Tuaran, 33km from KK, is a bustling little town with tree-lined boulevard-style streets and a distinctive nine-storey Chinese pagoda. There’s little point stopping in the town itself unless you happen to pass through on market day, but the surrounding are
Just west of KK, the five islands of Manukan, Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik and Sulug and the reefs in between make up TAR National Park, which covers a total area of just over 49 sq km. Only a short boat ride from the city centre, they have some nice beaches and t
Nestled in a cool, cloud-shrouded valley at the end of the railway line from KK, Tenom is the home of the friendly Murut people, most of whom are farmers. It’s a fertile area known for its coffee, which is widely sold, and soya beans, maize, vegetables an
A rundown port near the Indonesian border, Tawau is a centre for the shipping of timber, rubber, Manila hemp, cocoa, copra, tobacco and palm oil. Though it’s known as a Bugis city, a massive stilt village east of town houses many of the Filipino and Indon
Nestled among the green curves of the Crocker hills, Tambunan, a small agricultural service town about 81km from KK, is the first settlement you’ll come to in the range. The region was the last stronghold of Mat Salleh, who became a folk hero for rebellin
Proclaimed somewhat grandly as Malaysia’s ‘Gift to Earth’, the mighty, muddy Sungai Kinabatangan is Sabah’s longest river, measuring 560km from its headwaters in the southwest to the point where it empties into the Sulu Sea. Logging and clearing for plan
One of only four orangutan sanctuaries in the world, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC) occupies a corner of the Kabili-Sepilok rainforest reserve about 25km north of Sandakan. The centre was established in 1964; it now covers 40 sq km and
Though not a particularly appealing town, Semporna does have a lively waterfront market and a mosque attractively framed against the waters of the Celebes Sea.
Sandakan is a busy commercial centre at the entrance to a beautiful, island-studded bay. Most activity centres on the docks and wharves that sprawl along the waterfront. Barges, ferries and motorboats of every description buzz around, unloading fish and o
Ranau is a collection of concrete shop blocks on the road between KK and Sandakan, or Kinabalu National Park and Poring Hot Springs. There’s a busy Saturday tamu (night market). Otherwise, it’s of interest mainly as a transport junction.