Borneo Wildlife Holidays
Interior of undisturbed lowland rainforest — buttress roots of a mature hardwood, low morning light through the canopy.

Sabah · Interior

Danum Valley

Forest that was never logged, in a landscape that mostly was.

The Danum Valley Conservation Area is 43,800 hectares of undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest, gazetted as a Class I Protection Forest Reserve, about eighty kilometres west of Lahad Datu and at least two hours by road. Lowland forest is the richest thing Borneo has and also the thing it has lost most of, which is what makes an untouched block of it this size unusual.

The Field Centre has been here since 1986, and four decades of continuous research is the reason to come. The trails are established, the tree hide and the canopy access are there because scientists needed them, and the people who guide here have grown up inside a place where knowing what you are looking at is the job. More than three hundred and twenty bird species have been recorded, including all eight Bornean hornbills, and over a hundred and twenty mammals.

Days run early and late. A climb to the tree hide before dawn, the Segama river in the heat of the day, sunrise from Bukit Atur if you can face the start, and a night drive in an open four-wheel drive for the species that only move after dark. The middle of the day is for sitting still, which is not laziness but the local method.

A word about where you stay. The Field Centre is a research station, not a lodge — comfortable and straightforward rather than luxurious. We will tell you exactly what to expect before you book, and if you would rather have comfort somewhere in your fortnight we will build that in elsewhere in Sabah.

Speak to a specialist

Alvin Wong

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Danum sits naturally alongside Imbak Canyon or the Kinabatangan. Tell Alvin your dates and what you are hoping to see, and he will build the route around it.

Start an enquiry

Why it is different

43,800 ha
Class I Protection Forest ReserveUndisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest — the type of forest Borneo has least of left.
Since 1986
The Field Centre has been hereFour decades of continuous research, which is why the trails and the guiding are what they are.
328+
Bird species recordedIncluding all eight of Borneo’s hornbills.
120+
Mammal speciesTen of them primates, alongside 72 reptiles, 56 amphibians and more than 40 fish.

The shape of a four-day stay

  1. Day one — In from Lahad Datu

    Two hours or more by road into the conservation area, arriving in time to settle in and walk a short trail before the light goes. A night drive after dinner.

  2. Day two — The tree hide, and the river

    Up before dawn for the hide, back for breakfast, then a longer walk. The Segama in the heat of the afternoon. Another night walk for anyone still standing.

  3. Day three — Bukit Atur

    An early climb for sunrise over the canopy, which is the photograph everybody wants and the reason the alarm goes off in the dark. Trails and canopy access for the rest of the day.

  4. Day four — Out

    A last walk at first light, then the drive back to Lahad Datu. Most guests continue to the Kinabatangan, or into Imbak.

Most of our guests spend eleven to seventeen days in Sabah in total, with Danum as one chapter. See how a longer journey fits together.

Before you come

Getting there
Fly to Lahad Datu, then roughly eighty kilometres by road. Allow at least two hours, and more in the wet.
Where you stay
The Danum Valley Field Centre — a working research station rather than a hotel. Simple, clean and comfortable. We will confirm exactly which rooms you have for your dates before anything is booked.
Wildlife

Ten primate species, more than a hundred and twenty mammals and over three hundred and twenty birds, including every hornbill found on Borneo.

Every sighting is patience and luck, and we do not promise particular animals. What we will do is have you in the right place at the right hour with someone who knows what they are hearing.

Walking
Moderate. Trails are established but the ground is uneven, it is hot, and the Bukit Atur climb is a proper hill. Nothing here needs a trekking background.

Often combined with

Danum Valley in pictures

Go and see it

Tell us roughly when you would like to travel and how long you have. We will come back with a suggested route through Sabah and what it costs.

Start an enquiry