Highlights Of Kuching

📍 Distances and journey time:Kuching Airport to City Hotel (13.1km): 25min

ARRIVAL FLIGHT TBA

On arrival at Kuching airport meet the English-Speaking Guide and transfer to the hotel for check-in.

Spend the time free at leisure before a traditional dinner at Lepau Restaurant with authentic Sarawak Cuisine.

Overnight in Kuching

Inclusions:

🍗 Dinner

📍 Distances and journey time:Kuching Hotel to Semenggoh Transfer (20km): 45 mins

Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby at 08:00 and depart for the 45-minute transfer to Semenggoh Orang Utan Wildlife Centre. Established in 1975 and just outside Kuching, Semenggoh Nature Reserve is the home of many orang utans.  For over 20 years, the wardens here trained young orang utans, who had been orphaned or rescued from captivity, how to survive in the wild.

It is now a centre for the study of orang utan biology and behaviour and this is the primary reason that people visit the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, although the Rangers do work with other species including crocodiles and hornbills.

Arrive at Semenggoh for the first feeding of the day at 09:00. Take a short 15-minute walk through the rainforest to the feeding platform where the rangers will be putting out fruits for the orang utans in rehabilitation. They spend most of their time roaming the forest but frequently come back to the centre for a free meal.

Return to Kuching and have lunch enroute.

Upon arrival in Kuching, it is time to start walking through the streets of Kuching. Pay a visit to the ‘Great Cat of Kuching’, a massive feline statue that is just the first of many cat-related visits included on today’s tour. After snapping photos of this kitsch statue, step through the Chinese archway on to Jalan Padungan, an atmospheric lane lined with traditional shop houses.  Visit a local Chinese herbiest to sample tea and select a variety of Kong Piah, a simple sesame-topped pastry, for a snack.

Pass more cat statues on the way to Tua Pek Kong Temple, Kuching’s oldest Chinese temple.  Then cross to riverside walk for stunning views of the Sarawak River and iconic sites such as the State Assembly, Fort Margherita and The Astana. Continue onwards to Hong San Si Temple which marks the entrance to Lebuh Carpenter. Take a stroll along this pleasant lane where colourful cat murals belie the infamous history of this former gangster neighbourhood.

Pop in to the atmospheric Black Bean Coffee for a delicious cup of locally-grown coffee. Then resume the walk along Lebuh Carpenter, passing by more Chinese temples on the way to Kuching’s colonial quarter. Visit the Pavilion which not only features beautiful colonial architecture but also houses the insightful Sarawak Textile Museum. Then take a stroll through the India Street Pedestrian Mall and turn on to Indian Mosque Lane for a glimpse of Kuching’s Indian Malay culture.  

Return to the hotel to freshen up and spend the evening at leisure.

Overnight in Kuching.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

Breakfast at the hotel and spend the morning free at leisure until the tour in the afternoon.

At 14:00, depart Kuching for a 45-minute drive through the picturesque countryside, passing farms, fish ponds and orchards to reach the outskirts of Bau, a former gold mining centre. Upon reaching the extraordinary landscape of limestone karsts, a quick safety briefing from the guide before proceeding to visit Wind Caves and Fairy Caves.

The Wind Cave is a dramatic contrast consisting of multiple river passages through the rock leading to an entrance on the far side of the hill overlooking the Sarawak River.   A raised wooden walkway leads through the cave giving a close-up view of the bats roosting nearby and to look for cave dwelling insects.

The Fairy Cave is the largest cave entrance in the Kuching area and is a few minutes away from Wind Cave by vehicle. Access requires a bit of exertion but is safe and is by way of concrete steps rising about 100 feet with a further set of wooden steps to the main chamber. The roof of the chamber towers above on arrival after entering through a small side passage. Be amazed by the enormous space of stalactites and stalagmites while learning from the guide the tales of how Fairy Cave took its name.

At 17:30 depart the caves to visit the old and forgotten town of Siniawan. In recent years, efforts have been made to revive the traditions and cultures of this old town. For many years Siniawan was a sleepy hollow until the Hakka farmers returned to the area. Today Siniawan is not only a historical town, but a quaint village with a thriving bird’s nest business. Take a walk around the town admiring the shop houses as they retain their original facades before returning to Kuching city at approximately 19:30.

Weekends only: Enjoy the Night Market over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 18:00 where a variety of Hakka hawker stalls sell home cooked food (own expense).

After the tour, return to the hotel and spend the rest of the evening at leisure.

Overnight in Kuching.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

At 08:00, depart Kuching for a 45-minute drive to Bako Fishing Village.  Continue by motorised boat for a 30-minute cruise along the beautiful coast to reach Bako National Park. 

The oldest of Sarawak’s national parks, Bako offers the perfect introduction to Sarawak’s forests and wildlife. Bako is also home to 275 rare proboscis monkey, found only in Borneo. Observe the fabulous proboscis monkeys, silvered langurs, bearded pigs and monitor lizards. Despite its seemingly small size, Bako contains a wide range of vegetation – swamp forest, scrub-like padang vegetation, mangrove forest, dipterocarp forest, delicate cliff vegetation and beautiful sandy beaches.  

Explore the rainforest on a variety of walking trails from mighty 80-metre dipterocarps to dense mangrove forest.  For bird enthusiasts, Bako is home to many species such as the rufous-backed kingfisher, stork-billed kingfisher, red-crowned barbet, white-bellied woodpecker and many more.  During low tide, observe the mudskippers and blue-fiddler crabs coming out from their hideout for feeding on the beaches.

Take a simple lunch at the park café before returning to Bako Village by boat and onward transfer to Kuching.

(Depending on the tides the boats will pull up at the jetty or onto the beach for arrival and departure).

On arrival to Kuching, freshen up at the hotel before an evening meal of Asian fusion dining.

Overnight in Kuching.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

Spend the morning at leisure before a transfer to the airport for onward flight or continue the explorations of Sarawak to Batang Ai or Mulu National Park.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast