Placeholder — BRL chalet balconyThe Danum Essential
Two nights at the flagship lodge: canopy walkway at dawn, a night drive, and dinner beside the river.
Full board · per person
EnquireSabah · Borneo · A 130-million-year-old rainforest
Step into the world's oldest rainforest
The Danum Valley Conservation Area protects 438 km² of primary lowland dipterocarp forest in the heart of Sabah — home to wild orangutans, pygmy elephants, clouded leopards and every one of Borneo's eight hornbills.
~130M
Years of rainforest
438 km²
Protected area
300+
Bird species
120+
Mammal species
Three ways to stay
Sleep inside the oldest forest on Earth
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.
Flagship · 5-star
Placeholder — replace: BRL riverside chalets at golden hour
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 & villas · never more than ~60 guests in the forest at once
- Full board with a genuinely superb riverside restaurant, plus spa
- Canopy walkway, night drives, river tubing and guided trails from your door
Research heritage · mid-range
Placeholder — replace: Segama suspension bridge, DVFC
Danum Valley Study Centre
One of South-East Asia's foremost rainforest research stations, welcoming travellers since 1986. Over 50 km of marked trails, canopy towers and sunrise at Bukit Atur — beloved by birders, photographers and the scientifically curious.
- Resthouse rooms, hostel & campground on the forest edge
- 350+ research projects; sunrise at Bukit Atur; ~33 m observation tower
Conservation stay · mid-range
Placeholder — replace: INFAPRO nursery & saplings
INFAPRO Reforestation Site
Stay at the heart of one of the tropics' landmark forest-rehabilitation projects, where nearly 12,000 hectares of logged forest have been replanted 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.
Placeholder — wild orangutan in canopyBornean orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus
Placeholder — pygmy elephants at the riverBornean pygmy elephant
Elephas maximus borneensis
Placeholder — clouded leopard, night driveClouded leopard
Neofelis diardi
Placeholder — rhinoceros hornbill in flightRhinoceros hornbill
Buceros rhinoceros
Placeholder — Malayan sun bearMalayan sun bear
Helarctos malayanus
Placeholder — Bornean bristleheadBornean bristlehead
Pityriasis gymnocephala
Placeholder — Wallace's flying frog, macroWallace's flying frog
Rhacophorus nigropalmatus
Placeholder — Rajah Brooke's birdwingRajah Brooke's birdwing
Trogonoptera brookiana
Orientation
One valley, three lodges, endless forest
Danum Valley sits roughly two and a half 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 — eastern edge, beside the Segama River
- INFAPRO — reforestation base, 11 km from the Study Centre
- Lahad Datu — nearest town and airport (LDU)
Signature experiences
Days that start before dawn
New · Private tours
Placeholder — photographer in hide, first light
Private photography expeditions
One- and two-week guided expeditions built around light, hides and your target species — Danum intensives or the full Sabah wildlife circuit.
Placeholder — canopy walkwayThe Canopy Walkway
300 metres of walkway, 26 metres up — eye level with hornbills and the morning mist.
Placeholder — night drive eyeshineNight safari
Open-top drives and guided night walks: civets, flying squirrels, slow loris — and, for the fortunate, a clouded leopard.
Placeholder — birder at Bukit Atur sunriseBirdwatching
All eight Bornean hornbills, seven pittas and the bristlehead — 300+ species in one forest.
Placeholder — waterfall trek, natural poolTrails & waterfalls
Fairy Falls, Serpent Falls, the Coffin Cliff burial site and a natural jacuzzi pool — always with a ranger or guide.
Placeholder — researcher & seedlingConservation 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. Rates on enquiry.
Placeholder — BRL chalet balcony
Placeholder — Bukit Atur sunriseWings & Wonder
The dedicated birding itinerary: dawn at Bukit Atur, canopy towers, pittas on the trails and night birding.
Full board · per person
Enquire
Placeholder — plant-a-tree signboardForest Keeper
Plant a named tree that's tended for five years, walk the regenerating forest and learn how a rainforest is rebuilt.
Full board · per person
Enquire
Placeholder — photography expeditionDanum Intensive
A private week across the Lodge and 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 — one-week Danum intensives or two-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.
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Beyond Danum
Extend the journey
Danum pairs beautifully with Sabah's rivers, rehabilitation centres and reefs. Most guests combine two or three.
Placeholder — Kinabatangan proboscisKinabatangan
River safaris · proboscis monkeys
Placeholder — Sepilok / RDC canopy walkSepilok & RDC
Rehabilitation · canopy towers
Placeholder — Tabin mud volcanoTabin
Mud volcanoes · big mammals
Placeholder — Semporna / Sipadan reefSemporna & Sipadan
World-class reef · rainforest-to-oceanSee combination trips — Danum + river, reef or rehabilitation
Placeholder — ranger with seedling
Why this forest still stands
Protected since before it was fashionable
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 reforestationNearly 12,000 hectares of logged forest replanted with native species since 1992.
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Low-impact by designThe flagship lodge's five-star reputation is built on a no-waste-to-the-forest ethic — everything brought in is carried out.
The Journal
Field notes & travel craft
Placeholder — orangutan & infant, fig treeThe dawn chorus of Danum Valley
Gibbons first, then argus pheasants, then the whole forest: an hour-by-hour listener's guide to first light.
Placeholder — hornbill pair at duskPhotographing all eight of Borneo's hornbills
Focal lengths, flight paths and the canopy-walkway positions that put you at eye level with the birds.
Placeholder — rainforest kit flat-layWhat to pack for the world's oldest rainforest
Leech socks, dry bags and the one thing every visitor forgets — a practical list from the guides.
Guest words
In their own words
"[Guest quote to be supplied — Borneo Rainforest Lodge]"
"[Guest quote to be supplied — Danum Valley Study Centre]"
"[Guest quote to be supplied — photography expedition]"
Stay close to the forest
Seasonal wildlife notes, four times a year
Fruiting seasons, river levels, hornbill activity and quiet travel windows — no noise, unsubscribe any time.
Plan your trip
Enquire directly
Tell us when you'd like to travel and where you'd like to wake up. Your enquiry goes straight to the Danum Valley reservations team for your chosen stay, and your details are used only to answer it.