The Danum Essential
2 nights at the flagship lodge: the canopy walkway at dawn, a night drive, and dinner beside the river.
Full board · on enquiry
Sabah · Borneo · 438 km² of primary rainforest
Step into a forest 130 million years in the making
2.5 hours by road from Lahad Datu, Danum Valley is 438 square kilometres of lowland rainforest that was never logged with three very different places to stay inside it.
130M
Years of rainforest lineage
438 km²
Protected forest
1986
Research station opened
100.8 m
Tallest tropical tree
Three ways to stay
Sleep inside a forest 130 million years in the making
One valley, three very different nights: a flagship conservation-led lodge on the Danum River, a working rainforest research centre, and a reforestation project where your stay helps the forest grow back.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge
An award-winning eco-lodge on the Danum River whose five-star standing is earned through conservation, not opulence — nothing is left behind in the forest, and every detail is built around the wildlife outside your balcony. The riverside restaurant alone is worth the journey.
Discover the lodge- 31 chalets and villas · around 60 guests at most in the forest at once
- Full board at the riverside restaurant, with a spa
- Canopy walkway, night drives, river tubing and guided trails from your door
Danum Valley Study Centre
A working rainforest research station on the Segama River, open to travellers since 1986, with over 50 km of marked trails and a canopy walkway at Bukit Atur — beloved by birders, photographers and the scientifically curious.
- Resthouse rooms, a hostel and a campground on the forest edge
- Hundreds of research projects since 1986 · the Segama suspension bridge · the trail grid from your door
INFAPRO Reforestation Site
Stay at the heart of one of the tropics' landmark forest-rehabilitation projects, where once-logged forest is being replanted with native trees, tree by tree, with native dipterocarps. Plant a tree that carries your name for the next five years.
- Hands-on reforestation, birdwatching and wildlife walks
- Operational base 11 km from the Study Centre
Featured wildlife
The animals you came for
Danum Valley is one of the last strongholds where Borneo's rarest wildlife can be seen truly wild: no feeding platforms, no fences.
Orientation
One valley, three lodges, endless forest
Danum Valley sits roughly 2.5 hours west of Lahad Datu, a 55-minute flight from Kota Kinabalu, then a sealed road that gives way to 82 km of gravel through the forest. Tap a marker to see what's where.
- Borneo Rainforest Lodge, on the Danum River deep inside the conservation area
- Danum Valley Study Centre, on the eastern edge beside the Segama River
- INFAPRO, the reforestation base 11 km from the Study Centre
- Lahad Datu, the nearest town and airport
Signature experiences
Days that start before dawn
Private photography expeditions
1- and 2-week guided expeditions built around light, hides and your target species: Danum intensives or the full Sabah wildlife circuit.
The Canopy Walkway
Some 300 metres of walkway high in the canopy, at eye level with hornbills and the morning mist.
Night safari
Open-top drives and guided night walks: civets, flying squirrels, slow loris and, with real luck, a clouded leopard.
Trails & waterfalls
Fairy Falls, Serpent Falls, the Coffin Cliff burial site and a natural jacuzzi pool, always with a ranger or guide.
Conservation up close
Visit INFAPRO's nurseries, join a researcher's morning round, plant a tree with your name on it.
Featured packages
Ways into the forest
Every itinerary includes return Lahad Datu transfers, expert guiding and full board. The team confirms what fits your dates.
Wings & Wonder
The dedicated birding itinerary: dawn on the canopy walkway, the trail grid for pittas, and night birding.
Full board · on enquiry
Forest Keeper
Plant a named tree that is tended for 5 years, walk the regenerating forest and learn how a rainforest is rebuilt.
Full board · on enquiry
Danum Intensive
A private week across the Lodge and the Study Centre: hides, flexible dawn starts and a vehicle that waits for the light.
Tailored · on enquiry
EnquirePrivate wildlife photography expeditions
Built around the light, not the schedule
A private guide, a private vehicle, and itineraries paced for photographers: 1-week Danum intensives or 2-week Sabah circuits taking in the Kinabatangan, Sepilok and Tabin. Hides, canopy platforms, night drives with spotlight, and dawn starts as early as you like.
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Target-species planningOrangutan, pygmy elephant, hornbills, pittas, frogs and macro, timed to fruiting seasons and river levels.
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Priority accessFirst on the walkway, last off the night drive, with protected-area rules respected throughout.
Beyond Danum
Extend the journey
Danum pairs well with Sabah's rivers, rehabilitation centres and reefs. Most guests combine 2 or 3.
Why this forest still stands
Protected for three decades
Danum Valley is owned and protected by Yayasan Sabah, the Sabah Foundation, as a Class I Protection Forest Reserve, managed through the Danum Valley Management Committee. Tourism here exists to serve conservation, not the other way round: guest numbers are capped, waste is carried out, and entry is ranger-accompanied.
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Class I protection since 1995Gazetted a Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Area in 1999; an Important Bird Area (MY24).
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INFAPRO reforestationOnce-logged forest being replanted with native species, tree by tree.
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Low-impact by designThe flagship lodge runs on a no-waste-to-the-forest ethic: everything brought in is carried out.
The Journal
Field notes and travel craft
Stay close to the forest
Seasonal wildlife notes, four times a year
Fruiting seasons, river levels, hornbill activity and quiet travel windows. No noise, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Plan your trip
Plan your Danum Valley stay
Tell the team when you want to track wild orangutans in the primary forest and they will check availability at Borneo Rainforest Lodge.