Things to Do in Sabah: The Complete Guide for Adventure Travellers (2026)

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Most visitors to Sabah see the same handful of places: Kota Kinabalu, Sepilok, the Kinabatangan River. All of them are worth visiting. But Sabah is far larger and far wilder than the standard itinerary suggests, and some of its most extraordinary experiences sit in the deep interior, where the jungle is genuinely untouched, the communities are genuinely indigenous, and the adventures are genuinely once-in-a-lifetime.

This guide covers the full picture: the well-known experiences you should not skip, and the off-the-beaten-path destinations that most travellers never find.

The Best Things to Do in Sabah

1. Trek to Batu Punggul: Sabah's Most Underrated Adventure

If there is one thing to do in Sabah that most international travellers have never heard of but should make the centrepiece of their trip, it is Batu Punggul.

Batu Punggul is a 300-metre limestone pinnacle that rises dramatically out of the primary rainforest in the Sapulot district of southwestern Sabah. Getting there requires a drive from Kota Kinabalu to Keningau, followed by a journey deeper into the interior to the Orou Sapulot region, a stretch of wilderness that remains largely unknown to mainstream tourism. From the riverbank, a 45-minute jungle trek through virgin forest brings you to the base of the pinnacle, where guests can free-scale the rock face to reach the summit.

The view from the top is one of the most spectacular in all of Borneo: an unbroken canopy of ancient rainforest stretching in every direction, completely unmarked by roads, buildings or cleared land. On a clear day you can see for kilometres in every direction and hear nothing but the forest.

Batu Punggul is accessible through Orou Sapulot tours operated by the original Murut founders of the region, a community that has been guiding visitors through this wilderness for decades and knows it better than anyone.

Who it is for: Moderately adventurous travellers looking for something genuinely off the beaten path. No technical climbing experience required.

How to get there: Via Orou Sapulot tour packages departing from Kota Kinabalu. The journey is part of the experience.

2. Explore Pungiton Cave: A Sacred Underground World

Pungiton Cave sits approximately 15 minutes by river from Labang Village in the Orou Sapulot area and is considered sacred by the local Murut community who have lived alongside it for generations. It is not a cave in the tourist sense. There are no paved walkways, no electric lighting, no handrails. It is a genuine cave system consisting of multiple levels, filled with extraordinary rock formations and a remarkable diversity of fauna including cave swiftlets, bats, and insects found nowhere else.

A guided trek through the cave takes approximately two hours. The experience requires a headlamp, a sense of adventure, and a guide who knows the system well, all of which are included when you visit through an Orou Sapulot tour.

What makes Pungiton genuinely special is the combination of natural spectacle and cultural significance. The cave is not simply a geological feature; it is a living part of Murut heritage and has been treated with respect by the community for as long as anyone can remember. Visiting it with a local guide means understanding it through that lens, which changes the experience entirely.

3. Immerse Yourself in Murut Culture at Romol Eco-Village

The Murut people of Sabah are one of the oldest indigenous ethnic groups in Borneo. They call themselves the "hill people," and their culture, shaped over centuries by the rivers, forests and highlands of southwestern Sabah, is extraordinarily rich. The Murut were historically the last ethnic group in Sabah to renounce headhunting, a practice tied deeply to their spiritual beliefs rather than aggression. Their most celebrated hero, Ontoros Antonom, led a thousand Murut fighters against British colonial forces in 1915 armed with blowpipes and swords. That warrior spirit has not disappeared. It has transformed into something equally fierce: a determination to protect their land, their culture, and their community through sustainable tourism.

Romol Eco-Village in Orou Sapulot is the centrepiece of that effort. An overnight stay at the longhouse includes:

• The Lansaran: The traditional Murut dance performed on a large bamboo floor that functions like a trampoline. Dancers jump to reach a suspended object above them, a tradition historically performed to welcome warriors returning from battle. Guests are invited to participate and almost everyone does.
• Gong music: The agung ensemble of large hanging gongs accompanies Murut ceremonies and performances. Hearing it deep in the jungle at night is an experience that stays with you.
• Traditional rice wine (Tapai): Prepared by the villagers according to strict customs passed down through generations, Tapai is served from a jar through a bamboo straw and accompanied by small bites of traditional food. It is a must-try for every guest.
• Traditional meals: Prepared by the Murut women using produce from the surrounding farm and forest. Simple, fresh, and unlike anything you will find in a Kota Kinabalu restaurant.

This is not a cultural performance put on for tourists by people who no longer live that way. The community at Romol Eco-Village lives this culture daily. When you visit, you are a guest in their home.

4. Take a Longboat to the Kalimantan Border

One of the most exhilarating things to do in Sabah is a longboat ride through the river rapids of the Sapulot River, all the way to the border with Indonesian Kalimantan. Departing from Salung Jetty on a motorised wooden longboat navigated by expert village boatmen who have spent their lives on these rivers, the journey shoots through white-water rapids, passes Murut villages on both banks, and gives you a window into a way of life that exists completely outside the modern world.

The ride upstream is adrenaline; the ride downstream, through calmer stretches, offers time to absorb the landscape. You will pass stilted longhouses, children swimming in the river, women doing laundry on the banks, and fishermen setting traps in the shallows. It is, quite simply, Borneo at its most real.

5. Swim at Vangkaakon and Kabulongou Waterfalls

Sabah has no shortage of waterfalls, but most of the ones visited by tourists require little more than a short walk from a car park. Vangkaakon Waterfall and Kabulongou Waterfall are different. Both sit deep within the primary rainforest of the Orou Sapulot region, accessible only after a jungle trek or river journey. Neither has been commercialised. Neither has facilities, souvenir stalls, or crowds.

Vangkaakon is a natural pool surrounded by forest, cold, clear, and quiet, and the Murut describe it as a gift from nature. Kabulongou Waterfall is a more dramatic cascade set in an area that is part of an active forest rehabilitation effort; guests who visit through the Kabulongou Earth packages can plant high-value seedlings and contribute directly to reforestation while they are there.

Both waterfalls are the kind of place where you arrive planning to stay an hour and end up staying three.

6. Try Agro-Tourism at Munor Aulai Farm

For travellers interested in sustainable food production, traditional farming, and the relationship between indigenous communities and the land they live on, the Munor Aulai Farm in Romol Eco-Village offers something genuinely rare: a hands-on agro-tourism experience run by the Murut community.

Activities include:

• Walking the farm from nursery to harvest, learning about the crops grown and how they are processed
• Learning traditional Murut beading and weaving, crafts that have been passed down through generations
• Participating in Tapai making (the traditional rice wine production process)
• Farm-to-table meals prepared using produce grown on-site

For families with children, this is one of the most educational and memorable experiences available anywhere in Sabah. For solo travellers and couples, it offers an intimacy with rural Bornean life that no amount of guided bus tours can replicate.

7. Climb Mount Kinabalu

No guide to things to do in Sabah would be complete without Mount Kinabalu, Southeast Asia's highest peak at 4,095 metres and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mountain dominates the skyline of much of Sabah and draws trekkers from around the world every year.

The standard summit climb is a two-day, one-night experience. Day one involves a 6-kilometre climb through lower montane forest, upper montane forest, and subalpine zones to the overnight resthouse at Laban Rata (3,272 metres). Summit day begins at 2am for the final push to the top in time for sunrise, an experience described by nearly every climber as the highlight of their trip to Borneo.

Mount Kinabalu is not technically difficult but it is physically demanding. The altitude affects almost everyone. Book permits well in advance as daily numbers are strictly limited.

8. Go Wildlife Spotting on the Kinabatangan River

The Kinabatangan River in eastern Sabah is one of the finest wildlife destinations in all of Southeast Asia. The river and its surrounding oxbow lakes form one of the most biodiverse corridors on the planet, a narrow strip of forest that channels wildlife to the riverbank where it can be observed from boats.

Regular sightings on the Kinabatangan include proboscis monkeys (found nowhere outside Borneo), pygmy elephants, orangutans, crocodiles, storm's storks, and multiple species of hornbill. Night cruises frequently turn up mouse deer, civets, and sleeping birds on low branches.

The best base is one of the riverfront lodges at Sukau, a small village on the river that has built its economy almost entirely around wildlife tourism. Most lodges run morning and evening river cruises as standard.

9. Visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

Sepilok near Sandakan is home to one of the most famous wildlife experiences in Borneo: a rehabilitation centre for orphaned orangutans that have been rescued from deforestation, the pet trade, or human-wildlife conflict. Twice daily feeding sessions bring the orangutans, at various stages of rehabilitation, to a forest platform where visitors can watch from a viewing area a short distance away.

It is one of those experiences that is genuinely moving regardless of how many wildlife documentaries you have watched. Orangutans are extraordinarily close to humans in their behaviour, and watching young ones play while older, more independent individuals swing in from the surrounding forest puts the conservation challenge in Borneo into very immediate and personal context.

Sepilok also houses the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, which can be visited on the same trip and is equally impressive.

10. Explore Kota Kinabalu Before You Go Further

Most trips to Sabah begin in Kota Kinabalu (KK), the state capital on the northwestern coast. KK is a city worth a day or two of exploration before heading into the interior or east.

Key things to do in Kota Kinabalu include:

• The Night Market (Filipino Market): The best seafood you will eat in Sabah. Choose your fish from the vendors, have it grilled to order, and eat it on the waterfront.
• Gaya Street Sunday Market: A weekly street market that takes over the main street in the old part of town. Local produce, handicrafts, street food and general chaos in the best possible sense.
• Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park: Five islands a short boat ride from the KK waterfront. Snorkelling, beach time, and some of the most accessible coral in Malaysia.
• Sabah State Museum: A good introduction to the cultural and natural history of Sabah before you head out to experience it firsthand.

How to Plan Your Sabah Itinerary

If You Have 4-5 Days

Fly into Kota Kinabalu, spend one night in the city, then head directly to Orou Sapulot for a 4D3N package that covers Batu Punggul, Pungiton Cave, Vangkaakon Waterfall, and an overnight in Romol Eco-Village. This is the most condensed way to experience genuine, off-the-beaten-path Sabah.

If You Have 7–10 Days

Add the Kinabatangan River wildlife experience in eastern Sabah and the Sepilok Orangutan Centre. A 7-10 day itinerary that combines Orou Sapulot with the eastern wildlife corridor covers the full spectrum of what makes Sabah exceptional: cultural depth and wildlife spectacle in equal measure.

If You Have 2 Weeks

Consider adding a Mount Kinabalu summit attempt, a day or two in Kota Kinabalu, and extensions into the Kabulongou Earth conservation experience. Two weeks is enough time to genuinely understand Sabah rather than simply pass through it.

When to Visit Sabah

Sabah can be visited year-round but the dry season, broadly March to October, offers the most reliable trekking and outdoor conditions. River levels in the Sapulot area are generally better during this period, making longboat travel smoother and waterfall swims more accessible.

The wet season (November to February) brings heavier rainfall and some trail closures but also emptier destinations, lower prices, and a different kind of jungle beauty. The Kinabatangan River actually produces better wildlife sightings during and just after the wet season, when flooding pushes animals to higher ground and concentrates them along the riverbank.

What to Pack for Sabah

For jungle activities in Orou Sapulot specifically, the following are essential:

• Trekking shoes or rubber shoes with cleats (locally known as "Adidas Kampung", available in Keningau)
• Leech socks
• Lightweight rain jacket
• Insect repellent and sunscreen
• Headlamp or torch
• Swimming attire
• Cash (there are no ATMs in the Sapulot area, so withdraw in Keningau before you depart)
• Sandals or flip flops for around camp

Getting to Sabah

Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is well-served by AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, and several regional carriers. Direct connections operate from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila, Seoul, Guangzhou, and several other Asian hubs.

For travel to Orou Sapulot from Kota Kinabalu, all transfers are arranged as part of tour packages, including 4x4 vehicles for the interior roads and longboat transport within the Sapulot river system.

The Bottom Line

Sabah rewards the traveller who is willing to go a little further than the standard itinerary. The well-known experiences are genuinely good: Mount Kinabalu, the Kinabatangan wildlife, Sepilok. But the experiences that stay with people longest tend to be the ones that happen deeper in: climbing Batu Punggul at sunrise, jumping on a bamboo Lansaran with Murut children, drinking rice wine from a jar in a rainforest longhouse, shooting rapids in a wooden boat on a river that borders two countries.

These are the things you will not find in a resort brochure. They are the things that make Sabah, Sabah.

Orou Sapulot Tours is run by the original Murut founders of the region and holds multiple tourism awards including the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award and recognition from Lonely Planet. Packages depart from Kota Kinabalu and range from 2 to 5 days. [View all packages here.]

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