Sarawak attractions

Just 30 minutes from Miri, Lambir Hills National Park offers tumbling waterfalls, rushing streams, rainforest walks, and birdwatching in 27 square miles (69 square kilometers) of wilderness. It’s home to species such as pangolins, tarsiers, gibbons, sun bears, and clouded leopards, plus a wealth of birds and butterflies.

A giant MIRI sign and a vintage oil rig known as The Grand Old Lady dominate Canada Hill, a low limestone ridge overlooking Miri. Alongside them stands the Petroleum Museum, which pays tribute to Malaysia’s oil and gas industries: The Grand Old Lady, Malaysia’s first oil well, struck in 1910, led to the foundation of MIRI.

Perched on the edge of Kubah National Park, Matang Wildlife Centre rehabilitates native Bornean species such as orangutans and sun bears. In addition to viewing the rock pools and three waterfalls of Kubah, come to Matang to walk nature trails and viewing platforms to observe rescued animals in habitats that emulate their natural homes.

Dedicated to conserving sea turtles, particularly green and hawksbill turtles, Talang Satang National Park occupies four white-sand islands and the surrounding marine territory. Pulau Satang Besar is the only island that’s open to regular day-trippers; the other three are for researchers, conservation organizations, and volunteers only.

Completed in 1879, the whitewashed and turreted Fort Margherita was commissioned by Charles Brooke, the second Rajah of Sarawak, to protect Kuching from attacks by river pirates, a common 19th-century scourge. Today, Fort Margherita is an important part of Kuching history and houses the Brooke Gallery, which illustrates the impact of the White Rajas in Sarawak.

Boasting the title of the world’s largest cave passage open to the public, Deer Cave is a highlight of the UNESCO-listed Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Borneo. Stalactites drip from the ceiling of this dramatic limestone cavern, which more than 3 million wrinkle-lipped bats call home.

At the confluence of the Igan and Rajang rivers sits the inland city of Sibu, which serves as the gateway for travelers wishing to explore the longhouses of the Upper Rajang River in the state of Sarawak. One of the city;s most popular attractions is Sibu Central Market—one of the biggest indoor markets in Malaysia—home to thousands of stalls.

From the moment the longboat whisks you across the artificial lake, along the Batang Ai River into the forest, Batang Ai National Park feels a world away from modern-day Kuching. It’s part of a protected Borneo rainforest that spills across the Malaysian border into Indonesia and is home to Iban longhouses, wild orangutans, gibbons, langurs, and hornbills.

Home to more than 2,000 exhibits, the Kuching Cat Museum details the historical role cats have played in music, theater, advertising, mythology, and ancient societies around the globe. You won’t find a museum quite like the Kuching Cat Museum anywhere else in the world—an appropriate reality seeing as kucing is actually the Malay word for cat.

A bustling market offering fruit, vegetables, herbs, and jungle produce from ferns to wild honey, plus animals, orchids, and much, much more, Satok Market (Medan Niaga Satok is Kuching’s most important market. Vendors come from longhouses far upriver to sell here on weekends, often for just one or two Malaysian ringgit.