The Rejang River

The Rejang is Malaysia's longest river, cutting more than 560km through the heart of Sarawak from the interior highlands out to the South China Sea. Sibu, the river's main port town, grew wealthy on the timber trade that once moved down it by the raft-load, and its wharf — busy with boats, cargo barges and a riverside pagoda — still shows that history.

The express boats that once ran the full route from Kuching stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not resumed, so getting to Sibu today means a bus or a short flight rather than the classic river journey. But upriver from Sibu, the Rejang is still very much a working highway: boats continue running the 130km stretch to Kapit, alongside a 160km road opened in 2021 that now offers an alternative for the same trip.

The old Kuching–Sibu express boat no longer runs (discontinued since the COVID-19 pandemic); reach Sibu by bus from Kuching, or by a short domestic flight. From Sibu, several companies run boats up to Kapit — economy class RM17–20, first class RM25–30, roughly four hours, with departures between about 5:45am and 4:45pm. The alternative is the 160km Sibu–Kapit road, opened in 2021.