Things to do
5-
Park
Bako National Park
Sarawak's oldest national park occupies a peninsula reached only by boat, with sandstone sea stacks, seven kinds of forest and proboscis monkeys that come down to the mangrove at dusk. Trails range from a short boardwalk to a full day cliff walk. Boats depend on the tide and the last return leaves mid afternoon, so a night in the park hostel doubles the wildlife.
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Kuching Waterfront
A landscaped promenade runs along the Sarawak River from the Chinese History Museum to the old courthouse, with food stalls, a golden bridge and sampan ferries crossing to the Malay village opposite. Evening is when the town uses it, and the state assembly building lights up across the water. Kek lapis, the layered Sarawak cake, is sold along the whole stretch.
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Sarawak Cultural Village
Seven longhouses and dwellings of the state's main groups stand below Mount Santubong, each staffed and demonstrating blowpipes, weaving, sago processing and music. A dance show runs twice daily in the theatre. The Rainforest World Music Festival takes over the site for a weekend each year, when accommodation anywhere nearby is booked out.
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Sarawak State Museum
Founded in 1891 with encouragement from Alfred Russel Wallace, the state collection covers Niah cave archaeology, Iban textiles and hornbill carving. Headline galleries have moved next door into the far larger Borneo Cultures Museum, which opened in 2022 and now carries the main displays. Mornings are quietest, and the buildings share the same landscaped grounds.
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Semenggoh Nature Reserve
Orangutans rehabilitated here forage free in the surrounding forest and return to feeding platforms twice a day when wild fruit is scarce. Sightings are likely outside the fruiting season and unlikely within it, which the wardens announce on arrival. Feeding times are fixed morning and afternoon, and the walk in from the gate takes twenty minutes.