Welcome to Kuching, capital of Malaysia’s Sarawak state, sandwiched between the jungle and the winding Sarawak River. Touching down at the airport, a private Flash Pack transfer will be waiting to take you to your central hotel, where you can get your first taste of city life and adjust to the humid tropical heat. After meeting your Pack Leader and group, you’ll set out to explore this beautiful laidback city: a melting pot of history, culture and cuisine, with Indian, Chinese, Malay and colonial influences evident at every turn. Tonight, you’ll get to know each other over a delicious feast of ethnic food from the Orang Ulu and Dayak tribes, raising a glass of tuak (local rice wine) to 12 days of adventure to come.

Now to go off-grid as you drive four hours east to Lemanak Jetty, stopping to explore local bazaars and have lunch at one of the market towns scattered along the route. You’ll jump aboard a motorised longboat and travel upriver against the rapids, paddling and poling in the shade of thick jungle foliage to reach the remote Ngemah Ulu Longhouse. These traditional tribal homes – a long wooden veranda on stilts, with doors leading off to family rooms – house the whole village under one roof. You’ll spend the afternoon immersed in local life, making baskets, mending fishing nets and swimming in the river, before joining your hosts for an entertaining evening of dancing and drumming.

Wake up to the sound of the jungle’s morning chorus and village life unfolding around you. Start your day with a blowpipe demonstration with a chance to try and master this traditional hunting skill yourself. You’ll visit an indigenous burial ground filled with antic jars, which were given for the dead. Then, you’ll take a walk into the jungle to forage for your lunch. From wild ferns to ginger shoots, you’ll gather up a crop of fresh jungle delicacies to prepare a native-style picnic on the riverbank – perfect for a dip if you’re feeling the jungle heat. Returning to the longboat jetty, you’ll journey back to Kuching. After two days spent deep in the rainforest, the evening is yours to enjoy city life.

After breakfast, you’ll catch a short flight to Gunung Mulu National Park. Flanked by razor sharp mountains, this Unesco-listed park is known for its extensive cave systems. You’ll hike for three kilometres to Lang Cave, home to impressive stalactites and stalagmites. Next, you’ll explore nearby Deer Cave, the world’s biggest cave passage, with a spectacular main chamber reaching 122 metres high and leading onto Borneo’s Garden of Eden: a pocket of lush green plants bathed in sunlight from an opening in the roof. As dusk falls, watch over a million bats flying in a mass exodus for their nightly feeding forays. Hiking back through the jungle after dark, keep your eyes peeled for stick insects, fireflies and luminescent fungi.

Start your day with a longboat ride up the Melinau River to explore more impressive limestone caves. At Wind Cave, you’ll pass through the King’s Chamber, then feel the burn as you climb 250 steps to the entrance of Mulu’s Clearwater Cave, which, at 107 kilometres, is the longest in Asia. When water levels are low you can take a beautiful four-kilometre hike right through the heart of the cave, marvelling at its colossal scale. Having stopped by an idyllic pool shaded by rainforest for a refreshing dip and picnic, you’ll return to the park HQ to explore at your own pace. Enjoy a gentle hike along self-guided trails and don’t miss the canopy walkway that brings you eye to eye with hornbills and monkeys. 

Say farewell to Mulu and hop on a plane north to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. This ‘nature resort city’ has an idyllic setting on the South China Sea with a backdrop of Asia’s highest peak: mighty Mount Kinabalu. You’ll delve into the city’s eclectic culinary scene on a local-led street food tour. Stop by traditional ‘kopi’ shops to sample chicken satay, delicious pineapple buns and refreshing pandan coconut drink, and visit the colourful Filipino market in search of exotic fruits, like durian. Still hungry? Stroll along the picturesque waterfront to one of the local restaurants for an age-old local favorite of butter prawns.

Get ready for an exhilarating ATV excursion through the beautiful Kiulu Valley. Riding on single or double quad bikes, you’ll leave the city behind as you scramble through tropical scenes of rice fields, rubber, cocoa, pepper and oil plantations intermingled with luxuriant rainforest, rivers and mountains. You’re headed for a small bamboo lodge complete with a waterfall garden where you’ll be welcomed by a local family, who will prepare a delicious lunch. Cool off from the tropical heat in the Kiulu River before climbing back on your quad bikes and riding back to the city. There’s a free evening in store but we recommend starting with tropical sundowners at one of the buzzing waterfront bars.  

Onwards to Kota Kinabalu airport and your 45-minute flight to Sandakan. Upon landing, you’ll transfer to the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, one of the best places to encounter these endearing primates, only found in Borneo. The males sport big dangling noses, reddish flat-top hairstyles, white tails and pot bellies, while the females are smaller with up-turned noses. With their habitat under threat from palm oil plantations, the sanctuary offers a safe haven and the chance for a free meal. As they descend from the mangrove forest to munch on beans, cucumbers and pancakes, you’ll get a fascinating up-close view. Squirrels, silver leaf monkeys and oriental pied hornbills might get in on the action too.  

A short stroll from your lodge is the world-famous Sepilok Orangutan Reserve, a rehabilitation centre for orphaned and injured orangutans. Watch the youngsters play, practise their swinging and munch on fruit as they learn the skills they need to return to forest life. You’ll also visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, home to 44 rescued Malayan sun bears – the world’s smallest bear. Then, hop on a boat and travel up the Kinabatangan River to a secluded riverside retreat, your home for the next two nights. You’ll head out on your first river safari in search of proboscis monkeys and sun bears, pygmy elephants, crocodiles, gibbons and more.

Wake early to experience the beauty of Pitas Oxbow Lake. The stillness of the lake provides an ecosystem completely distinct from the river, with 200 bird species in this region alone, from hawk, heron and hornbill to colourful kingfisher. Next, you’ll visit the Kulamba Field Centre where a viewing tower offers panoramic views over the whole Kinabatangan area, before making your way to a native Orang Sunai village to take part in a tree-planting project – an important way to help preserve the natural environment and support the local community. Try your hand at crab fishing with the local fishermen before exploring the nearby mangroves. There’s more wildlife spotting in store tonight with a nocturnal river safari.

Savour a slow morning cruising back along the Kinabatangan River for your return flight to Kota Kinabalu. Today, you’re headed for some R&R in Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Named after the former prime minister, this was Sabah’s first national park, created in 1923. From the bustling marina, it’s just a 15-minute boat ride across the cerulean water to these five small jungled islands, fringed with white sand and colourful coral reefs – the perfect tropical escape. Settle in to your serene beachfront retreat before wandering out to catch the last of the sun’s rays. Sunset cocktail, anyone?

This is your penultimate day in Borneo and time to slow the pace. Pull up a sunbed, submerge yourself in the hotel’s infinity pool or book yourself into the spa. If you have itchy feet, the island offers an array of watersports, including snorkelling and scuba diving excursions to the offshore reefs, kayaking, parasailing and more. Come evening, gather with your group on the beach for an exclusive Flash Pack seafood barbecue. Toes in the sand, you’ll reflect on your epic adventure that’s seen you fully immersed in the wildlife, culture and natural wonders of this incredibly diverse island – not to mention the new friends you’ve made. 

All too soon, it’s time to say goodbye and make your way to Kota Kinabalu airport for your onward flight. If you’re not ready to head home, why not combine this trip with one of our other Southeast Asian adventures? You could find yourself drifting down the Mekong in Thailand, island-hopping in the Philippines or marvelling at the temples of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat…which one will you choose?