Borneo

Borneo is the world's third-largest island and one of only two places on earth, the other is Sumatra, where wild orangutans exist in numbers large enough to sustain a viable population. The Bornean rainforest is estimated to be 130 million years old, making it older than the Amazon, and is extraordinarily rich in tree species, with thousands found nowhere else.

Sabah, the Malaysian state occupying the island's northeastern tip, offers the most accessible encounters. The Kinabatangan River floodplain, one of the few remaining corridors of lowland forest, is home to pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles, and oriental pied hornbills, all visible from a flat-bottomed river boat at dawn. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre returns orphaned orangutans to the surrounding forest through a structured reintroduction programme.

The Danum Valley Conservation Area, 438 square kilometres of untouched primary dipterocarp forest with no roads and no villages, is accessible only through the two lodges permitted to operate inside its boundaries. We work exclusively with those lodges. Mount Kinabalu (4,095 metres, Southeast Asia's highest peak) is a separate two-day ascent from the Sabah lowlands, with a flora zone that changes every 200 metres of elevation.

Borneo is shared between three countries: the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak in the north, the small sultanate of Brunei, and the Indonesian region of Kalimantan, which covers most of the island. Each offers a different experience, but Sabah has the best infrastructure for wildlife travel and is where most visitors begin.

Orangutans are the main draw, and seeing them in the wild requires patience. At Sepilok, near Sandakan, young orangutans rescued from logging areas or the pet trade learn the skills they need to survive in the forest, and visitors can watch them at feeding platforms. Next door, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre cares for the world's smallest bear species. In the Kinabatangan floodplain and Danum Valley, wild orangutans can sometimes be seen feeding in the trees, especially when fruit is plentiful.

River cruises on the Kinabatangan, at dawn and dusk, offer excellent wildlife viewing. Proboscis monkeys, with their large noses and pot bellies, gather in the trees along the river in the late afternoon. Herds of Bornean pygmy elephants move along the riverbanks at certain times of year, and eight species of hornbill live in the forest. Night walks reveal tarsiers, frogs and sleeping birds.

Danum Valley is the most pristine forest in Sabah, with canopy walkways, jungle trails and a striking diversity of wildlife. Staying two or three nights allows time for guided walks, night drives and early mornings in the canopy. Mount Kinabalu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most botanically diverse places in the world, with pitcher plants and orchids on its slopes; the climb requires permits, which are limited and should be booked well in advance.

Sarawak, to the west, is known for its longhouse communities, where Iban and other peoples live in communal wooden houses along the rivers. Gunung Mulu National Park, reached by air, has some of the largest caves in the world and the razor-sharp limestone pinnacles.

The best time to visit is from March to October, when rainfall is lower, though rain can fall at any time in the rainforest. Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, has international flights, and domestic flights connect it with Sandakan, Lahad Datu and other towns.

Sepilok, the Kinabatangan and Danum Valley need at least a week, and Mount Kinabalu or Sarawak would lengthen it. Palm oil plantations cover much of the lowlands, a stark reminder of the pressures on the remaining forest; choosing lodges that support conservation helps protect it.