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During our two-week trip to Borneo, we spent an amazing three nights in Sepilok. The main reason to visit Sepilok is to see the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. These two centres are right next to each other, so they can easily be visited on the same day.
Just a 25-minute walk from these centres is the Rainforest Discovery Centre, where you can explore miles of jungle trails and spot incredible wildlife.
Here’s my guide to staying in Sepilok and visiting the incredible wildlife centres.
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is an incredible place to visit and a highlight of any trip to Borneo. The centre offers a rare opportunity to see orangutans in their natural habitat—a truly remarkable experience.
Entry costs just £5 for the day, and there is a café, toilets, and an information centre on-site.
What does the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre do?
The centre rehabilitates orangutans that have lost their habitat due to deforestation or those who are injured, sick, or orphaned.
- Indoor nursery: Orphaned orangutans start in the indoor nursery, where they learn essential survival skills such as nest building, foraging, climbing, and swinging. They are also given medical care and fed all the nutrients they need.
- Outdoor nursery: Once they’ve mastered these skills, they move to the outdoor nursery, an open space with ropes and feeding platforms where they can explore the jungle, practice their skills, and build confidence.
- Feeding platform: About 1km from the outdoor nursery, there is a feeding platform in the jungle where rangers assess whether the orangutans are ready to be fully rehabilitated.
When is the best time to visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre?
You can visit both the outdoor nursery and the feeding platform during feeding times:
- Outdoor nursery: 9:30am & 10:30am, 2:30pm & 3:30pm
- Feeding platform: 10:00am & 3:00pm
Rangers guide visitors between the locations so you won’t miss a feeding.
On our way to the ourdoor nursery, we were lucky enough to see orangutan in jungle and walking along the pedestrian boardwalk. The rangers don’t allow you to get too near but it was incredible to see them so close to us.
We started at the outdoor nursery, watching the orangutans through a glass screen as they ate, played, and relaxed. Seeing them swing in from the jungle was incredible! The star of the show was Mallan, a huge 25-year-old male orangutan.
Afterward, we walked to the feeding platform, where we stood on a wooden deck with no glass barrier—probably the closest you’ll ever get to seeing orangutans in the wild! As soon as the ranger placed the food down, we watched four wild orangutans swing in for their feast of bananas, papaya, and coconut. It was AMAZING!
We finished around midday and had lunch at the centre’s café, which served a good range of affordable food, drinks, and snacks. After a short walk around the area, we returned at 2pm for the next feeding session.
Since we wanted to fully enjoy the orangutans, we saved the Sun Bear Centre and Rainforest Discovery Centre for the next day. However, if you only have one day, you can visit both since they’re right next to each other.
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
Sun bears are the smallest species of bear and play an important role in the rainforest ecosystem. Sadly, due to deforestation, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade, they are now critically endangered.
Entry to the centre costs £9, which is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it knowing the money supports a great cause.
What does the Sun Bear Conservation Centre do?
- Sun bears face threats from the illegal wildlife trade.
- Their claws and teeth are valued as souvenirs.
- Their gall bladder and bile are used in traditional Asian “medicine.”
- Hunters kill mother sun bears to steal their cubs, which are then sold as illegal pets. These cubs are often kept in cages, unable to develop the skills they need to survive in the wild.
The centre helps rehabilitate sun bears by teaching them to forage for food, climb trees, build nests, and interact with others. Once ready, they are released into the jungle, where they continue to be tracked and monitored.
When is the best time to visit the Sun Bear Conservation Centre?
Unlike the orangutans, there are no set feeding times, as the centre encourages natural foraging. This means it’s a bit of a waiting game to see them.
We arrived at 9am, but the bears weren’t fed until 11am. Some reviews mentioned feeding times around 11:30am and 2pm, so I’d probably recommend aiming for around these times. However, even outside of feeding times, we saw sun bears roaming their enclosures, foraging, and climbing trees, so if you can’t time it right for feeding then you may still see them.
Rainforest Discovery Centre
After watching the sun bears, we walked 20 minutes to the Rainforest Discovery Centre. It costs around £5.25 to enter and is open every day from 8am-5pm.
What’s included? Miles of jungle trails, a canopy walk, a skywalk, and several watchtowers. We saw a variety of birds, insects, and lizards, and if you’re lucky, you might even spot monkeys or orangutans!
Where to stay to visit Sepilok
You have two main options when visiting Sepilok:
1. Stay in Sepilok (what we did)
Pros: Closer to the wildlife centres, beautiful jungle surroundings, eco-lodges available.
Cons: Slightly more expensive, very rural with little to do in the evenings.
We stayed at Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat for just £7.50 per night per person in a shared dorm. Even though the dorm had 12 beds, we had it all to ourselves! They also have private lodges, which looked great.
It was such a unique experience falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of the jungle, surrounded by stunning views. The retreat offers:
- Free shuttle to the Orangutan Sanctuary (9am & 2pm, return at 2pm & 4pm).
- Free breakfast (toast, eggs, sausage, fruit).
- Free tea & coffee all day.
- Lunch & dinner available at very affordable prices, with delicious homemade food.
We had such a lovely stay here and I’d highly recommend this place for anyone seeking a rural jungle experience in Sepilok!
2. Stay in Sandakan (40 minutes away)
Pros: Cheaper accommodation, more restaurants and bars.
Cons: Requires booking day trips to Sepilok, missing out on the jungle experience.
Personally, I’d highly recommend staying in Sepilok for 1-2 nights to experience sleeping in the jungle and save a 40 minute journey!
Top tip: if you are planning to go on a Kinabatangan river cruise afterwards, most companies will offer pick up from both Sepilok and Sandakan. Sepilok is 40 minutes closer to Kinabatangan, saving you some journey time.
Sepilok: final thoughts
Seeing orangutans and sun bears in Sepilok was an unforgettable highlight of our Borneo trip. Both centres are doing incredible work to protect these animals, and I’m so glad we could support them.
I hope this guide helps you plan your visit! 🙂