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I ♥ SarawakLand of the Hornbills
Traditional houses around the lake at the Sarawak Cultural Village
Culture & Heritage

Sarawak Cultural Village

Damai, Santubong Peninsula

Sarawak's living museum — seven traditional houses, one rainforest cove, and the home of the Rainforest World Music Festival.

Dancers performing at the Sarawak Cultural Village theatre
Dancers performing at the Sarawak Cultural Village theatre · Thomas Quine (CC BY 2.0)
A traditional house at the Sarawak Cultural Village
A traditional house at the Sarawak Cultural Village · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

At the foot of Mount Santubong, the Sarawak Cultural Village gathers the state's many peoples into one rainforest cove: an Iban longhouse, a soaring Melanau tall-house, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Penan, Malay and Chinese dwellings arranged around a lake, each kept alive by members of the community it represents — weaving, carving, cooking and telling stories.

Twice a day the theatre erupts into a whirl of sape music and hornbill dance, and every July the village becomes the stage for the world-famous Rainforest World Music Festival.

Highlights

  • Seven full-scale traditional houses, staffed by their own communities
  • Daily cultural performances (usually late morning and mid-afternoon)
  • Craft demonstrations — pua kumbu weaving, beadwork, sago processing
  • Venue of the Rainforest World Music Festival each July

Good to know

  • Tickets are sold at the gate and online — check current prices and show times before you go
  • Time your visit around a performance; the shows are the heart of the experience
  • Wear walking shoes — the full loop of houses is a comfortable but real walk

Getting there

The village sits at Damai, about 40–50 minutes' drive north of Kuching beneath Mount Santubong — reachable by car, Grab or the Damai shuttle from town, and an easy pairing with Damai Beach.

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Cover photo: Tys (CC BY-SA 3.0); gallery photos as captioned — all via Wikimedia Commons.