Flagship eco-lodge in Sukau

Sukau Rainforest Lodge

Set back 100 feet from the Kinabatangan River in Sabah's lower floodplain, Sukau Rainforest Lodge is an exceptional eco-lodge known for its silent electric boats and resident orangutans.

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Flagship eco-lodge in Sukau

The riverside property and facilities

Set back 30 metres from the Kinabatangan River, the lodge stands on 1.5-metre stilts connected by an extensive network of wooden boardwalks. You explore the surrounding jungle in silent electric boats before returning to 24-hour solar power and air-conditioned rooms. Three resident wild orangutans rest in the canopy above the property, so you can start spotting wildlife from the boardwalks on your first afternoon.

Sukau Rainforest Lodge opened in 1995 and has evolved into one of the Kinabatangan's most comfortable bases. Your stay comes as a safari package with meals, river cruises and transfers.

The physical setting is a lesson in low-impact design. The lodge sits outside the sensitive riparian reserve to prevent soil erosion and the raised construction isolates the rooms from the ground. In March 2026, the property activated a new solar panel grid that provides 24-hour power across the site. This drastically cuts reliance on diesel generators and keeps the forest quiet. There is free Wi-Fi in the public areas and the premium villas; mobile reception is weak across the property.

Choose Sukau Rainforest Lodge for wildlife photography or a family rainforest stay with comfortable rooms and expert guiding. It is exceptionally well set up for guests with limited mobility; the extensive boardwalks and the team's dedicated assistance make it a rare find for wheelchair users who want to explore the rainforest.

Why stay here

Our view of Sukau

This is a highly polished operation that brings you remarkably close to the forest. The guiding is exceptional and the decision to use electric outboard motors on the river changes the entire safari. You can drift silently under overhanging trees without spooking the wildlife or shouting over a two-stroke engine. The extensive boardwalks also make this one of the most accessible jungle lodges in Borneo by completely removing the need to navigate uneven terrain.

Located in Sukau on

Located in Sukau on the Lower Kinabatangan, 2.5 hours from Sandakan.

Choose from 40 longhouse-style

Choose from 40 longhouse-style Deluxe Rooms and standalone Borneo Villas.

Take river wildlife cruises

Take river wildlife cruises on low-noise electric outboard motors.

Walk the Hornbill Boardwalk

Walk the Hornbill Boardwalk into the canopy for unguided birding.

A comfortable river base

A comfortable river base for couples and wildlife photographers.

Rooms

Standalone villas and longhouse rooms

Borneo Villas

Introduced in 2018, these 20 units are the premium tier. They are built as standalone pairs along a dedicated boardwalk to offer excellent privacy. Each villa is 32 square metres. The spacious layout gives you a choice of twin beds or a Queen-sized bed. The interior decor uses local Nyatoh hardwood furniture and incorporates unique Borneo-themed motifs. The defining feature is the private outdoor balcony and sun deck separated from the bedroom by a mosquito-netted sliding screen. You also get a study desk, complimentary minibar drinks and in-room Wi-Fi. Villas 3 and 4 are structurally designated as wheelchair-friendly.

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Deluxe Rooms

These 20 rooms sit side by side in a traditional Bornean longhouse. They are slightly more compact at 26 square metres with the same bedding choices. Instead of an open balcony, the Deluxe Rooms feature a private indoor sunroom equipped with a lounge bench and mosquito-netted windows to give you a climate-controlled view of the trees. The longhouse layout makes these rooms a practical choice for families or groups who want to stay close together. The final phase of refurbishment for these rooms was completed in February 2025.

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Dining

Dining and evenings at Sukau

All your meals are included in the lodge package. Meals are served family-style or buffet-style at the open-air Melapi Restaurant beside the river. You get a full breakfast, a prepared lunch and dinner alongside afternoon tea and snacks. The food receives excellent feedback for its variety and quality.

To eliminate single-use plastics, the lodge provides unlimited free drinking water from dispensers in the public areas so you need to bring a refillable bottle.

The evenings revolve around the night cruises and the open-air Gecko Lounge and Gomantong Hall. Because the communal areas are designed for natural air circulation rather than being sealed behind glass, they stay comfortable under the ceiling fans. In-house naturalists often deliver interpretive talks on orangutan conservation after dinner. The Attenborough Boardwalk extends deeply into the canopy behind the lodge. It provides a safe trekking route and preserves the trees as a natural wildlife corridor.

From your doorstep

What a day here holds

The Danum Valley Canopy Walkway

Suspended 27 metres above the primary rainforest floor, the Borneo Rainforest Lodge canopy walkway is a 360-metre structure anchored directl

Danum Valley Night Safaris

A night drive is the best way to see the rainforest mammals that sleep through the heat of the day. This guide explains how the drives work,

Guided Treks and Trails

The trails at Danum Valley run deep into a ancient primary rainforest. They are hot, humid and root-choked and they offer a way of seeing th

The Sabah Birding Circuit

The classic Sabah birding circuit connects the montane forests of Mount Kinabalu with the lowland dipterocarps of Danum Valley. This guide e

Kinabatangan River

The Kinabatangan floodplain holds the highest concentration of wildlife in Borneo. This is where you go to track orangutans and proboscis mo

Wildlife you may see

Keep your binoculars close

Sightings are wild and never guaranteed: that is the point. These are the residents your guides will be listening for.

This segment of the river supports an extraordinary concentration of wildlife. The river environment here is characterised by a transition from tidal mangrove systems into seasonally flooded freshwater swamp and riparian mixed dipterocarp forests. Despite historical timber extraction, the habitat sustains extraordinarily high concentrations of biodiversity. Bornean orangutans are seen on most stays and the highly broken canopy forces them to cross clearings or walk on the ground to access isolated forest patches. The lodge itself acts as a micro-habitat. The lodge's 3 resident wild orangutans named Lucky, Day and Hope are seen on most stays resting in the canopy directly above the boardwalks.

Birding at Sepilok and the Rainforest Discovery Centre

Birding the canopy at Danum

The Sabah Birding Circuit

How a Birding Day Runs at Danum Valley

Bornean Ground Cuckoo

Helmeted Hornbill

Packages

Ways to stay

Rates on enquiry, no prices are published.

Borneo Rainforest Lodge · 3D2N

The Danum Essential

2 nights at the flagship lodge: the canopy walkway at dawn, a night drive, and dinner beside the river.

Full board · on enquiry

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Private · 1 week · Photography

Danum Intensive

A private week across the Lodge and the Study Centre: hides, flexible dawn starts and a vehicle that waits for the light.

Full board · on enquiry

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Browse all packages

Photo gallery

Video gallery

Before you pack

The raised boardwalks keep you completely off the forest floor so you will rarely encounter a leech while walking around the property. If you choose to do any off-boardwalk trekking in the area, leech socks are sensible.

No. The rooms are fitted with universal electrical sockets that accept international plugs and output at the standard 230/240 volts.

Yes. The Gomantong Caves are an easy overland excursion from the lodge. The exodus of over 1 million Wrinkle-lipped bats at dusk is spectacular and it attracts hunting Bat hawks and Peregrine falcons.

Yes. Infants and toddlers aged 3 and below stay free and the longhouse layout of the Deluxe Rooms is ideal for families who need to stay adjacent. The raised walkways also make it very safe for children to move around the lodge.

It is a mandatory federal tax per room per night for foreign nationals. It is not included in the prepaid package and must be settled when you check out; the lodge prefers cash.

How to get there

The journey is part of it

Transfers are included in your package and usually start from Sandakan. You have 2 main choices. The overland route is a 129-kilometre drive through the plantations in a Wi-Fi-enabled vehicle. The journey ends with a 5-minute boat hop from the Sukau jetty. The alternative is a 2.5-hour direct speedboat cruise departing from the Sandakan Yacht Club at 1:30pm. This acts as your first wildlife viewing session. Pick-ups or drop-offs outside of the Sandakan Airport or standard Sandakan town areas incur a surcharge.

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Extend the journey

Nearby & combinations

Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort: An exceptional luxury option further downstream in Abai surrounded by untouched mangroves and firefly colonies. Bilit: If you want a slightly simpler standard lodge experience further upriver near the oxbow lakes. Borneo Rainforest Lodge: If you want primary rainforest, a canopy walkway and a spa deep inside the Danum Valley Conservation Area (a construction and expansion project runs 1 January 2025 to 22 January 2027 adding 9 chalets).

Combination trips Read: A day at Danum

Plan your trip

Check dates at Sukau Rainforest Lodge

Plan your Kinabatangan river safaris with us and we will coordinate your transfers, guides and stay at Sukau Rainforest Lodge.

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Sources referenced on this page: Sabah Parks, Sabah Wildlife Department.