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Orangutan centre · Sabah, Borneo

Sepilok

The famous orangutan rehabilitation forest — apes, sun bears and the bizarre proboscis, all near Sandakan.
Getting there
~30 min from Sandakan (SDK), eastern Sabah
Best for
Orangutan rehabilitation centre, sun bears, rainforest discovery centre, easy first stop
The land
Lowland rainforest reserve on the edge of Sandakan
Good to know
The orangutan and sun bear centres are reliable, accessible introductions to Borneo's wildlife
What it is
Sepilok is the gentle introduction to Borneo's wildlife — orphaned orangutans returning to the forest, plus sun bears and rainforest birds.
The world-famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre returns orphaned apes to the wild, and a visit at feeding time is a near-certain, moving orangutan encounter. Next door, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and the Rainforest Discovery Centre add the world's smallest bear and excellent canopy birding — an easy, rich first stop in Sabah.
Sepilok — orangutan centre.
The reason to come

Apes, bears and canopy birds

Sepilok is the reliable, accessible opener to a Borneo journey.

Orangutan centre

Rehabilitating apes seen at the feeding platforms.

Sun bears

The world's smallest bear, at the adjacent conservation centre.

Rainforest Discovery Centre

A canopy walkway for hornbills and the Bornean bristlehead.

Worth knowing

The welcoming introduction

Sepilok eases you into Borneo with near-guaranteed orangutans before the wilder forests.
An orangutan at the Sepilok rehabilitation centre.
When to come — honestly

An all-year, all-access stop.

March – October
Best
Drier months — best for the canopy walkway and birding.
Year-round
Good
The centres run year-round, rain or shine.
Sepilok's orangutans are rehabilitants, not fully wild — it is an introduction, with the wild apes found at Kinabatangan and Danum.
Context

Rehabilitation, not the wild

Sepilok's apes are being returned to the wild, which makes it a reliable, meaningful first encounter rather than a wild sighting.

It opens a Sabah circuit before the Kinabatangan and Danum.

We start Sabah trips at Sepilok, then head to the wild forests for the truly wild apes.

Beyond the obvious

More to Sepilok.

Orangutan feeding

Orangutan feeding

At the rehabilitation platforms.

Sun bear centre

Sun bear centre

The world's smallest bear.

Canopy walkway

Canopy walkway

Birding the Rainforest Discovery Centre.

Why Wild Voyager

We get you to the right forest at the right time.

From river lodges to night-drive reserves, we match the parks and guides to your targets — orangutans, clouded leopards or ten species of hornbill.

Handpicked lodges

We choose the lodge and guiding that fit your dates and targets, not whatever is left.

We time it right

We build your visit around the season and the displays that deliver.

Wildlife you may see
Birds Primates

Plan your Sepilok journey.

Visit the orangutan and sun bear centres and bird the canopy. Tell us your dates and we will build the route around it.

Plan a Sepilok trip

Field notes, now and then.

Where to go · When to go · Wildlife in season

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