Explore
Sandakan

Beyond the city, nature takes over. Just 40 minutes from town, Sepilok is home to one of the world’s richest orangutan rehabilitation centres, where families come face to face with Sabah’s most iconic wildlife. Further along the Kinabatangan River, the landscape opens into a living documentary. Birdlife fills the sky, proboscis monkeys move through the trees, crocodiles rest along the banks, sun bear in the morning and if you are lucky, elephants appear at dusk. Days here are unhurried. Lunch in Sandakan, an afternoon with orangutans, river sightings into the evening, and night walks that reveal a different rhythm altogether. Many guests choose to stay longer, five days or more, because Sandakan rewards time.

Today, Sandakan is recognized as a world-class gateway to nature, famously featured by National Geographic as a premier destination for wildlife and conservation. From the banks of the Kinabatangan River to the sanctuaries of Sepilok, the region’s biodiversity has earned it a place on global itineraries like the National Geographic Expeditions, and it even hosted the Sukau Rainforest Lodge as a “National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World.” Safer, calmer, and deeply family-friendly, the town is anchored by a strong naval presence and a community that has lived here for generations. It is a place where parents step out and stroll at the waterfront, children look closer, and stories feel real.