The proboscis monkey
Found only on Borneo, and easy to see here.
Joshua Stitt joshrobbie — CC0 · Huettepe — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Thomas Quine — CC BY 2.0 · Thomas Quine — CC BY 2.0
Sarawak's oldest national park, founded in 1957 at the tip of a peninsula where the Bako and Kuching rivers meet the sea, about forty kilometres from the city. It is small, some twenty-seven square kilometres, yet it holds rainforest, mangroves, sandy bays and cliffs carved by the waves into strangely shaped sea arches and stacks. The great draw is the proboscis monkey, found only on Borneo and seen here fairly easily near the park headquarters and on the beaches, along with bearded pigs, macaques and carnivorous pitcher plants. The park has sixteen marked trails of different lengths, from half an hour to a full day. Bako can only be reached by boat: a crossing of about twenty minutes from the jetty at Bako village to the headquarters beach, with the boat fare paid separately at the jetty. Park entry is about twenty ringgit for foreign adults and seven for children aged 6 to 18, and pre-registration on the Sarawak Forestry website is required. Set off early from Kuching to arrive before the heat, and ask about the tides, which affect the boats. Beware of the macaques, which snatch food and bags, so keep your things closed. The famous cobra-head sea stack collapsed in 2024.
Found only on Borneo, and easy to see here.
Rocks carved by the waves along the shore.
From half an hour to a full day.
Muara Tebas peninsula; boats from Bako village, about 40 km from Kuching
Yes for most visitors: a morning boat, a trail or two and the monkeys near headquarters, then back in the afternoon. For longer trails or a night walk you can stay in the park lodges, booked ahead.