Borneo Wildlife Holidays
An unpaved earth road running into tall rainforest at dusk.

Sabah · Central

Deramakot

A spotlight, a slow vehicle, and a road going nowhere in particular.

Deramakot is a working forest reserve in central Sabah, reached overland from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan by way of Telupid. It is neither a national park nor a plantation: timber is still taken from it, carefully and slowly, and the wildlife has stayed. That makes it an argument as much as a destination — evidence, if you want it, that a forest can be used and still be worth something.

What brings naturalists here is the network of quiet logging roads. A vehicle can move along them at walking pace with a spotlight, which is a completely different way of finding animals than walking a trail, and it is far better after dark. Days run to a simple shape: out before four in the morning, back for breakfast, a walk if you want one, the long flat middle of the day, out again at sunset, dinner, and out once more at eight.

We will not tell you what you are going to see, and we would be wary of anyone who does. Deramakot has a reputation among people who spend their holidays looking for difficult animals, and reputations are built on nights that went well and quiet about the ones that did not. What we can promise is the method, the hours and a guide who knows which road to take.

Speak to a specialist

Alvin Wong

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Deramakot suits people who already know what they are looking for. Tell Alvin what that is, and how many nights you are willing to give it — with this kind of watching, more nights is the only real lever.

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Why it is different

Three drives a day
Two of them after darkBefore dawn, at sunset and again at night. The rhythm is the product.
A working forest
Managed for timber and wildlife at onceNot a park and not a plantation — an argument about whether the two can coexist.
Roads, not trails
How you cover the groundQuiet logging roads let a vehicle move slowly and silently. It is why the spotlighting works here.
Small parties
One vehicle, few peopleA spotlight and a crowd do not go together.

The shape of a four-day stay

  1. Day one — In via Telupid

    Overland from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan, arriving in the afternoon. Dinner, then straight out on the first night drive.

  2. Days two and three — The rhythm

    Out before four for the pre-dawn drive. Breakfast, an optional walk, then the middle of the day at rest, because you will need it. Out again at half past four for the sunset drive, dinner at seven, and the night safari at eight.

  3. Day four — Out

    Breakfast and the drive back. Most guests continue to the Kinabatangan, which is the same direction and a very different kind of day.

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

Before you come

Getting there
Overland from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan by way of Telupid. It is a long drive either way and the last stretch is forest road.
The hours
A four o'clock start and an eight o'clock night drive on the same day is normal here. Sleep happens in the middle of the day. If broken nights are a problem, this is the destination to leave out.
Wildlife

We name no species on this page on purpose. Deramakot's reputation would let us list some very tempting animals, and every one of them would be a promise we cannot keep. Ask us what has actually been seen recently and we will tell you, including the blank nights.

What it is not
There is no lodge scene, no spa and nothing to do between drives. That is the arrangement.

Often combined with

Deramakot 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