Where to See Orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra: Best Locations for Wildlife Enthusiasts
The best place to see orangutans is the WILD.
Discover where the best places are to see orangutans in the wild that too with information on where you should be in Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan, and Sumatra. Read on for more information in our guide to the best place to see orangutans in the wild.
Most of the travelers visit different rehabilitation sanctuaries in Borneo and Sumatra to see orangutans. However, there are a lot of places to see orangutans in their NATURAL habitat, as well, if you go for a real safari with deep jungle tracking or together with a river cruise.
These are the best places to see orangutans in the wild we have in our guide. Orangutans are only native to two islands in the world one of them is the Indonesian Island of Sumatra and the other one is in Borneo, which is split between Indonesia and Malaysia. Deforestation is one of the main things that are endangering these species and so there are sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers all over Sumatra and Borneo, rescuing the animals, healing them, and taking care of them, like parenting orangutans. Moreover, there are also numerous national parks and wildlife reserves where orangutans are living their wild lives without any interference. Sabah can be considered as the hot spot for wild orangutans. It has national parks, reserves, and conservation areas with varied levels of infrastructure, depending on how ‘wild’ you like your wilderness. There is ample accommodation, hiking tracks, walkways, and suspended canopy walks – besides the chance to see wildlife from a klotok (small wooden boat) boat. This is the key reason why most tourists come here to see the wild orangutans.
It’s not only that the odds of seeing them are quite high but there are nine other species of primate that you can look out for, such as proboscis monkeys and gibbons.
You may be fortunate if you come across pygmy elephants as well. There are indeed lots of nice, though bare-bones, accommodation options – but the best thing about Kinabatangan is that the majority of safaris are by boat.
Floating alongside the river during the twilight, hearing the forest come to life, and searching for orangutans in the vegetation is an amazing animal-sporting experience.
Where to See Orangutans in Borneo: Choosing Between the Diverse Habitats of Malaysian and Indonesian Regions
The first time you spot an orangutan in nature, it is almost for sure because you are in Borneo. There are many different smells and the strong sounds of the rainforest around you – gibbons calling and cicadas singing. It is a big deal for the students to be here and to watch the monkeys having a wonderful time among the trees. The question of where exactly in Borneo may be a bit unclear if I may say so.
The island is part of Malaysia and part of Indonesia (with little Brunei wedged in the northern section). Merging the two into one in a similar way to orangutan traveling isn’t simple either. If you are not able to give a lot of time, I think it is better to focus on one country.
The northern part may have snow-capped peaks, the southern part may have beautiful natural scenes and I will not your side.
Rather, I am transferring my assessments of which locations will be more CONVENIENT for watching the Malaysian and Indonesian orangutans.
Apart from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah in the north, most of the island is Kalimantan, part of Indonesia. For setting up an itinerary based on the wild Sabah is a PERFECT place for the very reason that it has a variety of wildlife hubs within the area. The locations in question are the Danum Valley, the Kinabatangan River, the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, the Deramakot, and the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.
Semenggoh in Sarawak serves as a refuge for orangutans, where one can only see them rarely in their natural habitat. On the other hand, it gives a more comprehensive trip as well – for example, you could have a homestay in an Iban community. Malaysians can now choose to stay in both Sarawak and Sabah where they will see the orangutans of Borneo besides the chance of using the airlines’ flexibility in Malaysian Borneo, around the island.
Finally, Tanjung Puting in Kalimantan is a more ADVENTUROUS place. Such the bridge is Bung Hulu Muntok which fits into an island-hopping journey across Indonesia, especially a trip that combines Java and Kalimantan. The only other island where you can look at live orangutans in the wild is Indonesian Sumatra, the island southwest of Borneo. You could combine your time here and Kalimantan together in a grand tour of Indonesia. Sepilok is located just outside Sandakan, which probably would be the most reasonable option for you to fly into Sabah. It offers the initial experience with them before you take the journey into the jungle.
Here you get a chance to almost be certain to witness rescued young and adult individuals up close.
Your visit begins with a short video that is directly related to the orangutans’ way of life and the difficult situations they have to overcome in order to survive. There’s a great exhibition to linger over too, however, the main point is represented by the orangutans one at a time swinging in through the trees, receiving their daily banana ration from the keepers.
You can stay at the neighborhood inn in that case to watch the morning meal.
Where to See Orangutans in Borneo: Discovering Tanjung Puting National Park’s Rich Biodiversity
Evidently, you may have visited a local zoo, or, rope course to see elephants stuck in doing that, but seeing them majestically roam free in Indonesia is called probably a real deal for you.
Of two species, orangutans inhabit the earth and the two species are indigenous to the Southeast Asian region.
Bornean orangutans inhabit Borneo Island while their pale kin with slightly longer fur, Sumatran Orangutans inhabit Sumatra Island. Meanwhile, As per your preference, your visit can include all sorts of tours, national parks, and rehabilitation and conservation centers in which you get to interact closely with this UNIQUE species in Borneo.
Here are our favorite places to spot orangutans in the wild without interrupting their way of life. As orangutan numbers decrease more and more, it’s important to choose an experience that doesn’t cause harm.
Making sure you’re a part of a LEGITIMATE ecotourism experience means that not only will you get to experience nature and culture with little environmental impact, but your local guide will teach and engage you in discussions about the local environmental issues.
In Borneo, orangutans have been declared CRITICALLY ENDANGERED – and their numbers are shrinking faster than we can save them. We’ve recommended these five national parks because they all provide fantastic options to explore the natural home of the Bornean orangutan without upsetting their remaining habitat.
Where to See Orangutans in Borneo: Discovering Prime Locations for Wildlife Watching
The best places to see wild orangutans in Borneo are the Kinabatangan River, Danum Valley, Deramakot, Tabin Wildlife Reserve, and Batang Ai. Seeing an orangutan in its natural habitat is one of the best wildlife experiences you can have in Borneo.
This guide will help you answer that question.
It focuses on destinations in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak where you have a good chance of seeing this FASCINATING animal.
There are around 11,000 orangutans in Sabah and 1,600 in Sarawak.In our view, the five best places to see orangutans in the wild are the following: So, where is the best location for you?? The decision will be taken after a few factors come in; The following will tell the summary of each of the locations soon. Looking for orangutans on the Menanggul River, a branch of the Kinabatangan River. The Kinabatangan River is the best place to see a wild orangutan in all the locations in Sabah and Sarawak.
By taking a Kinabatangan river tour that lasts for three or four days, you are almost certain to see an orangutan along with a wide variety of other endangered wildlife such as pygmy elephants and proboscis monkeys. That is why the Kinabatangan River is the best wildlife-watching location in Southeast Asia. On the other hand, it also signifies that the splitting of habitats has been a major problem in this region of Sabah.
On a Kinabatangan safari, you will see an array of oil palm plantations, degraded habitats, and protected forests.
The estimation of the number of orangutans living in the Lower Kinabatangan River comes to 1,100. As opposed to other places which might involve rainforest trekking and searching for orangutans, wildlife watching on the Kinabatangan is from the boats.
It’s the most convenient and relaxing and you do not have to be fit. It is the best place, right here, where people, both, the old and the young, can observe orangutans.
It is a perfect place for a family with small children and for anyone who has limited mobility in the forest. Different types of dwelling such as arrangements for low-cost guest houses and homestays to luxurious lodges enable all kinds of visitors to stay there so it is a place for everyone on any budget.
The majority of these holiday centers are situated between Sukau and Bilit, a small number are located at Abai. Kinabatangan is a budget friendly location that takes the top spot among the five destinations.
The orangutans are often seen at oxbow reservoirs plus along the main river and its inflows are also tracked by the Menanggul River during all the tours when the proboscis monkeys are.