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The Road Less Travelled - Borneo Tours
2026 Dates: June 12-21
11 Days / 10 Nights
$3,300 Twin Share (single supplement $400)
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KUCHING-BAKO-MULU-HEADHUNTERS TRAIL-LIMBANG-KUCHING
Join a small group of responsible travellers and immerse yourself in Borneo’s varied treasures with this 11-day package encompassing Kuching and the natural wonders of Mulu National Park and World Heritage Area.
Sample a taste of adventure as you kayak and trek through remote and pristine rainforest. Luxuriate in nature’s wonders cruising remote riverways by longboat. Experience the heartwarming pleasure of meeting people still grounded in a traditional way of life.
And take in natural scenery and wildlife of such magnificence that it will quite simply take your breath away in wonder.
Our tours enable you to connect with the locals, walk the path less travelled and have some flexibility and ‘down time’ not available in mainstream tour packages.
Tour includes:
Kuching experiences: Bako National Park(overnight), Semonggoh Wildlife Centre, kayaking.
Mulu National Park experiences: Show cave tour of Deer and Lang Cave, bat exodus, Clearwater Cave, Cave of Winds, Batu Bungan longhouse craft market, night walk and (optional) canopy skywalk.
Headhunters Trail experience: trekking, longboat rides, overnight at outcamp and longhouse.
Limbang: Market tour
Flights: Kuching-Mulu. Limbang-Kuching
Accommodation: Included
Meals: Breakfasts: All (10), Lunches (6) whilst trekking and on day excursions, Dinners (4) whilst trekking plus welcome and farewell dinners in Kuching.
Tour itinerary
Day 1
Welcome to Kuching
Enjoy a casual stroll city along Kuching’s waterfront and get your bearings on the sights, sounds and aromas of places worthy of a return visit during your stay.
We'll meet up around 4pm and head out to explore the tour together and enjoy a Welcome dinner atTop Spot, a legendary rooftop seafood market for dinner.
Let the adventures begin!
(D)
Day 2
Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary
and River Kayaking
Depart 8am for a full day of Borneo at its best. Kick start the day with a visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary to witness orangutans in a relatively natural setting.
Semenggoh was established more than 40 years ago as a rehabilitation center for endangered animals and now has expanded to become a research facility into orangutan biology and behavior, providing vital information to safeguard the orangutans’ precarious future.
Semenggoh also provides a successful breeding environment for orangutans unable to be rehabilitated into the wild.
We’ll have the chance to see the sanctuary’s semi-wild orangutans, ranging from heart-meltingly cute infants and boisterous adolescents to the powerful male adults, as they enjoy life in a secure natural habitat.
From Semenggoh we venture further out of the city to embark on a kayak journey along the Sungai Sarawak Kiri River, stopping at scenic locations for swimming, sightseeing and a traditional longhouse lunch at a Bidayuh Village. You’ll be amazed at the ambiance, pristine beauty and sense of isolation of this river, only an hour from the State capital.
(B,L)
Day 3
Bako National Park
Bako National Park is situated on a peninsula on the coast and the departure point for trips to the park is Bako Village, 35 minutes' drive from Kuching. Upon arrival, register at the park entrance before proceeding by boat for approximately 25 minutes to the park headquarters. En-route there is a chance to see crocodiles, sea eagles and other shore birds. Arrive at the park HQ, settle your accommodation. Begin exploring the trails and searching for wildlife with your guide. Lunch at the canteen and then continue to explore Bako. After dining at the park canteen, proceed on a night walk by torchlight (weather permissions).
Overnight at the park accommodation. (B,L & D)
Day 4
Bako National Park- Free Day
Following breakfast, hike one of the trails to spot rare migratory birds, reptiles, langurs and search for the rare and elusive proboscis monkey, a primate only found in Borneo. Lunch at the park before returning to Kuching by mid-afternoon.
This is your chance to enjoy Kuching at your own pace.
Take in the city on a bike tour, visit local markets, join a cooking class, visit Kuching's museums and temples or take it easy and indulge in a traditional massage.
(B,L)
Day 5
Mulu World Heritage Area
Pack your bags and get ready for the next leg of your journey as we fly into the heart of Borneo and Malaysia’s iconic World Heritage Area, Mulu National Park.
With no road into this area you can expect a pristine wilderness full of all the weird and wonderful things that awarded it UNESCO’s world heritage status in all four criteria.
Find yourself captivated by enchanting underworlds – enormous caves home to great flocks of bats that cloak the sky in darkness as they swirl through the heavens. Wander through misty rainforest viewing claws of jagged rock and jungle-cloaked mountain peaks through breaks in the jungle canopy.
Admire the riot of wildlife – from the tiny pigmy squirrel, to some of the largest insects on Earth. See exquisite orchids emerge from the dense leaf litter cloaking the jungle floor. Fall under the spell of this pulsing, breathing, living utopia.
Check in to your room and regroup before our afternoon/evening tour to Deer Cave and the bat exodus.
Take an easy 2.7 km trail to Lang and Deer Caves. As you saunter through the rainforest and by jungle steams your guide will regal you with captivating stories of the plants and wildlife you encounter, and the traditional roles and customs for people who live in the jungle.
Lang Cave is possibly the most stunning cave in Mulu with a low ceiling that makes spotting the swiftlet and bats nesting in the bell-holes easy.
It is adorned with lavishly decorated walls of shawls, layers of rim stone pools and spectacular stalagmites and stalactites.
Not far away is the jaw-dropping Deer Cave. With a cathedral-like cavern snaking two kilometres under the earth and a ceiling never lower than 90m high, Deer Cave is the biggest show-cave in the world.
Its cavernous reaches are also home to around three million wrinkle-lipped bats that emerge from the cave most evenings around sunset.
We time our walk to witness the phenomenon of these bats streaming from the cave entrance – a stand-out scene in David Attenborough’s Planet Earth series. Watching the bats swirl through the sky in meandering rivers of black is a truly heart-stopping experience.
From within the cave you can also visit the ‘Garden Of Eden’, one of the most pristine collapsed cave systems in the world.
Witness its dazzling beauty by peering through a 30-metre column of water streaming from above, like a giant shower for the jungle gods.
It will be late when we return and, although the pathway is lit, the scout and brownie guide rules of ‘be prepared’ are advisable in the jungle, so bring your torch.
(B)
Day 6
Visit a local longhouse handicraft market on the way to Clearwater Cave and a relaxing picnic at Clearwater Cave
We leave the park by longboat at 9.30am and travel up river stopping at Batu Bungan Craft Market. Here you can test your skills with a blowpipe, pick up some local crafts direct from the women who collect and weave the products or try your hand (or should we say nose!), with a Penan nose flute.
As we journey further up the river and out from under the forest canopy you’ll start to see the breathtaking beauty from a different perspective. Any boat ride on these rivers is like a meditation in nature and this one is no exception. You can’t help but feel alive, relaxed and complete as Mother Nature soothes your very soul with her beauty.
Next we travel through an intriguing underworld of cave passages, formed over two million years to create a winding network of tunnels snaking 220 kilometres under the earth.
First, we visit the Cave of Wind to enter the lavishly decorated halls of King Chamber, adorned with stalactites, stalagmites, flowrocks, helitites and rock corals.
From here we set out on a meandering boardwalk perched precariously along the cliffs to Clearwater Cave Picnic Area were we recharge with a light snack and refreshment before venturing through the ancient underground river passage of Clearwater Cave.
Free afternoon
Your accommodation s perched under forest canopy and embraced by a series of self-guided walks trails through the rainforest.
You may choose to walk, rest or swim. Here’s your chance to breathe out, ahhhh, you’re here, among one of the world’s most treasured natural environments.
7pm-9pm night-walk
In the evening we regroup for a leisurely night walk on the walk trails around camp headquarters. This two-hour guided tour will give you an insight into nocturnal jungle life.
Immerse yourself in the sounds of the rainforest, interpret the cacophony of jungle noises, watch the courtship dance of the firefly, search for luminescent fungi and scorpion and perhaps spot an elusive marsupial or two.
(B,L)
Day 7
Canopy Skywalk, Free Day
7am-9am Canopy Skywalk (optional)
Mulu boasted the longest tree based skywalk and stretched over 480m of rainforest canopy. his guided tour gives you the rare opportunity to see forest from a different perspective.
Free day
(B)
Day 8
Trekking
The Headhunters Trail
Morning
Spend the morning at your leisure. You may choose to offer more time to volunteer, take some downtime or sign up for a canopy skywalk.
Lunch-time departure for Camp 5.
Our last few days at Mulu allow you to journey even further into the remote heart of Borneo as we travel by longboat and remote trails along the historical Headhunters Trail of Borneo.
Averaging less than 200 visitors per year, the Headhunters Trail weaves through a pristine wilderness teeming with animals such as the samba deer, Borneo’s argus pheasant, a variety of monkeys and bird life including the rhinoceros hornbill.
Porters can be pre-booked to carry your backpack (up to 20kg) on request.
10km trek to Camp 5, at the Pinnacles.
Heading up river along the magnificent limestone cliffs of the Melinau formation, it’s time to prepare for our next adventure and the beginning of the Headhunters Trail.
We set off through flat jungle terrain on a 10km trek to Camp 5, the camp most popular for travellers embarking on the gruelling climb to the Pinnacles. The Pinnacles comprise a series of 45m high towers of limestone that piece through the jungle canopy in craggy towers of rock. Camp 5 is nestled at the base of the Pinnacles and alongside the dazzlingly clear waters of the Melinau River. Cool off with a dip under a nearby waterfall or chill out riverside before dinner.
For the super fit, adrenalin-charged traveller we can schedule a Pinnacles climb for you the day before. You’ll be able to share tales about your climb with your fellow travellers awaiting you back at camp, as you join together for your evening meal at Camp 5.
As Camp 5 houses up to 50 fellow travellers, most of whom are climbing the Pinnacles, it’s not unusual for late arrivals and early morning departures. We’ll sleep on basic mats in rooms allocated to 10 people per room.
(B,L,D)
Day 9
Headhunters Trail-Part II
- Limbang
We start the day early with a twelve kilometre trek enroute to Mentawai Rangers Station.
You’ll watch the vegetation change as we emerge from the darkness of the jungle and enter the heath-like kerangas forest where our longboats await.
Relax in the longboat and watch the forest skyline for your last sightings of hornbills and monkeys, or scan the riverbank for sun-baking water monitors.
We spend the night in the sleepy town of Limbang and venture out for dinner on the waterfront.
(B,L)
2026 : June 12-21
11 Days / 10 Nights
$3,300 Twin Share (single supplement $400)
Impressions from this Tour
Breath the fresh air and take in the sights on the way to Bako National Park, Kuching
Sunrise in Limbang!
Rise and shine to the enchanting call of the mosque and the vibrant buzz of the waterfront markets.
Dive into the lively morning markets along the river in Limbang before we hop on our flight back to Kuching.
We hope your final days exploring the less travelled areas of Sarawak are full of reflection on your incredible journey, the captivating wildlife and the stunning lands of Sarawak.
Let’s celebrate the friendships forged with fellow adventurers drawn to Borneo Ethical Adventures! Together, we've created unforgettable travel experiences that nourish our minds and souls, enriching the lives of travellers and the wonderful people we meet along the way.
Time to check in at the Ranee, relax, and gear up for our farewell dinner and final night on tour.
(B,D)
Day 10
Limbang-Kuching
End of tour
We look forward to sharing this world with you.
(B)
Day 11