Fascinating Sabah - Four days in Sepilok
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Sepilok
Sepilok is a small town in Sabah on Borneo, Malaysia, and home to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC). It is a hub to tours to the Kinabatangan river and its surrounding areas. After snorkeling for about a week around Mabul, Sipadan and Semporna, I flew from Tawau Airport into Sandakan and took a Grab to Sepilok, where I stayed at the Sepilok Jungle Resort for a few nights to fully experience the bornean rainforest and its inhabitants.
The Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok is an environmental education and eco-tourism facility. Managed by the Sabah Forestry Department, it is renowned for its immersive canopy walk and serves as a major hub for birdwatching and rainforest conservation.
Calling Sepilok a town seems a bit of an exaggeration: Its a few houses of locals scattered here and there along a long road leading up to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Sun Bear Conservation Centre with resorts in between for nature-lovers searching for wildlife.
There is only one reason to go to Sepilok: the jungle and its wildlife. Sepilok is surrounded by jungle - and never ending palm oil plantations. There are no shops, no bars (besides the one in your rainforest lodge which closes at 10 pm), heck, there isn’t even an ATM in Sepilok! If you run out of cash, you will have to take a taxi to Sandakan and withdrawl your money there. And you need cash because it is not everywhere possible to pay with card, e.g. at the Rainforest Discovery Centre, they only accept cash. So check before, what activities are included in your tour package, where you want to visit and if they accept card or just cash.
When to go and where to stay?
Sepilok Jungle Resort is situated in a beautiful tropical garden where you can observe wildlife, such as frogs, kingfishers and slow lorises.
There are many different lodges around Sepilok and in the end, it is more a question of your budget regarding where to stay. Borneo ain’t cheap as a travel destination, especially during peak season for wildlife watching in July and August. During off-season, prices are much lower (sometimes as much as ten times lower) but chances to see wildlife get very slim. It is not advised to visit Sabah during the Monsoon season which lasts from October through March. Heavy rainfalls and rough seas make it dangerous to travel. And let me tell you: the rainfalls are absolutely crazy. I was there during dry season in July and August and even then, some rain is normal in Sabah. I have never experienced such heavy rainfalls in my whole life! I I can only guess how heavy the rainfalls must be during wet season. When I had to go to the airport from Semporna to Tawau to catch my flight to Sandakan, the taxi could only move at walking speed and my flight was delayed for more than an hour due to the heavy rain.
There is a pool in Sepilok Jungle Resort to take a refreshing dip.
I stayed at the Sepilok Jungle Resort and was very happy with my choice. The hotel is situated in an amazing rainforest-garden, with lakes, little creeks and a pool to swim in. Many animals can already be observed in their garden, such as kingfishers, slow lorises, tree frogs or monkeys. Sepilok Jungle Resort offers full tour packages with Kinabtangan wildlife watching and visits to Selingan Turtle Island. However, I personally like to put my own trip together, so I just stayed there for four nights to visit the three centres in Sepilok. Just make sure to book in advance because places are limited and they will fill up quickly. I booked my trip for July and August in February and e.g. Selingan Turtle Island was already completely booked by then.
Also Sepilok Nature Lodge has a lovely little lake where you can enjoy your meals and observe animals.
I had dinner at Sepilok Nature Lodge and lunch at Sepilok Forest Edge Resort, both also very nice places to stay with good food. As for food, I can also recommend the White House Bistro on the way to Rainforest Discovery Centre. Their staff is nice and they have great food. Try their buttermilk chicken! It gets a bit crowded at night because many of the participants of the night walks in RDC will stop there for dinner.
If you prefer staying in a bigger town, stay in Sandakan and take a day trip or two to Sepilok to visit the three different centres. I stayed at Hotel Sandakan, which is in walking distance to the harbour, Pasar Umum Sandakan (the central market of Sandakan), Harbour Mall Sandakan, many restaurants and a 24-hour laundry service, which can be super useful when you need to wash your clothes between one jungle tour and the next (like I did).
What to do in Sepilok
Tourist from allover the world come to Sepilok to visit the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), or as a stop between jungle tours. In Sepilok itself, these three centres are the main attraction.
Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SOURC)
An orangutan at SOURC enjoying his breakfast.
Orangutans are one of the world’s most endangered primates, sharing 96% similarities in DNA with humans. The Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre’s (SOURC) primary mission is to rehabilitate and provide a safe haven for orphaned, injured and displaced orangutans. SOURC was established in 1964 to rehabilitate orphaned orangutans and in the meantime has grown to 43 km2 inside the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. Visitors move along walkways in the forest, and may observe the orangutans in the trees as well as on the feeding platforms. The orangutans are fed a monotonous diet by the centre, which encourages them to forage for themselves. Feeding times are at 10 am and 3 pm (check SOURC website for opening hours, feeding times and admission fees).
When visiting SOURC, expect more of a zoo than orangutans in the wild. The orangutans are kind of used to humans and big crowds, so they are not very shy and will happily go and fetch their food on the feeding platforms. However you will be standing there with dozens if not hundreds of other tourists, fighting for a good spot to see them. If you want to see them in the wild, you have to book at tour through Kinabatang Wildlife Sanctuary. I personally would not visit SOURC again due to the crowds and the zoo-like felling, but they do amazing work by rescuing orphaned and injured orangutans, many victims of deforestation or illegal pet trade, and give them the chance to relearn the survival skills their mothers would have taught them in the wild. The money the tourists bring to the centre directly helps these beautiful animals. Their work (and your money!) is crucial for the survival of the species. And since it is a lottery to see an orangutan in the wild, you will for sure see them at SOURC! So do not skip a visit to the centre and enjoy watching these beautiful creatures!
Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC)
A sun bear chilling in a tree at BSBCC.
Right across of the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SOURC) is the Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), much less crowded than SOURC, but very informative and educational. Established in 2008 by wildlife biologist Dr. Wong Siew Te, the centre is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation of these diminutive bears, often victims of deforestation and the illegal pet trade. Visitors can observe the bears from platforms and boardwalks.
In 2025, the centre housed 42 rescued sun bears and is involved in broader conservation efforts, including the Tabin Sun Bear Project and Sabah's 10-year Bornean Sun Bear Action Plan. You can read about the heartbreaking rescue stories of each sun bear living at BSBCC and learn their names at the centre. Some bears were mistaken as dogs by locals, kept in inadequate conditions and rescued BSBCC. The centre also aims to educate the public about the challenges sun bears face, raise awareness about their conservation, and carry out research.
I personally enjoyed BSBCC very much. It was very informative and educational. Sun bears lead an arboreal lifestyle, being excellent climbers. They love to sunbath or slip in trees up to 7 m above the ground. If you are lucky you might be able to observe these intelligent animals up close when they climb on the tall trees near the canopy walks.
Every Ringgit you spend at BSBCC goes directly into helping these intelligent animals. A visit to BSBCC can easily be comined with the visit to SOURC.
Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC)
The canopy walks and observation towers at RDC bring visitors to eye level with the treetops.
The Rainforest Discovery Centre is my personal favorite out of the three centres in Sepilok. RDC is within walking distance from the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Bornean Sunbear Conservation Centre. The main highlight is the skywalk with an extensive lenght of 620 meters, the longest in Sabah. Visitors can walk along this canopy walks and climb observation towers at eye level with the treetops, offering panoramic views of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. There are also many trails on the ground through the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve leading to the Sepilok Giant, a 65 m tall tree estimated to be around 900 years old, to the suspension bridge leading over RDC’s lake and to the plant discovery garden, featuring displays on native and hybrid orchids, arid land plants, aquatic plants, pitcher-plants, economic crops, and tropical American plants, etc. They also have an exhibition hall, where you can learn about the rainforest and the wildlife in Borneo.
Monkeys at RDC. Be careful, they can get quite aggressive!
Pitcher plant in the plant discovery garden at RDC.
There are several observation towers, perfect for birdwatching.
RDC is a birder’s paradise! I saw my first hornbill in Malaysia in RDC. Many other animals such as monkeys, squirrels, stick insects, scorpions, frogs and snakes can be observed at RDC. I can warmly recommend the night walks that RDC offer because many animals you will only see at dusk or at night.
Funnily enough, I did all the canopy walks and the jungle trails, but I saw most animals inside and around the plant discovery garden, all more or less at the same place. I was taking pictures of a stick insect while trying to stay away from a dominat macaque male protecting his ladies, while hornbills were flying from one branch to the next.
The suspension bridge over the lake at RDC. There are paddle boats that can be rent.
If you stay longer than just one day in Sepilok, make sure to participate at one of their night walks, to witness the lively nocturnal creatures that come out after sunset. RDC’s expert guides will take you on thrilling night walk through the trails and the skywalk, where you will discover the diverse flora and fauna that thrive in the darkness. Especially during peak season in July and August, pre-book your night walk. I had to book mine a day later than I actually wanted to go because it was already full.
The guides know exactly where the animals live and they will guide you at the right time to the right spot. We could observe the Red Giant Flying Squirrel coming out of his den, launching itself from a tree and glide over the rainforest. Our guide showed us a scorpion glowing in the dark, we discovered a Bornean Keeled Pit Viper, different tree frogs, sleeping birds as well as slow lorises. You will learn a lot about the rainforest and the wildlife.
If you miss the night walk at RDC, check with your lodge. Many lodges offer night walks too. Sepilok Jungle Resort organizes night walks a few nights a week. We just walked through the resort’s garden and saw as many animals as at RDC.
A tree frog enjoying a little big of nightely rain.
The sleeping birds are not bothered by the light and noise.
A beautiful Bornean Keeled Pit Viper chilling on a branch.
More about Sabah, Borneo
Into the wild - Wildlife cruising at the Oxbow lake in Lamag
Hiking and snorkeling in Sabah, Borneo - Dohey Bulang, Mantabuan and Sibuan
Peninsular Malaysia and its small islands
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