Borneo Wildlife Photo Expedition

Borneo Wildlife Photo Expedition

Prices From £13,865pp
April to October | 12 nights
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Borneo Wildlife Photo Expedition

Venture deep into the ancient rainforests of Borneo on this specialist photography expedition designed around the island’s most remarkable wildlife encounters. From coastal mangroves and jungle rivers to canopy walkways, limestone caves and primary rainforest, this journey explores a rich variety of habitats where orangutans, proboscis monkeys, sun bears, pygmy elephants, hornbills and countless other species may be photographed in their natural surroundings.

Travelling with expert photographic guidance throughout, you’ll visit renowned conservation centres at Semenggoh, Sepilok and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, cruise the wildlife-rich Kinabatangan River, witness the dramatic bat exodus at Gomantong Caves and spend several days immersed in the extraordinary biodiversity of the Danum Valley. Small group travel, remote lodges and carefully timed excursions from sunrise to after dark ensure outstanding opportunities to observe, learn and capture Borneo’s wild beauty.

Highlights

  • Photograph orangutans at Semenggoh and Sepilok, with further chances to spot them in the wild along the Kinabatangan River and in remote rainforest reserves
  • Explore Bako National Park by private boat, searching for proboscis monkeys, silvered leaf monkeys, macaques and tropical birds among mangroves, beaches and sculpted sandstone cliffs
  • Enjoy a private tour of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
  • Cruise the Kinabatangan River by day, at sunrise, dusk and after dark, looking for pygmy elephants, crocodiles, otters, hornbills, kingfishers and nocturnal wildlife
  • Witness the spectacular dusk bat exodus at Gomantong Caves
  • Spend three days photographing in the Danum Valley, one of Borneo’s finest tracts of undisturbed lowland rainforest, with canopy walks, trails, watchtower views and night drives
  • Stay in secluded rainforest lodges close to key wildlife habitats
  • Benefit from expert photographic coaching, naturalist insight and local guiding, with support for rainforest shooting techniques, wildlife tracking and post-processing

What's Included

  • Flights from Kuching to Sandakan, and Lahad Datu to Kota Kinabalu.
  • Accommodation each night
  • All meals throughout the expedition
  • Services of professional Expedition Leader(s), local guides and camp staff
  • Airport transfers on day 1 and final day 
  • Private boat cruises at Bako National Park and Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
  • All activities and entrance fees, taxes, permits and service fees




Our popularitinerary Suggestions

All our itinerary holidays are fully customisable

Kuching - Semenggoh Orangutan Center
1Day

Kuching - Semenggoh Orangutan Center

Arrive independently to Kuching, the lively capital of Sarawak and one of Borneo’s most culturally layered cities, where Malay, Chinese, Indian and Indonesian influences meet along the riverfront. After transferring to your central five-star hotel and enjoying lunch, the expedition begins in earnest with an afternoon visit to Semenggoh Orangutan Centre, a renowned forest reserve offering exceptional opportunities to photograph orangutans at close range.

Founded to care for injured, orphaned and formerly captive wildlife, Semenggoh has become a powerful conservation success story. Today, its semi-wild orangutans live freely within the surrounding forest, with younger generations born to rehabilitated mothers among the trees. As they emerge for the afternoon feeding, you’ll have your first chance to capture intimate images of one of Borneo’s most iconic species before gathering this evening for a welcome dinner with your Expedition Leader.

Accommodation: 2 nights at Hilton Kuching

Boat Cruise to Bako National Park
2Day

Boat Cruise to Bako National Park

This morning we’ll travel by private boat to Bako National Park, set on a wild coastal peninsula where rivers, rainforest and sea converge. The approach itself is striking, with sculpted sandstone cliffs, wave-cut arches and pale beaches creating dramatic landscape photography opportunities before you even step ashore.

Though compact in size, Bako is wonderfully rich in wildlife and varied habitats. Follow forest and mangrove trails in search of proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, silvered leaf monkeys, tropical birds and, with luck, smooth-coated otters or Bornean bearded pigs. With rainforest, jungle streams, mangroves and secluded beaches all within reach, today offers a rewarding mix of wildlife, landscape and close-detail photography before returning to Kuching.

Sandakan / Kabili-Sepilok Nature Reserve
3Day

Sandakan / Kabili-Sepilok Nature Reserve

You will take your flight to Sandakan this morning and continue to the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, a protected wilderness of tropical forest, sandstone ridges and lowland mangroves. Settle into your lodge on the edge of the reserve, where towering trees and dense tropical foliage create an immediate sense of immersion in Borneo’s rainforest world.

This afternoon, visit the Rainforest Discovery Centre to explore its gardens and elevated canopy walkway, a superb vantage point for birdlife and forest photography. The reserve is home not only to endangered orangutans, but also gibbons, macaques, mouse deer, wild boar and vivid kingfishers. After dark, venture out on a guided night walk, listening for the sounds of the forest and looking for the nocturnal creatures that emerge after sunset.

Accommodation: 2 nights at Sepilok Nature Lodge

Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary & Sun Bear Conservation Center
4Day

Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary & Sun Bear Conservation Center

Spend today at the heart of two of Borneo’s most important wildlife conservation projects. Begin with early access to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, returning again in the afternoon to photograph orangutans as they move through the forest to feeding platforms. Along the boardwalks, watch young orangutans practise the skills they need for life in the wild, from climbing and nest-building to foraging, with the chance to spot macaques in the canopy as well.

Later, enjoy a private tour of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, dedicated to the care, rehabilitation and release of the world’s smallest bear species. Led by the centre’s founder or one of his close conservation colleagues, the visit offers insight into the threats facing Malayan sun bears and the work being done to protect them. For photographers, it is a rare opportunity to observe and capture images of this elusive, little-known species in a setting devoted to its long-term survival.

Labuk Bay / Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
5Day

Labuk Bay / Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary

This morning we will set off for the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, a coastal mangrove reserve where Borneo’s remarkable proboscis monkeys can be photographed at close range. With their distinctive noses, expressive faces and agile leaps through the trees, these endemic primates make for wonderfully characterful subjects before the journey continues deeper into Sabah’s wild river country.

Next we’ll travel by boat into the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, where dense mangroves and rainforest line Sabah’s longest river. Your remote lodge sits on the riverbank, far from roads and villages, offering a rare sense of seclusion in the heart of the forest. Explore on guided walks and river cruises by day and at dusk, watching for birds, crocodiles and nocturnal wildlife, while nearby boardwalks provide opportunities for birding, macro photography and quiet observation of the jungle at close range.

Accommodation: 2 nights at Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort

Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
6Day

Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary

Spend a full day exploring the Kinabatangan River by private boat, a superb setting for wildlife photography and one of Southeast Asia’s richest natural corridors. As the river winds through dense forest and tangled vegetation, your guides help scan the trees and riverbanks for orangutans, proboscis monkeys, gibbons, macaques, pygmy elephants, otters, crocodiles, monitor lizards and an exceptional variety of birdlife including rhinoceros hornbill and kingfisher to name just a couple.

Surrounded by palm oil plantations, this sanctuary is a vital refuge for species under increasing pressure from habitat loss. Today’s slower pace allows time to observe behaviour, wait for fleeting moments and refine your approach to photographing wildlife in challenging rainforest conditions. Between river outings, look closely at the smaller details of the forest, where leaves, insects, textures and tropical blooms offer excellent opportunities for macro photography.

Kinabatangan River / Sukau Rainforest
7Day

Kinabatangan River / Sukau Rainforest

After breakfast, we’ll travel upriver by boat to Sukau Rainforest Lodge, watching the scenery shift from swampy mangroves to dense lowland rainforest as you move deeper into the Kinabatangan ecosystem. On arrival, settle into your deluxe jungle villa and enjoy lunch surrounded by one of Borneo’s most rewarding wildlife regions.

This afternoon, return to the river in search of life along the banks, with the Sukau area offering some of the best chances to photograph Borneo’s pygmy elephants in their natural range. Wildlife is often seen close to the lodge too, from orangutans and proboscis monkeys to silvered leaf langurs and macaques. After dinner, join your Expedition Leader for a guided night walk, looking and listening for the forest’s nocturnal activity.

Accommodation: 2 nights at Sukau Rainforest Lodge

Sukau River Cruise / Gomantong Caves / Night Cruise
8Day

Sukau River Cruise / Gomantong Caves / Night Cruise

Rise before dawn for coffee and a light snack before setting out by boat as the rainforest stirs into life. In the soft early light, watch for birds, primates and other wildlife along the riverbanks, then return to the lodge for breakfast. Later, explore the surrounding trail network with your Expedition Leader, looking for orangutans, proboscis monkeys, silvered leaf langurs, colugos and other forest species close to the lodge.

After lunch, we’ll travel to Gomantong Caves, where a resident orangutan population lives in the surrounding reserve. After exploring the vast cave chamber, take your place on the viewing platform for one of Borneo’s most dramatic natural spectacles, where hundreds of thousands of bats stream out at dusk, pursued by raptors such as bat hawks, Wallace’s hawk-eagles and, occasionally, hornbills. Return to Sukau for dinner, then head back onto the river for a night cruise in search of nocturnal wildlife.

Rainforest Photography in the Danum Valley
9 - 11Days

Rainforest Photography in the Danum Valley

On the morning of day 9 you will leave the Kinabatangan region behind and travel via Lahad Datu into the Danum Valley, one of Borneo’s most extraordinary areas of protected primary rainforest. Here, towering trees, tangled vines and rich undergrowth create a magnificent setting for rainforest photography, while the secluded Borneo Rainforest Lodge places you deep within this ancient wilderness.

Over the next three days, explore the forest on foot, along canopy walkways and by open-top electric safari vehicle after dark, searching for orangutans, proboscis monkeys, clouded leopard and a wealth of birdlife, insects and nocturnal species. A sunrise shoot from a watchtower offers the chance to photograph mist drifting across the canopy in golden light, while evenings at the lodge include photography workshops and post-processing support from your Expedition Leader.

Accommodation: 3 nights at Borneo Rainforest Lodge

Danum Valley / Lahad Datu to Kota Kinabalu
12Day

Danum Valley / Lahad Datu to Kota Kinabalu

Enjoy a final morning in the Danum Valley with an easy nature walk or time on the canopy walkway, scanning the treetops for some of Borneo’s striking birdlife. Great slaty woodpeckers, black-and-red broadbills, giant pittas and many other species may offer one last opportunity for forest photography before leaving this remarkable rainforest setting.

Later, transfer by road to Lahad Datu and fly to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s coastal capital. Fringed by rainforest and set beside the South China Sea, the city brings a lively change of pace with its markets, boardwalk, beaches and waterfront atmosphere. This evening, gather for a farewell dinner to celebrate the wildlife encounters, rainforest landscapes and photographic moments of your Borneo expedition.

Accommodation: 1 night at Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu - End of Tour
13Day

Kota Kinabalu - End of Tour

After breakfast, transfer to the airport in Kota Kinabalu for your onward flight. Depart Borneo with memory cards full of rainforest encounters, rare wildlife sightings and images captured across some of the island’s most extraordinary natural habitats.

See All Itinerary

A view from Above

Accommodation Options

Sukau Rainforest Lodge, Borneo

Sukau Rainforest Lodge is nestled on the banks of one of Borneo's most important waterways, the Kinabatangan River, home to many of Borneo's magnificent wildlife. Guests can immerse themselves in the tranquillity of the rainforest and the cacophony of its inhabitants. Sukau Rainforest Lodge offers 20 villas that exude exotic Borneo vibes and lush comfort to further heighten guests’ experience. The villas are equipped with air-conditioning, a minibar and private balconies. Facilities include the lodge’s Attenborough Boardwalk, Melapi Restaurant and Gomantong Hall.

Borneo Rainforest Lodge

Sukau Rainforest Lodge is nestled on the banks of one of Borneo's most important waterways, the Kinabatangan River, home to many of Borneo's magnificent wildlife. Guests can immerse themselves in the tranquillity of the rainforest and the cacophony of its inhabitants. Sukau Rainforest Lodge offers 20 villas that exude exotic Borneo vibes and lush comfort to further heighten guests’ experience. The villas are equipped with air-conditioning, a minibar and private balconies. Facilities include the lodge’s Attenborough Boardwalk, Melapi Restaurant and Gomantong Hall.

Sepilok Nature Lodge, Sandakan

Sepilok Nature Lodge is a classic jungle hideaway near Sandakan, tucked among dense tropical vegetation, towering trees and gardens filled with rare orchids. Its location within walking distance of the famous Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary makes it an ideal base for wildlife lovers, while the surrounding rainforest gives the lodge a wonderfully immersive, away-from-it-all feel.

Guests stay in steep-roofed wooden chalets set within the greenery, each fully air-conditioned and opening onto a private veranda with forest views. Inside, glossy hardwood floors, high beamed ceilings, crisp cotton linens and comfortable beds create a warm, rustic feel, while private bathrooms feature stone soaking tubs for relaxing after a day of exploring. Elevated boardwalks wind through gardens home to around 150 orchid varieties, leading to a peaceful patio deck and restaurant overlooking a lake backed by rainforest.

Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort, Sabah

This remote jungle lodge is hidden within the wildlife-rich Lower Kinabatangan Segama Wetlands of Sabah, around an hour by boat from Sandakan Harbour. Surrounded by freshwater swamps, mangroves and secondary forest, it offers a true sense of immersion in one of Borneo’s most biodiverse wilderness areas, where monkeys, hornbills, orangutans and even pygmy elephants may be spotted.

The resort has just 10 spacious wooden chalets, reached by elevated ironwood walkways that wind through the forest. Each chalet is designed for comfort and privacy, with polished hardwood floors, air conditioning, ceiling fans, cool linens and a private open-air deck for quiet time in nature. Ensuite bathrooms feature large walk-in hot and cold showers, double sinks and toiletries, while WiFi is available in the restaurant area. With 24-hour electricity and a wonderfully secluded setting, Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort is a comfortable base for exploring the wetlands’ extraordinary wildlife and riverine landscapes.

Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu

Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu is a stylish 5-star hotel in the heart of the city’s lively waterfront district, with sweeping views over the South China Sea, nearby islands and Sabah’s green hills. Contemporary, design-led and superbly placed for exploring Kota Kinabalu, it brings a polished urban feel to the start or end of a Borneo adventure.

Guest rooms are sleek and spacious, styled by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and decorated with locally inspired artwork celebrating Sabah’s heritage. Each room has a private balcony, floor-to-ceiling windows, air conditioning, blackout curtains, king or twin beds, high-speed WiFi, a 55-inch TV, minibar, Nespresso machine and modern bathroom with a walk-in rain shower. Dining is at ON22, where locally sourced Asian cuisine is served indoors or al fresco, while the rooftop ON23 Sky Bar is the place for Borneo-inspired cocktails. A double infinity-edge pool and 24-hour fitness centre complete the experience, both with fantastic elevated views.

Hilton Kuching

The Hilton Kuching is a polished 5-star riverside hotel set on the banks of the Sarawak River, with sweeping views across Kuching’s waterfront, city skyline and winding river. Recently refurbished, it combines sleek contemporary design with tropical touches, from light-filled public spaces and lush greenery to artisanal wood details that nod to Sarawak’s cultural heritage.

Deluxe rooms are calm and modern, with neutral interiors, floor-to-ceiling windows, king-size beds with crisp linens, a lounge area and practical workspace. Amenities include high-speed internet, a 55-inch TV, mini refrigerator, tea and coffee facilities, and ensuite bathrooms with granite finishes, walk-in showers and premium toiletries. Dining options range from generous breakfasts at Waterfront Cafe to Cantonese cuisine at Toh Yuen, an award-winning steakhouse, and cocktails at Senso Bar. With its central location, river views and comfortable facilities, Hilton Kuching is a smart, convenient base for exploring the capital of Sarawak.

Too much to choose from? This is where we come in

Take advantage of our vast experience, passion and expertise to help you hand craft the perfect Borneo adventure for you.

Simon Rowland Senior Travel Expert

Simon’s deep passion for and first-hand knowledge of a vast range of destinations all over the world gives him the ideal skills to help you create a truly unforgettable wildlife inspired adventure to the most exciting places on the planet.

Michael Gardiner Senior Travel Expert

Mike has more than 15 years of experience in the travel industry and continues to be inspired by the people, places and wildlife he discovers. His in-depth personal knowledge of a diverse range of destinations ensures your adventure itinerary will be a holiday like no other.

Sheena Ogley Senior Travel Expert

Sheena’s abiding love of adventure travel has taken her to some of the most incredible wildlife-rich places on Earth. Her vast experience and genuine desire to share her knowledge makes her an outstanding and invaluable person to help you organise your wildlife adventure trip.

Ready to start planning youronce in a lifetime trip?

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Outside the uk
+ 44 1625 5811 43 Call us
+ 44 1625 5811 43 Call us
+ 44 1625 5811 43

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Ready to start planning youronce in a lifetime trip?

Call us - 0800 195 3385
Outside the uk? + 44 1625 5811 43 + 44 1625 5811 43 Call us - 0800 195 3385

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Enquiry form

Book Consultation

Book a
Consultation

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