Sandakan & Sepilok

Sepilok, 25 km outside Sandakan on Sabah's east coast, is where orphaned orangutans are raised for the wild: watch the morning and afternoon feedings at the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, then the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre next door and the Rainforest Discovery Centre's canopy towers. Two to three hours away, lodges on the Kinabatangan river run boat safaris for proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, hornbills and, with luck, wild orangutans. Sandakan airport has direct flights to KL and KK.

Highlights

• Orangutan feeding at Sepilok (10:00 and 15:00)
• Sun bears at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
• Canopy towers at the Rainforest Discovery Centre
• Kinabatangan river safari
• Proboscis monkeys at Labuk Bay
• Sandakan Memorial Park (WWII death marches)

Things to do

• Sepilok orangutan feeding & nurseryMorning · 2h 30m
• Bornean Sun Bear Conservation CentreMorning · 1h 30m
• Rainforest Discovery Centre canopy walkAfternoon · 2h 30m
• Kinabatangan river dusk cruise (overnight at a lodge)Evening · 3h
• Labuk Bay proboscis monkey feedingAfternoon · 2h 30m

Tours & tickets

When to go

Best time: March – October

• Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri — During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk: Malay restaurants are quiet by day and the evening Ramadan bazaars, with food stalls at every mosque and market, are the best street food of the year. Don't eat or drink in the street in Kelantan and Terengganu. At its end, Hari Raya Aidilfitri brings the "balik kampung" exodus: buses, trains and flights sell out weeks ahead and KL empties for a week. Dates move about 11 days earlier each year; they are set by the new moon.
• Kaamatan (Sabah harvest festival) — Sabah's Kadazan-Dusun harvest festival runs through May and peaks on 30-31 May at the KDCA cultural centre at Penampang near Kota Kinabalu: rice wine, dances in traditional dress and the Unduk Ngadau pageant. KK hotels fill that week.

Part of a longer route

Sandakan & Sepilok is a stop on a curated circuit through Malaysia.