Rainforests, Rivers & Remote Tribes
Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival in Kuching
Your Borneo adventure begins in Kuching (a.k.a Cat City). This compact, welcoming city is a mix of old and new, a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. It’s a great place to spend a few days. Your driver will be waiting for you at the airport for your short drive to your centrally located hotel. From here, it’s an easy walk to explore the city’s highlights. Why not walk along the lively riverfront, relax in one of the many cafes or try a famous Sarawak Laksa for an authentic experience.
Day 2 – Explore Kuching by bike & boat
This morning you’ll head out on a cycling tour of Kuching. You’ll cycle past temples and monuments, and even get to stop in the heritage area, where you’ll fill your stomach with some tasty authentic street food. Swap bike for boat and take a relaxing cruise along the Sarawak River on a traditional Sampan boat, watching local life along the riverbanks. Disembark and continue exploring with your guide, passing through small villages and local open air markets selling tropical fresh fruits and vegetables and local handicrafts. Return to the city centre around midday
Day 3 – Visit Semenggoh Orangutan Centre
Today you’ll visit Semenggoh Rehabilitation Centre, which is a short drive from Kuching. The centre is a temporary home for various endangered wildlife of Sarawak, especially orangutans that have either been orphaned or rescued from captivity. Here, they’re trained in all the survival skills for them to venture out into the wild and fend for themselves. We’ll time your visit to coincide with the feeding time of the orangutans.
Stay longer in Kuching
There’s so much to see and do in Kuching so you can easily full your time if you decide to extend you stay. We would recommend a day exploring nearby Bako National Park – one of the best places in Sarawak to see wildlife in a natural setting including proboscis monkeys, silver leaf monkeys, long tail macaques and monitor lizards. Ask your Travel Specialist for more information
Day 3 – Travel into Batang Ai: home of the Iban headhunters
Over the next 3 days you’ll explore one of the more remote areas of Sarawak, the Batang Ai National Park. The region is home to one of the oldest Iban settlements in Sarawak. The Iban tribe were once feared due to their practice of ‘headhunting’. These days they are peaceful people who live off the land but their other traditions are still carried out today. They live in longhouses built on poles high above the banks of the river.
Early morning you’ll be picked up by your driver and guide and head towards a local market to pick up supplies for your stay. After another quick stop for lunch, you’ll drive another couple of hours to the reservoir where you’ll board a longtail boat for the final leg of the journey. You’ll reach your lodge by the river as dusk is setting, enjoy a peaceful meal with the sounds of the jungle and settle in for an early night.
Day 4 – Jungle trekking & dining with the Iban
Wake up to the sounds of the jungle! After breakfast put on your walking shoes, as you’ll be heading into the jungle and exploring the surrounding area. As you walk through the forest your guide will point out the native trees, plants and if you’re extremely lucky, even wild orangutans. When you’re getting all sweaty from walking, you’ll find yourself at a large, hidden waterfall – the perfect place for a refreshing dip to cool yourselves down!
Once you’re back at your lodge, you have time to freshen up before heading for a shorter afternoon walk. Having built up an appetite it’s time to join the local Iban at a nearby longhouse for an evening of cultural exchanges, drinking rice wine and eating food cooked over the fire dinner. It’s an eye-opening and totally unique experience
Day 5 – Travel to the Santubong Peninsula & sleep in a treehouse
After breakfast, you’ll bid farewell to your Iban hosts and transfer to the Santubong Peninsula and your home for the next couple of nights, a real-life tree-house! You’ll be staying in a jungle resort located in the heart of the rainforest, and right next to the beach. This eco-resort is a great place to laze around, with a good restaurant on-site, but you can also organise kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and nature tours if you’re feeling a little more active.
Day 6 – Santubong River wildlife spotting cruise
Your morning is free to relax. In the afternoon you’ll travel to the Santubong River where you’ll board a boat for a wildlife spotting cruise. As you float along the mangrove-lined river and its estuaries you can keep an eye out for the area’s abundant wildlife, including the unusual looking Proboscis monkeys, crocodiles, and even the occasional Irrawaddy Dolphin. As the light fades, you’ll also get to admire the sight of the fireflies lighting up the sky, before being transferred back to your eco-resort for the evening.
Days 7 – 9 – Relax on Gaya Island
It’s time for your Sarawak adventure to end, and you’ll be taken to the airport for your flight to Kota Kinabalu. On arrival, you’ll be transferred to the jetty for a 30 minute boat ride to Gaya Island, where you will spend the next few days relaxing. This island is the largest in the Tunku Abdul National Park and is covered by jungle and dotted with tropical beaches. During your stay here we’ll provide you with a gourmet picnic basket and you can find your own personal slice of paradise on which to sit and enjoy it.
Day 10 – Depart Borneo
Today you’ll head back to the mainland in time for your international flight home. If three nights on the beach is too short, we’ll happily add an additional night or two to your stay. Just ask your Travel Specialist to include more time in your travel plan.
Accommodation
