. You can either book an all-inclusive package or pay for everything separately, in which case you’ll get a twenty percent discount on accommodation if you’re a diver. The one-night diving package is RM1500; book through Scuba Junkie in Semporna. Dorms RM210, doubles RM520

Mabul Water Bungalows North shore of Mabul 088 486389, mabulwaterbungalows.com. The ultra-luxurious sibling of the Sipidan-Mabul Resort, with Balinese-style chalets perched on stilts over the sea. VIP rooms have glass panels in the floor and jacuzzis. Dive packages from RM9200. RM5500

Seaventure Off the north shore of Mabul 088 261669, seaventuresdive.com. It looks like a levitating ship from afar, but this is really a former oil rig with good rooms and buffet meals. Price is for a three-night dive package RM6500

Sipadan Water Village North shore of Mabul 089 792231 or 089 751777, www.swvresort.com. A less grand version of Mabul Water Bungalows next door, with a range of standalone and two-roomed chalets supposedly built according to Bajau design. Dive package RM7000. RM5900

Sipadan-Mabul Resort (aka SMART) Eastern shore of Mabul 088 486389, sipadanmabulresortcom. Taking up much of the southeast of Mabul, this fine resort (also known as SMART) has more than forty wooden en-suite chalets, a pool, a large restaurant and jacuzzis in the grounds. Five nights’ stay needed for Sipadan; divers pay RM4500. RM3700

guesthouses

Arung Hayat South shore of Mabul 010 968 4566, arunghayatsemporna.com. Compact, very plain rooms, some with a/c, in a sort of longhouse on stilts. Price is for a one-night diving package (without Sipadan) RM1000

Billabong South shore of Mabul; office in Bandar Baru, Semporna 089 781866, billabongscuba.com. This is the most visually arresting guesthouse, with chalets lining two boardwalks connected by elevated bridges, to allow boats to enter (RM1400). There are also cheaper longhouse rooms, too. Packages exclude diving, which costs around RM350/person for three dives. Two-night snorkelling package RM1100

Paradise Inn South shore of Mabul 089 785399, bigjohnscuba.com. This substantial wooden lodge doesn’t qualify as a resort, but certainly transcends the guesthouse label – rooms come with the option of a private hot-water bathroom and a/c. The upstairs viewing deck is the best feature. Dives are at Mabul and Kapalai. Book through Big John Scuba on Jalan Kastam in Semporna. One-night diving package RM1700

Uncle Chang’s Dive Lodge South shore of Mabul 089 781002, ucsipadan.com. “Reasonably spartan” is how this veteran backpacker place styles itself, so don’t come with high expectations. The centrepiece is the restaurant/lounge with a ping-pong table; dorms and rooms are basic and a bit shabby, but some rooms have a/c. Book through the office on Jalan Kastam, Semporna. Divers pay RM100 less for the first night’s accommodation. Dorms RM175, doubles RM380

Kapalai

Sipadan-Kapalai Resort Kapalai 089 765200, sipadan-kapalai.com. Spectacular chalets built on stilts, surrounded by shallow azure water that’s perfect for snorkelling. Boats take divers to Mabul (as well as Sipadan if spare permits become available), and there is good diving around the artificial reef. Price is for a two-night package, on which divers can expect to pay RM1000 more. RM4000

Pom Pom

Celebes Beach Resort Pom Pom 089 758228, celebescuba.com. This down-to-earth place has simple but nicely furnished a/c chalets, with slightly cheaper rooms in the garden longhouse. Dive packages include unlimited shore dives as well as three boat dives/day. The one-night diving package costs RM1500 more than the non-diving option. RM1200

Pom Pom Island Resort Pom Pom 089 781918, pompomisland.com. Chalets are either out over the water or on (or behind) the beach at this tip-top resort, which also has its own spa. Diving and snorkelling are charged separately (dives are RM160 if booked in advance, minus gear rental). Book through the office on Jalan Kastam Extension in Semporna. RM1600

Mataking

Reef Dive Resort Mataking 089 770022, mataking.com. This is a luxury development kept in splendid isolation, with swanky beach villas featuring patios and rear jacuzzis. Dive packages include three boat dives/day and free access to the house reef, where an artificial wreck has an underwater mailbox – for this, you can expect to pay around RM400 more than non-divers. RM2900

Tawau and around

Most travellers bypass TAWAU altogether, which now rivals Sandakan in size, although it’s not a bad idea to overnight here if you’re travelling between interior sights like the Maliau Basin and east coast. There are some pleasingly aged timber shophouses on and around Jalan Chester in what passes for an old town centre, and the breezy seafront promenade has views out to Sebatik Island (which is shared with Indonesia). The only real sight in the vicinity is the Tawau Hills Park, half an hour’s drive away. Smartish hotels and restaurants tend to cluster in the Fajar neighbourhood north of Jalan Dunlop, the main street.

Tawau Hills Park

25km north of Tawau • Daily 8am–4.30pm • Conservation fee RM10; climbing permits RM32; guides RM160/day • 089 918827, sabahparks.org.my • Taxi RM50 one way; vehicles back to Tawau can be scarce, so ask for a return price including waiting time or get their mobile number

The 280-square-kilometre Tawau Hills Park is a stretch of rainforest and cloud forest, with the Tawau River cutting through its centre. The thirty-minute trail up Bombalai hill from the park HQ offers some great views; also worthwhile is the hike up Gelas Hill to a waterfall that’s perfect for swimming (2hr one-way). For the ambitious, there are multi-day treks to mounts Magdelana, Lucia and Maria, all just over 1000m; contact the park or Sabah Parks in KK in advance for more details.

Arrival and Departure: tawau and around

By plane Tawau’s airport (089 950777) is 32km east of the centre. Minibuses run from the airport to town (hourly 7am–8pm; 30min), and the trip in a taxi will cost around RM50. Buses and minivans also run east from here to Semporna.

Destinations Johor Bahru (4 weekly; 2hr 35min); KK (6–7 daily; 50min); Kuala Lumpur (6 daily; 2hr 45min); Sandakan (1 daily; 40min); Tarakan (Indonesia; daily; 40min).

By long-distance bus Tawau has two long-distance bus terminals. The bus park on Jalan Chen Fook has services to KK via both Lahad Datu and the interior (via Keningau). Sandakan-bound buses use the station at the eastern end of Jalan Dunlop.

Destinations Keningau (4 daily; 6hr 30min); KK, via the interior (2 daily; at least 10hr); KK, via the coast (7 daily; 11hr); Lahad Datu (7 daily; 2hr); Sandakan (4 daily; 5hr); Sapulut (4 daily; 4hr 30min); Semporna (5 daily; 1hr 30min).

By shared minivan or local bus Services for Tawau’s airport, Lahad Datu and Semporna use the Jalan Dunlop long-distance terminal. Most other local transport uses the station at the west end of Jalan Stephen Tan, although you’re unlikely to make use of this.

By ferry Ferries to Nunakan (RM90) and Tarakan (RM145) in Indonesia, run by a variety of companies, use the terminal south of the market. Buy tickets early (the terminal opens at 8am and shuts at night) as counters may close irregularly later in the day.

Destinations Nunakan (around 5 daily; 1hr); Tarakan (Tues, Thurs & Sat 10.30am; 3hr).

Accommodation

City Garden Jalan Chen Fook 089 769991, citygardenhotel.net; map. Although new and characterless, this hotel has beautifully maintained and seriously soundproofed rooms. It’s well located too, directly opposite the food court and near both of the bus terminals. RM100

LA Hotel Jalan St Patrick 089 762299, lahotel.com.my; map. The slickest hotel in town, with a range of plush rooms, a spa and two restaurants (including one that’s superbly perched atop the building). RM160

Shervinton Jalan Bunga 089 770000, shervintonhotel.com; map. A wannabe business-class hotel with a few stylish flourishes, including all-metal sinks in the bathrooms. There’s also a rooftop restaurant and bar. Rates include breakfast. RM120

Tawau Hills Park

Tawau Hills Park HQ 25km north of Tawau 089 925719; map. The Park HQ’s facilities include a hostel with a choice of a/c (RM80) or fan dorms, as well as chalets. An on-site canteen serves up simple dishes. Dorms RM25, chalets RM250

Eating

Banana Leaf Jalan Bunga 016 459 2786; map. Down-to-earth Indian restaurant with a self-explanatory name serving biryanis (RM15), fish-head curries (RM40/two people) and cheap rotis and thosai for breakfast. Open from 4pm during Ramadan. Daily 7am–2am

Jalan Chen Fook Food Court Jalan Chen Fook; map. There’s no official name for this expansive place, which is dominated by two Chinese seafood restaurants (Kam Ling and Good View; from around RM25/person) and draws crowds every evening. Also worthwhile is 1st Drink and Food Centre for cheap noodle and dim sum breakfasts (daily until 1.30pm); for very cheap Malay/Indonesian food, try the stalls at the western end of the site. Daily dawn–late.

Roof Garden Lounge Tenth floor, LA Hotel, Jalan St Patrick 089 777557; map. One of the nicest restaurant-bars anywhere in Sabah, this rooftop place offers 360-degree views out to the Tawau Hills Park and the sea – get here before sunset to pick a good table. The extensive menu covers everything from steak to satay (mains from RM20), with Strongbow cider and plenty of cocktails to wash it down. Happy hour until 9pm. Daily 4pm–2am.

Siang Siang Off Jalan Haji Karim 016 665 2377; map. A curious combo of Western café – good for comfy seats, hot and cold drinks and cake – and Chinese noodle house. Most dishes cost around RM10. Daily 10am–4am.

< Back to Sabah

The interior

The Crocker mountain range marks the start of the transition from the western coastal plains to Sabah’s geographical interior, which covers a vast swathe of terrain south from here to the Indonesian border. The isolation of this sparsely populated region ended at the start of the twentieth century, when a rail line was built between Jesselton (now KK) and Tenom to transport the raw materials being produced by the region’s thriving rubber industry. Today, the region is known for the cultivation of coffee, rice, cocoa and, lately, even avocados. The mountains themselves are a major attraction, largely wrapped up within the Crocker Range Park – the notable exception is Trus Madi, part of a forest reserve. To the east and southeast, lowland rainforest reasserts itself at the wildlife haven of Deramakot and the Maliau Basin, where there are superb opportunities for trekking. Another draw is the excellent Murut cultural tourism project at Sapulut, where visitors get to scale the limestone pinnacle of Batu Punggul. The three main towns – Tambunan, Keningau and Tenom – have little to offer in themselves, but you may find yourself passing through en route to nearby attractions.

Crocker Range Park

Main entrance 12km northwest of Keningau • RM20 conservation fee • 019 862 0404, sabahparks.org.my • Transport between KK and Keningau or Tambunan can drop you at or close to the entrances, and can be flagged down for onward travel

Covering 1400 square kilometres, the Crocker Range Park is the largest of Sabah’s terrestrial state parks with, unusually, a road – between Kimanis on the coast and Keningau – slicing right through it. Largely uncommercialized, the park offers cool mountain air, montane forest, birdlife and occasional sightings of Rafflesia flowers. The one part of the park that’s easily explored independently is reached via the main entrance, close to where the road exits the park on its eastern side – here there’s a collection of ferns, an insectarium, a lookout tower and a couple of short forest trails.

Two substations – as alternative gates are named – are also worth a visit. The Mahua substation, 14km north of Tambunan and reached off the Tambunan–Ranau road, gives access to the chilly waters at the Mahua Falls, 500m from the gate. Even better is the Alab substation close to Mount Alab (2000m) and some 15km northwest of Tambunan, off the KK road – here the 12km Minduk Sirung Trail makes an excellent day trek downhill to Mahua, but you will need a guide and permits (contact the park office for details).

Accommodation: Crocker Range PARK

Manis Manis Resort 300m from the main park entrance 019 809 8683, manismanisresort.com.my. Pleasant place with slick chalets equipped with four-poster beds, plus much cheaper doubles and dorms (which aren’t en suite). Chalet prices include breakfast. Dorms RM65, doubles RM180, chalets RM320

Utan Paradise Where the Kimanus–Keningau road meets the western edge of the park 019 897 4641, utanparadise.com. This rustic camp has a lodge with dorms and A-frames that are comfy for two, all with palm-thatch roofs. There are kitchens, but no meals are included unless you come on a package including trekking and a night walk (RM300/person for one night). Dorms RM30, A-frames RM60, chalets RM320

Tambunan and around

The northernmost of the interior’s small towns is TAMBUNAN, amusingly billed as “the Switzerland of the East” in tourist leaflets, with Mount Trus Madi looming to the southeast and two entrances to the Crocker Range Park to the north. The best thing about the town itself is its lively tamu (Wednesday evening and Thursday morning 7am–1pm).

Tambunan Rafflesia Information Centre

On the main road 20km north of Tambunan • Daily 8am–3pm • RM15; guide RM100 (up to five people) • 088 899589, forest.sabah.gov.my • Tambunan minivans and shared taxis from Merdeka Field in KK pass by

Prospects of seeing a Rafflesia in flower are decent at the Tambunan Rafflesia Information Centre, a small forest reserve often visited as a day-trip from KK. It’s worth calling ahead to find out if there are blooms, but as it can be hard to get hold of staff here, you might just have to chance it. Assuming one is flowering, expect a trek of up to an hour to reach it.

Mount Trus Madi

20km southeast of Tambunan • Entry permit RM15; climbing permit RM80 • forest.sabah.gov.my/fmu10

At 2642m, Mount Trus Madi is the second tallest mountain in Sabah, but is still totally overshadowed by Kinabalu as far as tourists are concerned. It’s a pity: Trus Madi is a good place to find pitcher plants, and there are wonderful views of Kinabalu from the summit. Three trails (wayaan in local dialect) with different starting points lead up Trus Madi; the easiest is the Kaingaran trail, reached by 4WD from Tambunan, which is a two-day round trip and has basic accommodation halfway up. Several KK tour operators offer the climb, including TYK Adventure Tours which has been doing it longer than most (088 232821, tykadventuretours.com).

Arrival and Departure: Tambunan and around

By shared minivan and taxi Shared transport to and from KK (1hr 30min), Ranau (1hr 15min) and Keningau (45min) stops in Tambunan’s main square.

Accommodation

Tambunan Rafflesia Hotel Jalan Kampung Lintuhun, near the Petronas filling station 087 771310, tambunanrafflesiahotel@gmail.com. This new mid-range hotel has pleasant rooms, some with views of paddy fields and Mount Trus Madi. There’s a restaurant too, although breakfast costs extra. RM150

Tandarason Resort 2km north of Tambunan 087 774076, tandarasonresorttambunan.com. Also known as TVRC (the initials of its old name), this place has a holiday camp feel, and is set around a lake where you can kayak (RM10 for half an hour). There are basic en-suite “motel” rooms, plus fancier chalets costing double, and a campsite (RM30 tent rental). Some rates include breakfast. Camping per person RM10, doubles RM100

Keningau

Just north of the Pegalan River, KENINGAU is the largest of the interior towns, with a mainly Kadazan/Dusun, Murut and Chinese population. It’s also a minor transport hub, as it’s 1km east of where the main road up the eastern side of the Crocker Range meets the road between Kimanis on the coast and Tawau. The only things to see are the night market, which sells produce and snacks in a hangar-like building off the eastern end of the main street, plus the Sunday morning tamu in the centre. All worthwhile shops and facilities, including some decent hotels and restaurants, are on the north side of the main street or a block further north around Jalan OKK Sodomon.

Arrival and Information: Keningau

By long-distance bus The Tung Ma Nui Lok company runs the bulk of the town’s bus services from a little depot on Jalan Masjid, the road on the western edge of the centre where the mosque is located. Salam Bumimas buses, which only serve KK, Sapulut and Tawau, call at a car park by the post office and night market.

Destinations Beaufort (2 daily; 2hr 15min), KK (hourly during the day; 2hr 30min); Menumbok (2 daily; 3hr 30min); Sapulut (4 daily; 2hr), Tawau (4 daily; 6hr 30min); Tenom (4 daily; 1hr).

By shared taxi and minivan Shared transport uses at least three locations in the centre, so ask around to find the right spot for your destination. Routes of use to tourists are the same as for buses, though it’s also possible to find vehicles for Tambunan (45min).

Accommodation

Juta 100m north of the main street 087 337888, hoteljuta.com. Impossible to miss – it’s the tallest building in town – this is the closest thing the town has to a business hotel, with surprisingly modern rooms and a restaurant. Breakfast included. RM140

Kristal Northern end of Jalan OKK Sodomon 087 338888. The best budget option, with antiquated but sound a/c, en-suite rooms. RM60

Mee Woo Resort Off Jalan Bariawa, 1km north of the centre 087 337108, mee_woo@yahoo.com. Keningau just isn’t the sort of place where a glorified holiday camp like this ought to thrive, but this place’s swimming pools and water slides draw weekending families from KK. Rooms galore are stacked up the side of a small valley, and there’s a restaurant and a café/bar too. Half board; weekdays (add 20 percent at weekends) RM275

Eating

Maimunah Off the main street, close to the Juta hotel. Basic but reliable mamak place with a good nasi campur selection and the usual roti and noodle favourites. Daily 24hr.

Uncle Pepper Look for the RHB Bank beyond the Kristal hotel, then follow the road round to the north 087 337005. Its walls plastered with images of Western celebs, this vaguely hip café is the best place in town for burgers, grills and fish and chips. Mains from RM15. Daily noon–10pm.

Tenom

Named after Ontoros Antanom, a Murut warrior, TENOM is a backwater on the north bank of the Padas River, with tasteful wooden shophouses and a blue-domed mosque. The closest most visitors get is Pangi station, 10km to the west, which is the starting point for rafting trips booked in KK. Locally, Tenom is best known for growing coffee, and there are opportunities to taste the local product and to stay on a small plantation. The town’s tamu takes place on Sunday morning.

Sabah Agriculture Park

On the east bank of the Padas River, 15km northeast of Tenom • Tues–Sun 9am–4.30pm • RM25 • 087 737952, sabah.net.my/agripark • Shared minivan from Tenom to Lagud Seberang, then walk 1km

The Sabah Agriculture Park is a crop research station known for its Orchid Centre, which has four hundred species, and there’s a Living Crop Museum with tropical plants. Other attractions include the Bee Centre, planned gardens, mini zoo and lakes.

Arrival and Departure: tenom

By train The train station is on the east side of the padang, just off the main Keningau road; for more details on the journey.

Destinations Beaufort (2 daily; 2hr 30min).

By bus Buses call at the padang, with tickets sold across from the train station.

Destinations Keningau (4 daily; 1hr); KK (4 daily; 3hr 30min).

By shared minivan and taxi Minivans congregate close to the padang – the ones heading north to Keningau generally circle around Tenom, looking for passengers. Shared taxis wait at the southern edge of the padang.

Destinations Beaufort (2hr 30min); Keningau (1hr); KK (3hr).

Accommodation and eating

Sri Perdana Jalan Tun Mustapha 087 734001. A reliable budget choice, just west of the padang across the main road. RM60

Teak Wood Cabin Fatt Choi coffee plantation, 1.5km west of town 087 735230, fccoffee.com. The four- and six-person cabins here, based in the hills outside town, come with a/c and en-suite bathrooms. If you need help finding it, ask directions at their Tenom Fatt Choi (TFC) café on the main road in the centre, where you can sample their coffee for free. RM100

Sapulut and Batu Punggul

Two hours’ drive south of Keningau, SAPULUT is a district of hamlets in the heartland of the Murut people. Only 30km from the Indonesian border, the area is also home to one of Sabah’s most intriguing challenges, Batu Punggul; unlike the limestone pinnacles at Sarawak’s Mulu National Park, this is one you can climb. It looms like a misshapen brick above the jungle, and the journey to reach it requires a longboat trip followed by a steep half-hour trek up. From the base, most visitors take around twenty minutes to get to the top of the 100m-high mound, where there are views of pristine forest.

On a physical level, Batu Punggul is something any reasonably fit and agile person can manage, with no rock-climbing experience needed. It’s like using a series of ladders, with the limestone fiendishly eroded into jagged pockets, providing hand- and footholds; ropes assist on a few sections. It is psychologically testing, however, in that there are no safety harnesses; this is a climb you do at your own risk, and there is no shame in skipping it at the last minute. The Murut guides are assiduous about safety and will even drag your hands and feet to the right spots if you’re stuck. It’s worth wearing trousers as the limestone will cause bad grazes or worse if you briefly miss your footing.

Activities: SAPULUT AND BATU PUNGGUL

Orou Sapulot 019 227 7077, orousapulot.com. Once the logistics of climbing Batu Punggul were as tricky as the feat itself, but now it’s the highlight of the multi-day trips organized by this Murut community tourism project. Activities include caving, Murut dancing and a rapids-shooting trip starting near the Indonesian border (only an option on longer stays). Accommodation is in purpose-built longhouses and lodges with shared toilets. Bear in mind that you will stay in a different place every night and that there are some very early starts. Their two-night full-board package, including transport to and from Keningau, costs RM1200/person.

Maliau Basin Conservation Area

Off the Sapulut–Tawau road, reached by a turning 63km east of Sapulut • T088 326320, maliaubasin.org

Billed as Sabah’s “Lost World”, the Maliau Basin Conservation Area superficially resembles Danum Valley. There’s a centre for visiting biologists who come to study, among other things, its impressive roster of large mammals, including the Borneo pygmy elephant, clouded leopard, banteng and sun bear. Unlike at Danum, however, here the aim is to range far and wide, with lower montane, heath and dipterocarp forest to explore on extended treks, which could mean covering 12km in a day through dense jungle – needless to say, they shouldn’t be attempted lightly. Highlights include several waterfalls, notably the seven-tiered Maliau Falls. You’ll need to book through a tour operator to visit (expect to pay upwards of RM3000/person for an all-inclusive package). Standard itineraries include only one night at the studies centre, where a canopy walkway and night drive provide diversion; the remaining two to four nights are spent at field stations ranging from basic campsites to wooden lodges with hammocks and proper bathrooms.

Deramakot Forest Reserve

Reached by a rough 70km road starting 20km east of Telupid and 105km from Sandakan • RM15/person, extra RM32/car; guides and night drives RM100/day each • 089 278800 or 089 242500, deramakot.sabah.gov.my

Cradled by the Kinabatangan River, south off the road between Ranau and the east coast, the 555-square-kilometre Deramakot Forest Reserve is heralded by the Forestry Department and conservationists alike. In the heart of Sabah, it is the only one of the state’s forests with FSC certification, covering not just logging but also wildife – the reserve is a good place to spot sun bears, orang-utans, pygmy elephants, marbled cats and the vulnerable clouded leopard. Treks tend to be short, although new trails are being developed; night drives are when much of the action takes place. Although it’s possible to visit independently, you’re far better off booking with a tour operator in KK or Sandakan, who will take care of transport, meals and perhaps take you on unofficial trails.

Accommodation: Deramakot Forest Reserve

Forestry Department Accommodation Reserve HQ 089 278800. The reserve’s accommodation is fairly new and in good shape, with a/c and bathroom. There’s no restaurant, however, so if you aren’t here on a package you must arrange catering in advance with the Forestry Department and budget at least an additional RM120/person per day. Dorms RM20, doubles RM160, chalets RM250

< Back to Sabah

Brief history

Colonialism

SECURITY in sabah

World War II and independence

Modern concerns

arrival and departure: sabah

visiting parks and reserves

Getting around

Brief history

Gaya Street

Australia Place and Signal Hill

The waterfront

Sabah Museum

The beaches

Arrival and Departure: Kota Kinabalu

By plane

By bus

By minivan and shared taxi

By ferry

By train

Getting around

Information

Kota Kinabalu tour operators

Accommodation

Hostels

Hotels and resorts

Eating

Kaamatan

Drinking and nightlife

Shopping

Books

Camping and outdoor equipment

Malls

Souvenirs and crafts

Supermarkets

Directory

Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Manukan Island

Mamutik Island

Sulug Island

Gaya Island

Sapi Island

Arrival and Departure: Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Activities

Accommodation

Monsopiad Heritage Village

Mari Mari Cultural Village

KK to the Klias Peninsula

throwback rail journeys

Accommodation: KK to the Klias Peninsula

The Klias Peninsula

Kuala Penyu

Menumbok

Crossing into Sarawak

Arrival and departure: klias peninsula

Beaufort

Menumbok

Kuala Penyu

Accommodation and eating: pULAU tIGA pARK

Labuan Town

Labuan Museum

Marine Museum

Diving around Tiga

Labuan War Cemetery and Memorial

Chimney Museum

The beaches

Arrival and Departure: Labuan Island

getting around

Information

Visiting Labuan’s marine park

Tour operators

Accommodation

Eating

Drinking

Directory

Kota Belud

Mantanani Islands

Accommodation: mantanani Islands

Sumangkap and Bavanggazo

Arrival and departure: Sumangkap and Bavanggazo