SEPILOK ORANG UTAN SANCTUARY

 Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary
Sandakan

The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre was set up in 1964 to rehabilitate orphaned baby orang utan. Set in the lush 4,300-hectare Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, the Centre under the administration of the Wildlife Department of Sabah attracts tourists and researchers alike, giving them the opportunity to watch the orang utan up close in their natural habitat. A boardwalk leads you to a viewing gallery and feeding platform where the apes are fed milk and bananas twice a day at 10.00am and 3.00pm by rangers. Feeding time also attracts long-tailed macaques to the area.

While orang utan rehabilitation is still the primary goal at Sepilok, it also focuses on public education on conservation, research and assistance on other endangered species such as the rhinoceros.

Visitors are restricted to walkways. Some orang utan have become familiar with people but touching them is strongly discouraged, and while the apes are naturally shy and gentle, the more mischievous ones may try to grab your camera or hat, in which case you should call for a ranger as trying to wrestle the 200 pound apes may not be a good idea. 

KINABATANGAN RIVER CRUIS IN SABAH, BORNEO

One of the most popular destinations in Sabah is the Kinabatangan River. This river has a length of 560 kilometers and stretches through half of Eastern Sabah. Alongside the riverbanks there is an abundance of wildlife. During a river cruise you will have a chance to spot the rare orangutan, the pygmy elephant, proboscis monkeys and saltwater crocodiles. During night cruises you might spot the leopard cat, numerous sleeping birds, wild boars, snakes and many crocodiles.Kinabatangan River is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of 560 kilometers it runs across the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. It is part of the Sukau-Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The beautiful river offers great opportunities to see amazing wildlife. Water takes in a central position, people travel by boat in search of wildlife. During a visit you may encounter an enormous variety of animals. There are numerous small villages along the river; often forming the starting point for tourists that visit the area. Bilit is such a village; from here boats to lodges in the area leave. There are several lodges that accommodate tourists; most of them in and nearby the small town of Sukau (the tourist 'center' within the Kinabatangan area). Kinabatangan River is one of the most popular destinations within Sabah; here you can spot rare animals like orangutans, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles, elephants, snakes, insects and many bird species, such as varieties of the king fisher and the hornbill.

SIPADAN ISLAND Ever since diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau raved about Pulau Sipadan's diversity of marine life, this dive mecca has been indisputably the most famous scuba destination in Malaysia. It is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third largest island.Blue skies, clear waters, convenient diving and tropical scenery, but it is below the surface where this island really excels. The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves plenty of big fish encounters - barracudas, large schools of trevally and marauding bumphead parrotfish. This is one of the big fish capitals of the world!Everywhere you turn at Sipadan, you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to the other major attractions vying for your attention.As with many of the other sites, there is no hanging around in the blue doing a boring safety stop. Instead you will want the use of every breath of air in your tank as you spend the last few minutes hovering over coral gardens with as much colourful life and activity as anywhere.

KOTA KINABALU MOUINTAIN MAP

Mountain Kinabalu (4095m) is one of the tallest mountains in South-East Asia and is situated in the Kinabalu National Park in the province of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. Thousands of tourists visit Kinabalu National Park each year and most come with the intention of climbing Mt Kinabalu.
Fortunately, Mt Kinabalu is one of the easiest peaks in the world to conquer. It takes just two days and climbers don't need any previous experience at mountain climbing. At sunrise, the views from the Mt Kinabalu's summit at Low's Peak are spectacular, making all the effort worthwhile.

Most climbers take two days to ascend and descend Mt Kinabalu. The eight-kilometre climb generally starts from the the Timpohon Gate near park headquarters (1800m), with an overnight stay at one of the guest houses at Laban Rata (3273m), before pushing on to the summit early next morning. Mt Kinabalu's summit is usually reached in time to view the sunrise, before returning to Laban Rata for breakfast. Climbers then descend the mountain, generally reaching the park headquarters by mid-afternoon.

SABAH, MALAYSIA

Welcome to the land of awe-inspiring natural scenery, lush primary rainforests, vibrant coral reefs and mysterious indigenous cultures!

Situated on the beautiful island of Borneo, Sabah is one of the thirteen states which Malaysia is made of. Sabah is the second largest state in Malaysia and shares the island of Borneo with Sarawak, Brunei, and Indonesian Kalimantan.

Sabah is richly blessed with nature diversity, unique cultures, fun adventure, beautiful beaches, and fantastic cuisines for the adventurous taste buds.

From mountaineering and scuba diving to wildlife spotting or just simply relaxing at the beach, Sabah is the ultimate place to go. We have it all here, from the world's largest flower; the Rafflesia, to the highest mountain is South East Asia; Mount Kinabalu, to one of the world's best dive sites; Sipadan Island.

Not only will you be amazed by the places to see and things to do here, you will also get to meet warm and friendly people in Sabah who are very hospitable. Get immersed in the unique culture and tradition of Sabah, not forgetting the sweet memories to last a lifetime.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia is a country in South-East Asia, located partly on a peninsula of the Asian mainland and partly on the northern third of the island of Borneo. West Malaysia shares a border with Thailand, is connected by a causeway and a bridge (Malaysia-Singapore Second Link) to the island state of Singapore, and has coastlines on the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. East Malaysia (Borneo) shares borders with Brunei and Indonesia.

The country is ranked as the 9th most visisted place in the world.

In an effort to diversify the economy and make Malaysia’s economy less dependent on exports the government has pushed to increase tourism in Malaysia. As a result tourism has become Malaysia’s third largest source of income from foreign exchange, and accounted for 7% of Malaysia's economy as of 2005.

The government agency in charge of promoting tourism in Malaysia is Tourism Malaysia or the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB). On 20 May 1987, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) was established and TDC moved to this new ministry. TDC existed from 1972 to 1992, when it became the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB), through the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Act, 1992. Its vision is to make the tourism industry a prime contributor to the socio-economic development of the nation, and aims to market Malaysia as a premier destination of excellence in the region. Tourism Malaysia now has 34 overseas and 11 marketing representative offices.

In 1999, Malaysia launched a worldwide marketing campaign called “Malaysia, Truly Asia” which was largely successful in bringing in over 7.4 million tourists. The extra revenue recently generated by tourism helped the country’s economy during the economic crisis of 2008. However, it is mainly Malaysia’s heavy government regulation of the economy which enabled it to be barely affected by the recent 2008 global economic crisis. In recent years tourism has been threatened by the negative effects of the growing industrial economy. Due to the large amounts of air and water pollution along with deforestation, tourism has decreased in affected areas.