Sabah
This small reserve has forested hills rising dramatically from the surrounding plain. If getting into the Maliau Basin or Danum Valley feels like too much…
Must-see attractions in Sabah
Sabah
This hill, 2km north of the Batuh Putih bridge, features three caves housing the ancestors of local Orang Sungai (People of the River). Because the…
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Sabah
Borneo's loveliest beach is a long, almost-pristine stretch of white sand, lapped at by clear waters. The waves are gentle and great for swimming. You…
Sabah
Imagine a cathedral-like inner chamber shot with splinters of sunlight and a cave floor swarming with cockroaches, and you have the Gomantong Caves. The…
Kota Kinabalu
About 2km south of the city centre, this museum provides an introduction to Sabah's indigenous cultures, with displays focusing on the traditional attire,…
Kota Kinabalu
With its three-hour tours, Mari Mari showcases various traditional homes of Sabahan ethnic communities – the Bajau, Lundayeh, Murut, Rungus and Dusun –…
Sandakan
This atmospheric two-storey colonial villa, Newlands, tells the story of American writer Agnes Keith and her British husband Harry, the Conservator of…
Kota Kinabalu
Monsopiad is named after a legendary warrior and headhunter. The highlight of this tacky but fun place is the House of Skulls, which supposedly contains…
Kota Kinabalu
Built in classical style, this mosque is far more attractive than the State Mosque in both setting and design. Completed in 2000 it can hold up to 12,000…
Kota Kinabalu
This centre features 1.4km of wooden walkways passing through a 24-hectare mangrove swamp, where you can expect to see scuttling fiddler and mangrove…
Kota Kinabalu
Sabah's State Mosque is a perfect example of contemporary Malay Muslim architecture: all modernist facade and geometric angles. The building is south of…
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Sabah
Near the top of the Crocker Range, next to the main highway, 20km north of Tambunan, this park is devoted to the world's largest flower. The Rafflesia…
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Sandakan
A beautiful rainforest garden marks the site of a Japanese POW camp and the starting point for the infamous WWII 'death marches' to Ranau. Of the 1793…
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Sabah
About 15km northeast of Tenom and originally set up as an orchid centre, this vast park has become a major research facility and tourist attraction,…
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Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park
Sabah
The islands of Manukan, Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik and Sulug, and the reefs in between, make up the 49-sq-km Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Only a short boat…
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Sabah
Bukit Belanda – Dutch Hill – is a 420m hill located behind the village of Bilit. The land is owned by the citizens of Bilit, who, despite pressures from…
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Sabah
Well worth a peek, this museum showcasing traditional Dusun culture is located inside a traditional bamboo dwelling. Inside you'll find antique Chinese…
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Mt Kinabalu & Kinabalu National Park
At Kundasang, beside the KK–Ranau Hwy, 10km east of Kinabalu National Park headquarters, is this poignant memorial conceived in 1961. It commemorates the…
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Sabah
Pulau Kuraman, Pulau Rusukan Kecil and Pulau Rusukan Besar are uninhabited islands lying southwest of Labuan that are now protected by the federal…
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Sandakan
Sandakan's Chinese Cemetery is huge. As you wander along the cemetery, you'll notice the graves become older and more decrepit – many have been claimed by…
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Sabah
A pretty tea plantation huddles in the mountains near Ranau, producing the famous Sabah Tea. Contact the garden to arrange tours of both the plantation…
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Che Sui Khor Moral Uplifting Society
Kota Kinabalu
About four minutes' drive northeast of KK, this complex has an 11-storey pagoda that shimmers in orange and green. The society espouses believing in the…
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Signal Hill Observatory Platform
Kota Kinabalu
Up on Signal Hill, among the art deco mansions at the city-centre's eastern edge, there's an unmissable UFO-like observation pavilion. Come here to make…
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Pialungan Sandakan-Ranau Death March Memorial
Sabah
In 1945 Sabah-occupying Japanese sent 641 British and 1793 Australian POWs on a series of forced marches from Sandakan to Ranau. Only six – all…
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Sandakan
This small museum near the beginning of the Heritage Walk is a bit neglected but worth a look for the old photos and memorabilia of Sandakan's tumultuous…
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Kota Kinabalu
KK's Night Market is an unmissable immersion into local culture. It's authentic, bustling, aromatic and noisy. At the southwest end you will find stalls…
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Museum of Islamic Civilisation
Kota Kinabalu
This collection of historical objects from all over the Islamic world is very engaging. Look out for replica mosques from Melaka and Sandakan, ornate…
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Sandakan
This traditional Malay stilt village, located about 3km east of the city centre, is the original settlement Sandakan grew from back in 1879. It's still an…
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Sabah
This museum provides a good (if dry) introduction to the island's history and culture, from precolonial days through British and Japanese occupation, WWII…
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Sandakan
A poignant piece of Sandakan's ethnic puzzle, this cemetery was founded in the 1890s by Kinoshita Kuni, known as the successful madam-manager of Sandakan…
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Rumah Terbalik & the 3D Wonders Museum
Sabah
Sabah has few 'quirky' sights… Enter 'Rumah Terbalik' – the Upside Down House – a modern, tastefully decorated house, but…upside down! Even the furniture…
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Sandakan
Wrapped in the usual firework display of reds, golds and twining dragons, festooned with lanterns illuminating the grounds like a swarm of fireflies, this…
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St Michael's & All Angels Church
Sandakan
One of the very few surviving pre-WWII buildings, this pretty stone church (1893) sits as a relic of colonial times and a monument to Christian worship on…
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Kota Kinabalu
This pretty sweep of sand begins around the Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort and stretches south to the airport. Tanjung Aru is a locals' beach, full of…
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Kota Kinabalu
This impressive temple features a stone staircase-pavilion flanked by 10 Chinese deities leading up to a main temple complex dominated by Kwan Yin,…
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Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project (KOCP)
Sabah
Inside Sukau village this conservation camp, run in partnership with a French NGO, is dedicated to studying and protecting the orangutan. It also…
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WWII Memorial (Labuan War Cemetery)
Sabah
A dignified expanse of lawn with row upon row of headstones dedicated to the nearly 4000 Commonwealth servicemen, mostly Australian and British, who lost…
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Sabah
Partially eroded by the elements, the stone skull topping this squat stone container, resembling a postbox, gives a clue as to its past use. Back in…
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Semporna
Also known as the Semporna Islands Marine Park, this 350-sq-km protected area, a short boat ride from Semporna, comprises eight islands and two reefs…
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Sabah
Part of the 2.4-hectare property of Tampat Do Aman, this small nature reserve, across the road from the eponymous jungle camp, has several walking trails…
