Borneo Highlands

Borneo Highlands is where the Borneo Highlands Resort and the Hornbill Golf & Jungle Club located. The challenging 18-hole golf course winds its way around the natural features of the highland plateau whilst the Jungle Spa offers herbal treatments and traditional massages. About 70km from Kuching, this hill resort is situated at the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, at an altitude of 600 to 1,000 metres. If you fancy something at a lower altitude, go to the Annah Rais Longhouse at the foothill instead.

This is where the annual Sarawak Bird Race - Bird Watching Event is held.

Jong Crocodile Farm

Situated at 18 Miles (29km) Kuching/ Serian Highway, a 20 minute leisure drive from Kuching Town, the capital of Sarawak, Land of Hornbills, boasts one of the largest and the only crocodile breeding farm in the country.

Set amidst the charming backdrop of tall tropical trees, lush vegetation and local fruit trees lies this unique farm with over a thousand crocodiles bred in captivity. The farm provides a perfect sanctuary for the reptiles, saving the species from extinction. There are huge and deep concrete ponds and natural breeding grounds for the crocodiles to mate and multiply.

Visitors are able to gaze at the snapping jaws, cold menacing eyes, sharp pointed teeth and powerful lashing tails of the crocs within short distance yet safe because of the metal fence.

Apart from crocodiles there are also numerous rare species of birds and animals found only in the Borneo Island. Visitors can have the enchanting experience of walking freely among the monkeys, leopard-cats, sunbears, bearcats, pheasants, civets, barking deers, sambar deers, turtles, fruit bats, monitor lizards, pythons and even hornbills.

Orchid Park

Situated next to Astana (the official Residence of the State Governor), across the Sarawak River and opposite, the Kuching Waterfront, Kuching Orchid Garden, has become an icon for Kuching. The 3.54 acres garden overlooks the magnificent new Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building. The Construction of the garden commenced in November 2007 and was completed in May 2009 is one of the tourist attractions, offering visitors knowledge and information on orchids and other related plants. It has a collection of 75,000 orchids from 65 epiphytic and terrestrial species and hybrid, growing in open and shaded areas resembling their natural habitats. The garden features the world-renowned Borneo Orchids, known for its beauty and potentials as horticultural plants.

Among the famous Borneo Orchids found in the garden are the ladys’ slipper Paphiopetilum Saderianum, a unique green and black-flowered orchid, Coelogyne Pandurata, the Vanda dearie and the “Normah Orchid” Phalaenopsis Bellina which was declared the state flower of Sarawak on 28 August 1983. The Normah Orchid-light green in colour and flushed with bright purple towards the base has been use to produce many colourful star-shaped novelty hybrids.

Cat Miseum Sarawak

The Kuching’s Cat Museum is the first museum of its kind in the world. It is managed by Kuching North City Hall and has collection of Cat artefacts acquired from the National Museum which displayed them in one of its galleries in Kuala Lumpur. These collections were bought to Kuching City by the Sarawak Museum and displayed for the first time on 1st August 1988 at the Dewan Tun Abdul Razak.

The idea to set up the ‘Cat Museum’ in Kuching which is Malay world for cat was first mooted by none other than the Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak, Pehin Sri Hj. Abdul Taib Mahmud and his wife Datuk Amar Puan Sri Dr. Hajah Laila Taib. The collections were officially handed over to Kuching North City Hall on the completing of DBKU Headquarters buildingin 1992, in which the museum is situated.

The museum is housed on the Lobby Floor of Kuching North City Hall Headquarters on the top of Bukit Siol (Siol Hill) at Jalan Semariang, Petra Jaya, Kuching. It stands 60 meters above sea level overlooking the picturesque view of Kuching City.

The Cat Museum covers an areaof 1,035 sq. meters comprising four galleries with over 4,000 artificats including paintings and memoriable

Gunung Gading National Park

Gunung Gading National Park has a very special star attraction - the Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower - and the park is one of the best places in Asia to view the Rafflesia’s spectacular blooms. Gunung Gading sprawls across four jungle-clad mountain peaks, and its dense primary rainforest is criss-crossed by crystal clear streams and waterfalls.

Gunung Gading was gazetted as a park in 1st August 1983 primarily to provide a conservation zone for the protection of the Rafflesia. It was opened to the public in 1994 and visitors can now view one of the most spectacular plants found on the planet. The park is easily accessible from Kuching on a day trip. Those wishing to stay longer can enjoy Gunung Gading’s other attractions - particularly its rainforest scenery, waterfalls and jungle trails. Some of these trails lead to the peaks of the mountains that make up the park and offer challenging jungle treks.

Gunung Gading is home to a range of animals including civet cats, wild boar, small deer, porcupines, monkeys and giant squirrels. However, as the Park is surrounded by villages, most of the wildlife stays deep in the jungle, on the upper slopes of the park’s mountains, and therefore Gunung Gading is not an easy place for spotting wild animals. Visitors who opt for a summit trek are more likely to see some of the park’s wildlife.

Gunung Gading National Park is located near the small town of Lundu in Southwest Sarawak, about 2 hours drive from Kuching. From the Brooke Dockyard (Gambier Street) bus station take the Sarawak Transport Company bus to the 3rd Mile bus terminal. From there take the express bus to Lundu - the journey takes approximately one and a half hours. From Lundu, take a van or taxi and ask to be dropped off at the park office. Alternatively, Kuching tour operators offer guided tours to the park.

source : www.sarawakforestry.com

Sarawak Cultural Village

Known as the 'Living Museum', the Cultural Village was set up to preserve and showcase Sarawak's cultural heritage. Located at Pantai Damai, Santubong, just 32km from the state capital, Kuching, it is the perfect place to get introduced to local culture and lifestyle. 

Sprawled across 17 acres, there are about 150 people living in the village, demonstrating traditional daily activities from Sarawak's diverse tribes like the processing of sago and the making of handicrafts. They wear traditional costumes and also put on dances for visitors. 

The village residents provide information on their various traditional cultures and lifestyles. You can see replicas of buildings that represent every major ethnic group in Sarawak; longhouses of the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu, a Melanau tall-house and a Chinese farm house among others. 

The village also has a theatre, where you can enjoy multicultural dance performances. Besides this, there is a restaurant and handicraft shop. You can even get married at the Sarawak Cultural Village, in traditional Iban, Malay, Bidayuh or Orang Ulu style. 

The Iban longhouse has separate rooms placed side by side, all of which open to a long communal hall, used for leisurely activities like wood carving and basket weaving. 

Guests are often invited to attend nightly ceremonies and drink a potent rice wine, tuak, which the Iban make themselves. Comfortable guesthouses are also available for visitors.

source : http://www.tourism.gov.my

Santubong Sarawak

Only 35 minutes drive from Kuching, the Santubong area has a great deal to offer the visitor. It has some superb natural attractions centred on the rainforested slopes of Mount Santubong, its mangrove forests, rivers, near shore waters and mudflats. These different habitats are home to variety of wildlife making Santubong one of the best sites in Sarawak to see a range of wildlife in a natural setting.
The Santubong area is one of the best places in Sarawak to see the rare Irrawaddy dolphin, which inhabits rivers, estuaries and shallow coastal areas. On rare occasions finless porpoises and Indo-pacific humpback dolphins are sighted in the waters off Santubong. There are a few interesting coastal villages (kampungs) in the Santubong Peninsula. The most accessible from Damai is Kampung Santubong, a well-kept Malay village at the foot of Mount Santubong.

Batu Lawi Sarawak

Mountaineers can tackle Gunung Murud (2,424m, reasonable going) or the famous Batu Lawi (2,043m, very tough) located within the Kelabit Highlands area. However, these are both serious expeditions and guides and porters will need to be hired (RM 80 per day) in Bario or Bakelalan. For Batu Lawi, mountaineering equipment and experience is also necessary.

Lambir Hills National Park Sarawak

The famed Lambir Hills National Park is located along the Miri-Bintulu road, 36 km south-west of Miri town in Sarawak, East Malaysia. It was gazetted as a park in 1975, and covers an area of 6,952 hectares. This park has an outstanding regional and global conservation significance for its extraordinary species-rich forest, ideal for botanist and researchers throughout the world. Moreover, the park has a high potential value for recreational, educational and research purposes.

There are around 1,173 tree species in the park alone, with 286 genera and 81 tree families making Lambir one of the more diversified forests in Malaysia. Wild animals can also be found in the deeper parts of the park, especially monkeys, sun bear, pangolin and bats. The main attraction of the park is its beautiful waterfalls, the nearest just a mere 0.18 km is Latak Waterfall. It is a 20 minutes walk from the Park office. The waterfall is about 25 metres high and pluges sheer into a large deep pool with a broad sandy poolside. 

Visitors can also climb the tree tower and view the scenic Dipterocarp forest profile. it is also an excellent place for bird watching. There are also trails which are constructed for visitors to explore the forests, hills, valleys and waterfalls. They are well-marked no guide is required and can be explored unguided. However, the Summit Trail which leads to the Lambir's Summit, does require a guide and is excellent for adventurous hikers. 

Bako National Park Sarawak

Bako National Park is located about 30 km from Kuching,Sarawak. It is the oldest park in Sarawak. It contains a wide range of vegetation bounded by picturesque coastline and steep cliffs. It is one of the places in Sarawak to see wildlife in natural surrounding.

Comprising Borneo’s signature jungles along with a vast bionetwork of exotic flora and fauna, the park is a 27 square kilometre sanctuary. Located along the northern tip of the Muara Tebas Peninsular, the park is a stone’s throw away from Kuching.

Sarawak exemplifies all the typical Borneo stereotypes – hidden jungles, tea-brown rivers, exotic animals and a thriving indigenous populace. It goes without saying that the cat city’s major plus point is its proximity to this abundance of natural wonders.