Wild Borneo: Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys, Hornbills and Pittas
Tour Date:
NEW DATE: Sep 22 (evening arrival)-28, 2026 Pre-tour five full days 18-28 Oct, with two days of hides for Bornean Peacock Pheasant, Bulwer’s Pheasant, and sometimes Giant Pitta, and three full days in Mt Kintabalu and Crooker Range areas.
Tour Price (Per Person):
$3450 per person. Price includes flights from Kota Kinabalu and expert guiding. Minimum 2 participants and a maximum of 6. Note that we plan to stay three nights at either the exclusive Borneo Rainforest Lodge or Tabin Rainforest Lodge, which makes the price well over the price of our average tours.
Single supplement: $390
The five-day extension is j
Tour Type:
Easy birding and wildlife
Description
For centuries after it became known to Western explorers, Borneo has struck the imagination of travel adventurers. The world’s third-largest island [Asia’s largest] is the location of one of the world’s oldest rainforests, estimated to be about 140 million years old. It should come as no surprise that Borneo boasts a remarkable diversity of fauna and flora, many of which are rare or endemic to the island.
Borneo is a nature lover’s paradise, boasting 288 species of terrestrial and 91 species of marine mammals; 685 bird species, of which 48 are endemic, and sadly, 46 species are considered threatened or endangered. For the botanists, the island is almost indescribable for its variety of flora, especially the carnivorous pitcher plants Nepenthes, Rafflesia, which is the world’s largest flowering plant, as well as many species of orchids.
The main tour begins with an early morning arrival at Kota Kinabalu airport, transfer to Lahad Datu, and a drive to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge or Tabin Wildlife . Birding and mammal watching the rest of the day and the whole following day.
The next day, you’d be leaving at noon for Kinabatangan River via the Gomantong Caves for bats and edible nest swifts, staying at a river lodge. Most of the day on the Kinabatangan River. Look for Proboscis and other monkeys, and 8 species of hornbills
The following afternoon, you shall continue by road to Rain Forest Discovery Centre. Getting the last sunset in one of the towers, trying for Bornean Bristlehead, an endemic bird family in Borneo. At night, we take an exciting night excursion with one of the rangers.
The next day, you have another morning at Rain Forest Discovery Center before taking an early afternoon flight to Kota Kinabalu for your flight to your next destination
DETAILED ITINERARY
- Day 1: Fly in early morning Kota Kinabalu-Lahad Datu : MH3010 ETD 0610 ETA 0705 Transfer to Borneo Rainforest Lodge or Tabin Rainforest Lodge
- Day 2: Borneo Rainforest Lodge Birding or Rain Forest Lodge. Birding and mammal watching all day.
- Day 3. An additional day at the lodge.
- Day 4: Morning at the lodge and then leave at noon for Kinabatangan River via the Gomantong Caves. Lodge on the River.
- Day 5: Most of the day on the Kinabatangan River. Look for Bornean Pygmy Elephant, Proboscis, and other monkeys, and 8 species of Hornbills. In the afternoon, we continue by road to the Rain Forest Discovery Center. Getting the last sunset in one of the towers, hoping for Bornean Bristlehead – an endemic bird family in Borneo. At night, we do an exciting night excursion with one of our rangers.
- Day 6: Most of the morning at the Rain Forest Discovery Center, then flight to Kinabalu around 13:10
Flight times may change.
Pre-tour, Mount Kinabalu
Bulwer’sDay 1. Arrive Kota Kinabalu. We stay in Kota Kinabalu.
Day 2. Very early start. Hides with a chance of getting the Borneo Peacock Pheasant.
Day 3. Hides with Bulwer’s Pheasant.
Day 4. Full day Birding at Kinabalu park.
Day 5. Full day Birding at Kinabalu park.The accommodation outside the park will at Cottage
Day 6. At 0500 am drive to Rafflesia center at Crocker Range. About 2 and half hours drive. Birding there most of the day and hopefully seeing a gigantic Rafflesia flower in bloom (a plant that should be on everyone’s bucket list). There are a few endemic species that are difficult to find at Kinabalu Park, including the Mountain Barbet, Bornean Barbet, Bornean Leafbird, Bornean Bulbul, and Cinereous Bulbul.
This place also serves as a backup for some species, such as Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, and others.
We return to Kota Kinabalu for an overnight stay. The following day, the main lowland section of the Borneo trip starts with the flight to Lahad Datu.
Price of pre-trip is $1900, including food, hotels, and airport transfers on days 1 and 7.
