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
EnquireSabah · Borneo · 438 km² of primary rainforest
Step into a forest 130 million years in the making
The Danum Valley Conservation Area protects 438 km² of primary lowland dipterocarp forest in eastern Sabah, home to wild orangutans, pygmy elephants, clouded leopards and all 8 of Borneo's hornbills.
~130M
Years of rainforest
438 km²
Protected area
300+
Bird species
120+
Mammal species
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.
Flagship · conservation luxury
Borneo Rainforest Lodge
A lodge of 31 chalets and villas on the Danum River, where the primary forest starts at the veranda rail. Nothing is left behind in the forest, and the riverside restaurant gives you a reason to linger over dinner.
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
Research heritage · mid-range
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
Conservation stay · mid-range
INFAPRO Reforestation Site
Stay at the heart of a forest-rehabilitation project where once-logged forest is being replanted with native dipterocarps, and plant a tree that is tended for 5 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.
Bornean orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus
Bornean pygmy elephant
Elephas maximus borneensis
Clouded leopard
Neofelis diardi
Rhinoceros hornbill
Buceros rhinoceros
Bornean sun bear
Helarctos malayanus
Bornean bristlehead
Pityriasis gymnocephala
Wallace's flying frog
Rhacophorus nigropalmatus
Rajah Brooke's birdwing
Trogonoptera brookiana
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
New · Private tours
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.
Birdwatching
All 8 of Borneo's hornbills, the pittas and the bristlehead in one forest.
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
Enquire
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
Enquire
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.
-
Target-species planningOrangutan, pygmy elephant, hornbills, pittas, frogs and macro, timed to fruiting seasons and river levels.
-
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.
Kinabatangan
River safaris · proboscis monkeys
Sepilok & RDC
Rehabilitation · canopy towers
Tabin
Mud volcanoes · big mammals
Semporna & Sipadan
Sipadan's reef walls · rainforest to oceanSee combination trips: Danum plus river, reef or rehabilitation
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.
-
Class I protection since 1995Gazetted a Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Area in 1999; an Important Bird Area (MY24).
-
INFAPRO reforestationOnce-logged forest being replanted with native species, tree by tree.
-
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
The dawn chorus of Danum Valley
Gibbons first, then argus pheasants, then the whole forest: an hour-by-hour listener's guide to first light.
Photographing all eight of Borneo's hornbills
Focal lengths, flight paths and the canopy-walkway positions that put you at eye level with the birds.
What to pack for the rainforest
Leech socks, dry bags and the one thing every visitor forgets: a practical list from the guides.
Plan your trip
Enquire directly
Tell the team when you would like to travel and where you would 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.