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Bako National Park

Sarawak's oldest national park, a small sandstone peninsula packed with sea stacks, proboscis monkeys and short jungle trails

Difficulty
Easy
Duration
30 minutes to a full day, depending on how many of the marked, colour-coded trails you combine

Gazetted in 1957, Bako is Sarawak's oldest national park: a 27 km² sandstone peninsula at the mouth of the Bako and Kuching rivers, reachable only by a short boat crossing from Kampung Bako. Millions of years of coastal erosion have carved sea stacks and arches around its shoreline, and the mix of mangrove, kerangas heath forest and dipterocarp jungle packed into such a small area supports a disproportionate range of wildlife, most famously one of Borneo's most reliable populations of proboscis monkeys.

Highlights

  • Proboscis monkeys, often visible near the park headquarters at dawn and dusk
  • Sea stacks and sandstone cliffs around Tanjung Sapi
  • Silvered langurs and bearded pigs, both habituated around the HQ trails
  • A short boat ride to secluded beaches like Teluk Pandan Kecil

Getting there

Take a bus or taxi from Kuching to Kampung Bako, about 45 minutes to an hour, then a 20 to 30 minute boat crossing to the park headquarters at Teluk Assam. There is no road into the park itself; the boat is the only way in.

Safety tips

The long-tailed macaques around the park headquarters are used to people and will snatch food and bags left unattended, so keep both closed and close. The boat crossing can be rough in bad weather, and some beach trails are tide-dependent, so check both with park staff before setting out rather than assuming conditions from the morning will hold all day.

What to bring

  • A dry bag for electronics, since the boat crossing throws up spray
  • Insect repellent for the mangrove boardwalk sections
  • Cash for the entrance fee and boat, since there is no card facility at the jetty
  • Swimwear if you plan to reach one of the beaches