Borneo Rainforest Lodge
31 chalets and villas
Stay beside the Danum River with a 300-metre canopy walkway; construction runs from 1 January 2025 to 22 January 2027.
- 31 chalets and villas
- 300-metre canopy walkway
- High-end gastronomy
Sabah's lodge network
The Wildlife Lodges of Sabah
This guide compares rainforest lodges, river camps and island resorts across Sabah. Choose the right base for your wildlife interests and learn how the regions connect.
Accommodation styles
Rainforest and river bases
Sabah offers a network of wildlife bases that range from air-conditioned villas with plunge pools to working scientific stations and community-run river camps. Explore trails and canopy walkways in Danum Valley, or watch the Kinabatangan riverbanks from electric-motor boats as you travel between regions.
Most lodges are small to minimise their footprint and are located hours from the nearest town. They offer full-board dining and scheduled activities led by resident naturalist guides.
Premium lodges offer 24-hour power, en-suite climate control and extensive facilities. Riverside lodges provide quiet safari bases; research stations and eco-camps offer extensive trails and opportunities to see scientists at work.
Wildlife targets
Regions by travel interest
Danum Valley
Explore 438 square kilometres of unlogged rainforest from chalets or research stations.
The Kinabatangan
Take river safaris from lower mangrove lodges or community-run camps.
Tabin
Take night drives for small cats where Tabin borders palm plantations.
The islands
Combine rainforest stays with island resorts and reef diving off Semporna and Sandakan.
Routes and stays
Flights connect Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Lahad Datu. Allow at least 3 nights per region to explore different habitats.
Sabah lodges
Where you will stay
Accommodation ranges from premium lodges with extensive facilities to working research stations and off-grid camps managed by local communities.
Danum Valley Study Centre
50 kilometres of trails
Walk over 50 kilometres of marked trails from a working scientific station equipped with a 33-metre canopy observation tower.
- Working scientific station
- 33-metre canopy observation tower
- Over 50 kilometres of trails
Sukau Rainforest Lodge
20 luxury villas
Watch the riverbanks from electric-motor boats and look for wildlife from a boardwalk featuring dedicated elephant passes.
- 20 luxury villas
- Electric-motor riverboats
- Hornbill Boardwalk with elephant passes
Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort
20 luxury chalets
Relax in one of 20 luxury chalets among the mangroves at Abai on the lower Kinabatangan.
- 20 luxury chalets
- Lower estuarine mangroves
- River safaris
Tabin Wildlife Resort
Regenerating forest boundary
Look for small cats on night drives along the boundary where regenerating forest borders oil palm plantations.
- Regenerating forest boundary
- Night drives for small cats
- Base for spotting nocturnal specialists
Time required
Lodge itineraries
Every region earns at least 3 nights to ensure you see the habitats at different times of day. A 4-day and 3-night stay at Borneo Rainforest Lodge is the standard. The Kinabatangan requires a minimum of 3 nights. Splitting the stay between the mangroves of Abai and the dipterocarp forests of Sukau ensures access to all target species. The team confirms the stay and dive package needed to guarantee a Sipadan permit for your dates.
Wildlife targets
Regions by travel interest
Choose regions around your wildlife interests. The Kinabatangan is excellent for observing wild orangutans; Danum Valley offers a chance to see them in unlogged primary forest.
Accommodation styles
Ways to stay
Rates on enquiry: no prices are published.
The Danum Essential
Spend 4 days and 3 nights at Borneo Rainforest Lodge exploring trails and the canopy walkway in unlogged lowland rainforest.
EnquireRiverside Slow
Split 3 nights between Abai's mangroves and Sukau's dipterocarp forests to access all target species.
EnquireDanum Intensive
Combine rainforest and reefs; arrange Sipadan permits through the right resort dive package.
Enquire
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Danum Valley is good all year with April and May being the least wet. The Kinabatangan is best from April to August when drier conditions concentrate elephants on the riverbanks.
Fly between Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau. Lodge-arranged private transport connects Danum Valley with Lahad Datu and the Kinabatangan.
Travel and health insurance is advised for any visit to Sabah. Cover that includes emergency evacuation is sensible in places as remote as Danum Valley and the Kinabatangan.
Unescorted walking is prohibited at Borneo Rainforest Lodge. You must travel outside the lodge grounds with your assigned guide. The Study Centre allows researchers more freedom but standard visitors rely on the guiding team.
Regional travel
Connecting the regions
The distances are long so flying between Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau is usually the better choice. Private transport organised by the lodges connects Lahad Datu to Danum Valley and the Kinabatangan to Danum Valley. The team arranges travel and coordinates the private transport and domestic flights that connect them.
Alternative bases
Nearby and combinations
Choose Borneo Rainforest Lodge for premium comfort, the Study Centre for research trails, Sukau for riverside villas, Abai for mangrove chalets or Tabin for night drives targeting small cats.
Primary rainforest
Plan your Sabah wildlife itinerary
Tell the team which wildlife you want to observe and they will connect the right rainforest lodges, river camps and island resorts across Sabah.