Backpacking Sepilok
At ten in the morning the wooden platform goes quiet. A ranger walks into the forest with a basket of bananas, and then something moves up in the canopy. A rope pulls tight, a branch bends, and along the rope comes an orange orangutan, heading for the feeding platform. Fifteen minutes later there are three of them, calmly eating their fruit, and then they melt back into the trees as quietly as they came. This is Sepilok, and this is what you came for.
Since 1964 the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre has taken in orangutans that lost their mothers or were kept as pets, and taught them to live in the forest again. The feeding platform sits on the edge of that forest: whoever turns up, turns up by choice, so no two days are the same. Across the path is the rescue centre for the sun bear, the smallest bear in the world, and a fifteen-minute walk further on a walkway hangs twenty-five metres up through the treetops.
Sepilok is a village along one road, half an hour from Sandakan, and most backpackers stay one or two nights. Actually sleep here, not in town: you make the ten o’clock feeding without stress, and you still catch a second round at three. Then it is two hours on to the Kinabatangan, where the proboscis monkeys and pygmy elephants are waiting. On any Malaysian Borneo route, this is where the orangutans stop being a poster and start being real.
Why Sepilok is popular with backpackers
- Orangutans up close
- Two feeding times a day on one ticket
- Sun bears across the path
- A walkway through the treetops
- Hostels right in the green
- Two hours from the Kinabatangan
- Quiet, green and easy to pair with Sandakan
Best time to visit Sepilok
Sepilok is on the east coast of Sabah and warm and humid all year. The northeast monsoon brings the heaviest rain in winter.
Rain comes with a rainforest, and the platform is covered, so a downpour will not wreck your morning with the orangutans.
Backpacker budget: around €30 a day
- €9hostel bed
- €2.50local meal
- €3beer
- €7Grab from Sandakan
Guide prices for a backpacker's day in Sepilok. Add a tour or a night out and it climbs fast.
Best area for backpackers
Sepilok itself
Sleep in Sepilok, not in Sandakan. The hostels line the road to the rehabilitation centre, tucked into the green, within walking distance of the orangutans, the sun bears and the Rainforest Discovery Centre. You wake up to birdsong and stroll up to the platform at ten with time to spare.
Sandakan is a fine town for an afternoon, with the war memorial, a few colonial houses and the fish market, but it is half an hour’s drive from the animals.
Why stay in Sepilok?
- Walking distance to the rehabilitation centre
- Both feedings without driving back and forth
- Sun bears and the canopy walk round the corner
- Quiet and green, with the forest loud at night
- Lodges sort the transfer to the Kinabatangan
Only one night in the area? Make it this one.
Best hostels in Sepilok
Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat
Paganakan Dii means “the family” in Kadazan-Dusun, and that is how it feels. You sleep in a longhouse on stilts with mesh walls, so the air and the sound of the forest flow straight through. From the pavilion on the hill you look out over kilometres of rainforest.
Ideal for
- Nature lovers
- Backpackers after something different
- Falling asleep to the sounds of the forest
Tanini Sepilok
Tanini Sepilok, formerly Nature Lodge Sepilok, is the closest to everything: 1.2 kilometres from the rehabilitation centre and 800 metres from the Rainforest Discovery Centre. The dorm has eight beds, and the air con runs in the evening and overnight.
Ideal for
- Budget travellers
- Doing everything on foot
- A short stop of one or two nights
Sandakan Backpackers Hostel
Arriving late, or fancy an evening in town? Sandakan Backpackers Hostel is the one. It is right in the centre of Sandakan, close to the waterfront and the market, with Sepilok a few euros away by Grab.
Ideal for
- Late arrivals off the bus
- Seeing Sandakan itself
- Keeping your costs down
Best things to do in Sepilok
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
The rehabilitation centre is the heart of Sepilok. A boardwalk takes you into the forest to the feeding platform, and in the nursery you watch the youngest orangutans through a window, practising their climbing.
Why go?
- Orangutans at close range
- Two feedings on the same ticket
- The nursery with the youngest animals
- You support the rescue work and the return to the forest
Go in the morning and in the afternoon: no two feedings are the same.
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
Directly opposite the orangutans, this centre takes in sun bears: small black bears with a yellow patch on the chest and a tongue made for licking honey out of tree trunks.
Highlights
- Bears climbing and playing in the trees
- Viewing platforms above the enclosures
- The story of why the sun bear is endangered
- Perfect between the two feedings
The ideal way to fill the midday break.
Rainforest Discovery Centre
A patch of rainforest with walking trails, lookout towers and a walkway through the treetops. From the walkway you look hornbills and squirrels straight in the eye.
Why go?
- The rainforest seen from above
- Hornbills and squirrels in the canopy
- Quiet trails around a lake
- A guided night walk in the evening
Come late in the afternoon, when the heat drops and the forest wakes up.
Night walk in the rainforest
When it gets dark, a different forest opens up. With a guide and a torch you hunt for sleeping birds, tarsiers, frogs, stick insects and, if you are lucky, a flying squirrel.
Highlights
- The forest at its liveliest
- A guide who knows exactly where to look
- Animals you never see by day
- A great way to end your day
Bring a head torch and long sleeves.
An afternoon in Sandakan
Sandakan is a port town with a story. The war memorial stands on the site of the camp from which prisoners of war set off on the death marches to Ranau during the Second World War.
Why go?
- A moving piece of wartime history
- The old colonial houses on the hill
- Fresh fish down by the water
- A change of scene after a day of wildlife
A spare afternoon between the orangutans and the river? Spend it here.
How to plan your days in Sepilok
One full day covers the orangutans, the sun bears and the canopy walk. A second day lets you slow down. Pick how many days you have.
Orangutans and sun bears. At the rehabilitation centre by half nine for the ten o'clock feeding, then the nursery. Over the midday break you cross to the sun bears, and at three you are back at the platform.
Tonight: a night walk at the Rainforest Discovery Centre.
Treetops and Sandakan. Early to the Rainforest Discovery Centre for the walkway, when the birds are at their busiest. In the afternoon a Grab into Sandakan for the war memorial and the waterfront.
Tonight: early night, the transfer to the Kinabatangan leaves in the morning.
Food and drink in Sepilok
Sepilok has hardly any restaurants. You eat at your hostel, at the café at the rehabilitation centre or at one of the little places by the main road. Simple, but good and cheap.
For more choice head into Sandakan, where you eat fresh fish and seafood on the waterfront and have roti and tea for breakfast in the kopitiams.
What to eat in Sepilok:
Getting there and onward
Sepilok is half an hour outside Sandakan, on the road to Kota Kinabalu. Sandakan airport sits between the town and Sepilok.
Getting there. From Kota Kinabalu take the bus to Sandakan and get off at the Sepilok turn-off, after six to eight hours. From there it is still a few kilometres, so have your hostel pick you up or take a Grab. Or save the day and fly to Sandakan in an hour.
Around Sepilok. The rehabilitation centre, the sun bears and the Rainforest Discovery Centre are all walkable from each other. For Sandakan and the airport, use Grab.
Onward. The lodges on the Kinabatangan pick you up in Sepilok or Sandakan; the drive is about two hours. Heading straight to Semporna? A direct bus of about six hours leaves Sandakan in the morning.
- BusKota Kinabalu 6 to 8 hrs, get off at the Sepilok turn-off
- PlaneSandakan to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur
- GrabSandakan about 30 minutes, from €7
- Lodge transferKinabatangan about 2 hrs, often in the package
- OnwardSandakan to Semporna about 6 hrs, about €11
Staying safe in Sepilok
Sepilok is quiet and safe. The rules here are mostly about the animals: they are wild or semi-wild, and the centre wants them to get as little used to people as possible.
Diving at Lankayan. From Sandakan you can get out to Lankayan, a dive island in the Sulu Sea. Several governments, including the UK (FCDO), advise against all but essential travel to the islands and dive sites off the east coast of Sabah, and Lankayan is one of them. That advice is about the islands, not the mainland, so Sepilok and Sandakan themselves are not included. Read your own government’s advice and check your travel insurance before you book.
- Bring cash for the entry fees
- Use mosquito repellent, especially around dusk
- Keep a good grip on your bag and sunglasses: the macaques at the centre are quick
- Stay quiet on the platform, and more animals come in
- Touch or feed an orangutan, even if it comes close
- Take food or drink to the feeding platform
- Use flash when you take photos
- Visit the centre with a cold: orangutans can catch it from you
Rebels on the Road tip
Do not stop at the ten o’clock feeding: come back at three. Your ticket is valid all day, the afternoon is a lot quieter, and the orangutans that stayed away in the morning sometimes turn up after all. Fill the gap with the sun bears across the path and you have the best day of your whole Sabah trip.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Sepilok?
One to two. In one full day you see both feedings, the sun bears and the canopy walk. A second day lets you take it slower and add Sandakan.
What are the feeding times at Sepilok?
10am and 3pm. Come half an hour early for a good spot on the platform. The same ticket gets you into both.
Will you definitely see orangutans at Sepilok?
No. The orangutans live free in the forest and only come in when they are hungry. When the forest is full of fruit, fewer turn up. Two feedings give you a much better chance.
Should you sleep in Sepilok or Sandakan?
Sepilok. You get to the feeding without rushing and do not have to drive back and forth. Sandakan works for an afternoon or a late arrival.
Is Sepilok expensive?
Not really. Reckon on €30 a day, and that already includes your tickets for the orangutans and the sun bears. A dorm bed starts at €9.
How do you get to Sepilok?
From Kota Kinabalu, the Sandakan bus drops you at the Sepilok turn-off after six to eight hours. Short on time? Fly KK to Sandakan in an hour and take a Grab from the airport.
When is the best time to visit Sepilok?
March to October, when it is drier. In the wetter months from November to February the feedings simply carry on, under a roof.
How do you get from Sepilok to the Kinabatangan?
Almost every lodge on the Kinabatangan picks you up in Sepilok or Sandakan, often as part of their package. The drive takes about two hours.
Is Sepilok worth visiting if you are also going to the Kinabatangan?
Absolutely. They complement each other: at Sepilok you see orangutans up close, on the Kinabatangan you see them and plenty of other animals completely wild, from the boat.
Sources: hostel ratings from Hostelworld, tours and reviews from GetYourGuide, transport and travel times from 12Go, visa rules from the official immigration sites (see our visa page). The daily budget is our own estimate based on hostel, food and transport prices. How we work.
