Kuching Travel Guide

Parks & Attractions Near Kuching

Get out from the Kuching city & within short travel duration of 1 to 2 hours drive, you will be able to get access to several national parks & some attractive places listed as follow:

Annah Rais Longhouse – This is one of the traditional Bidayuh longhouse within 1.5 hours drive from Kuching. This longhouse is pretty old & still maintains its traditional structure since the olden day. Most of the local people living here are still doing farming & living their life traditionally. You can just pay a day visit to the longhouse, which many local travel agencies in Kuching organize a short trip to Annah Rais longhouse. If you really want to experience the longhouse traditional way of living, you will have to stay back, because the half an hour walk around the longhouse will really do you nothing to learn the traditional life of people living here. So if time is not a problem for you, consider to participate in Annah Rais Longhouse Adventure Homestay Program.

Semenggoh Orangutan Wildlife Centre – As it’s name suggest, it’s a place which house the endanger species apes called “Orangutan”. In Malay word, “Orang” means human, & “Utan” (correctly spelled as “hutan”) means jungle. “Orangutan” simply means jungle-man. This centre is located near to Kota Padawan, about half an hour drive from Kuching. To get there you can either take a taxi or a STC bus no. 6, or simply joined any travel agencies who will organize tour to this centre. Please also be warned that you are not guarantee to see the Orangutan at the centre, because they are in the wild & set free in the surrounding jungle. They will only come out to the centre HQ when they are hungry. The best time to spot them is during the feeding time at 9am & 3pm daily. If you are lucky enough you will see the big guy named Ritchie & he looks extremely gigantic with the long soft fur. He is the head of all Orangutans in that area. The entrance fee is merely RM3 per person (at time of writing), much cheaper than the Sepilok one in Sabah, which cost approximately RM30 per person if I not wrong.

Jong’s Crocodile Farm – This is where over a thousand of crocodiles has been kept here. The feeding time is at 11am & 3pm, during this time, you will see the giant crocodile jumping out from the water just to get their share of meal. You won’t believe that the bulky giant can jump that high from the water. In this farm, there’s many other wildlife too to be spotted, besides crocodiles. There are giant freshwater fishes too, & some of them are about your size a shark if not bigger. The entrance fee is RM8 per person. Hire a taxi to send you there, the journey will take approximately 40 mins drive.

Matang Wildlife Centre – This is where you can get to see plenty of wildlife, such as Orangutans, Sambar Deer, Crocodiles, Sun Bears, Civets, hornbills and Bear Cats. There are many trails oo for jungle trekking, & may also lead you the beautiful waterfalls. The main attraction here is the training of the young orangutan on how to survive independently in the jungle. Visit their official website for more information.

Bako National Park – This is where you can get to see the endangered species of Probosics Monkey in the wild. They will come really close to you if you are lucky. They have many trails too for you to do some jungle trekking to spot more flora & fauna, which some trails will also connect you to the beautiful beaches & waterfalls. You can stay overnight there too (2 nights stay is recommended) to see the wildlifes there & enjoy the beauty of nature. For more information about the park & the accomodation, please visit their official website.

Gunung Gading National Park – This National Park is well-known for the rare giant flower – Rafflesia. The blooming time of rafflesia is unpredictable & once bloom, it last for few days only, so always check with the national park office. Try to get there as soon as you can if the rafflesia is blooming. Park ranger should be able to guide you the way to where the rafflesia is blooming. There are some accommodations at the park HQ too, where you can book through their official website. This park is located at the Lundu town, which you can take STC bus from Kuching to Lundu. Besides, the park also has several good trails to trek too for you to better appreciate the flora & fauna there. For more information about the park & the accomodation, please visit their official website.

Tanjung Datu National Park – This is a small national park with some of the best pristine beaches you can ever find in Sarawak (besides Talang Satang National Park). It’s located at the far west of Sarawak and abutting the border with Kalimantan. Getting to this park is not easy & will cost you a lot. There is no accommodation available at the park & the only place you can stay is Telok Melano Malay fishing village, they run a homestay program & visit to the park can be arranged by the homestay coodinator. You can even jungle-trek to the park from the village, or take a 15 mins boat ride to the park. To get to Telok Melano, the only way is by speed boat (45 mins) or fishing boat (if available at time of travel but take longer time) from Sematan. To get to Sematan, take STC bus to Lundu first from Kuching then take another bus no. 17 from Lundu to Sematan. Boat to Telok Melano is not frequent so you can stay at Sematan Hotel if no boat to Telok Melano on that day, or ask Sematan hotel to help to arrange, or simply asking around on the wharf. Visit their official website here!

Talang Satang National Park – This is a only marine park in Sarawak for the purpose of turtle conservation, & the park consist of 4 islands called Pulau Satang Besar, Pulau Satang Kechil, Pulau Talang Besar & Pulau Talang Kechil. At the moment, only Pulau Satang Besar is open to tourist through the organized tour from tour operator based in Kuching. From Sematan, you can visit to the surrounding of the Talang island too for snorkeling or scuba diving, which trip can be arrange by Sematan Palm Beach Resort. Visit their official website here!