Bako National Park

Gazetted in 1957, Bako is Sarawak's oldest national park, and despite being barely an hour from Kuching it feels like a different world. There's no road in — a small boat from Kampung Bako drops visitors straight onto the park's beach, with the sea stacks and sandstone cliffs that make Bako famous visible from the water before you even land.

Bako holds the largest known population of proboscis monkeys anywhere, often spotted right around the park headquarters, alongside long-tailed macaques, silvered langurs and monitor lizards. Short, well-marked trails cut through mangrove, kerangas heath forest and cliff-top scrub in the space of a few hours' walking.

Take the Red Bus No. 1 from Kuching to Kampung Bako — buses run roughly hourly from about 7am and cost around RM3.50. A Grab costs roughly RM30–35 one way, a taxi RM60–70 or more, and shared minivans wait at the Open Air Market bus station for about RM5 per person. From the Bako jetty, a return boat to the park costs about RM200 per boat (up to five people) — cash only, paid at the booking office.