Sabah, Borneo - A Land of Amazing Natural Beauty

Mention 'Borneo' and most people will think of headhunters, Orang Utans and jungles. Charles Darwin once described Borneo as 'one great wild untidy luxuriant hothouse made by nature herself'.

Today, Borneo - the world's third largest planet - is recognised as one of the most important centres of biodiversity in the world. Home to frogs that 'fly', the largest flower in the world, fish that 'walk on mud', the smallest elephant in the world, monkeys that 'dive and swim', plants that eat insects and lots more. It will amaze you to know that:

• Ten hectares of rainforest in Borneo can support a greater number of tree species than occur in the whole of North America.
• There are more bird species in Borneo than the whole of Europe.
• There are as many mammals in Borneo as those living in the continent of Australia.

Sabah, Borneo is home to the mighty Mount Kinabalu (the highest mountain in South East Asia, between the Himalayas and New Guinea), pristine coral-fringed islands and lush rainforest in between.

Sabah’s natural beauty and unique range of wildlife, flora and fauna make it a magnet for visitors looking to experience once in a lifetime opportunities such as close encounters with Orang Utans, Proboscis Monkeys and nesting turtles, breath-taking nature trails in rain forests and river cruises through stunning nature conservation areas and wetlands. Seeing the wildlife, rainforests and flowers of Borneo really should be on the 'must do' list of any discerning traveller.

Sabah, Borneo really is a land of amazing natural beauty. Fortunately, there is effort put in to conservation locally, including a number of parks and reserves, to try to preserve the unique ecology of Sabah.

• The Kinabalu National Park was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in December 2000 for it’s ‘outstanding universal values’ as one of the most important biological sites in the world. This is mainly due to the unique flora and fauna which are a result of the 4 different climate zones within the same area.
• Other areas which have also been designated for protection include the Crocker Range Park, Danum Valley Protection Forest Reserve, Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Kulamba Wildlife Reserve and Tawau Hills Park.
• Smaller protected forest areas include Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Gomantong (famous for it’s limestone caves) and Ulu Dusun forest near Sandakan.
• There are also a number of Marine parks including Tunku Abdul Rahman Park near Kota Kinabalu, Turtle Islands Park, Tun Sakaran marine park , Pulau Tiga Park and the newest to be designated near Kudat - Tun Mustapha Park.

In recent years a number of studies in Borneo have ‘discovered’ unique plant and animal species including the ‘Pygmy Elephant’, the Rhinocerous, the Clouded Leopard and many other much smaller but no less important species. Of course the most famous of Borneo’s inhabitants are the charming Orang-utans and all of these animals can be found in these remaining protected rain forest areas.