Bako National Park – Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo
If you’ve ever imagined hiking a remote rainforest full of exotic, endangered wildlife then you may be amazed to learn it’s not only possible – but you can do it whilst staying in nearby luxury resorts – all in beautiful Sarawak Malaysia!
Bako National Park Sea Stacks boat ride
Whist we attended the amazing Rainforest World Music Festival we took a day to visit the nearby Bako National Park.
This wonderfully remote, wildlife-rich National Park is a truly incredible place to visit and offers diverse flora and fauna, including amazingly close sightings of rare and endangered Borneo monkeys.
How do you get to Bako National Park?
Bako Jetty boats take you to the National Park
There are no direct roads to Bako National Park so you must pay for a boat ride (or inclusive tour) to get there. You can pre-book a Bako National Park with Sea Stacks tour or Bako National Park from Kuching City tour on Trip Advisor, or alternatively make your own way there and book a boat (and a guide if you wish) when you get there.
Watch our Bako Boat ride video to see what it’s like!
Watch the video of our boat ride to Bako National Park…
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Bako National Park Day Tour
Our daytrip coach in the carpark at Bako Jetty
We went to Bako National Park on a day tour with everything included. We had a picturesque and informative coach ride with a tour guide. The coach ride took less than an hour from Damai Beach Resort and brought us to the Bako Jetty Terminal at the charming traditional Bako fishing village.
Our Bako National Park day trip coach ride
It’s here you catch a boat to Bako NP.
National Park entrance at Bako Jetty Terminal
Bako Jetty Terminal
Inside the Bako Jetty Terminal is a kiosk, a registration area to pay for your Bako National Park entry fee (10RM per adult for Malaysian nationals and 20RM for non-Malaysians) and a boat booking service. You can also get information about the park and also hire park guides if you would like one. You will need some cash to pay for any kiosk purchases such as water here and at the Visitor Center inside the Bako National Park.
Bako Jetty Terminal gift shop
How much does a boat ride to Bako National Park cost?
Bako Jetty and traditional fishing village
Tourists from outside of Borneo are charged about 40RM, Malaysians 30RM for a boat ride from the fishing village to Bako National Park return. For around 200RM you can opt to charter a boat privately.
Life jackets are recommended for your boat trip
At the Bako Jetty we boarded local motor boats along with an experienced guide and pilot for an exciting ride up the river to the sea, and the entrance to this very special Borneo national park.
How long is the boat ride to Bako National Park?
The boat ride to Bako National Park
It takes around twenty minutes to motor boat from the Bako Jetty to the Bako National Park entrance jetty. We soon arrived and disembarked at the jetty for the short walk to the Bako National Park Visitor’s Centre.
A crocodile warning sign at the jetty
During our walk to the Bako National Park Visitor’s Center our guide pointed out a native green viper snake in a tree, just an arm’s reach away!
I have limited mobility – how accessible is Bako National Park?
Arriving at the jetty inside Bako National Park
A trip to Bako National Park is not wheelchair accessible.
The motor boats carry around half a dozen people and are small but steady. There are some scrambling steps and some balancing mobility required to board and alight from the boats, plus some steps up and down at the jetties. You are given a hand in and out of the boats.
The level walk to the Bako National Park Visitor’s Center
At the National Park there is a ten minute, level dirt path walk to the Visitor’s Center which is located next to a beach.
Hiking in the Bako National Park is uneven underfoot
The Jungle Hikes do require good mobility and reasonable fitness due to them being uneven and slippery in places with some small, steep climbs.
Do you need to go for a jungle trek to see wildlife at Bako?
Silvered Leaf monkeys at the beach near the Visitor’s Center
No. You can see a lot of wildlife in the Visitor’s Center area without going for any additional walks, including wild boars (that are actually quite quiet) and all kinds of monkeys.
See Proboscis Monkeys in the wild
Proboscis monkeys live in the wild at Bako National Park
We were privileged to witness all three resident Bako monkey breeds at very close proximity near the Bako National Park Visitor Center.
Long Tailed Macaques, Silvered Langur (Silvered Leaf) Monkeys and the endangered Proboscis Monkeys with their distinctive long noses were all around the Visitor’s Center, plus we saw more Proboscis Monkeys later on our hiking trail in the rainforests.
Our expert guide made sure that we got very close to wildlife without disturbing them, and the feeling of seeing these beautiful, rare animals in the wild was incredible! Every body there was thrilled to have actually seen them close-up. It was more than we could have ever wished for!
Bearded Pigs at Bako Visitor Center
The wild boars were very cute!
A family of Bearded Pigs were also snuffling around at the Bako National Park Visitors Centre and looked very cute! It was exciting to see them at such comfortable close range, they barely seemed to notice us at all!
Lunch at the Bako National Park Visitor’s Center
Bako National Park Visitor’s Center
We enjoyed a filling lunch at the Bako Visitor’s Center.
The Visitor’s Center was a great place to enjoy lunch and obtain extra information on the various species of animals at the park, use the restrooms and to buy more water, snacks and other refreshments.
A jungle trek at Bako National Park
Go on a jungle hike at Bako National Park
After lunch we went on a beautiful hike through stunning rainforest.
The jungle trek started out with raised walkways and soon diverged into narrow jungle trail. The going was quite good underfoot with some slippery wet patches and short, steep up and downs. There were exposed tree roots to navigate, but overall the trail was clear and easy to follow.
There was lots to learn from our knowledgeable guide along the way as he pointed out a random hermit crab on a high section of the trail, and showed us how locals utilised native plants.
We were picked up by boats at the end of our hike
Within half an hour we had emerged onto a beautiful palm-fringed beach. There we had the convenience of being picked up by our motor boats to continue our Bako National Park adventure!
Exploring the Bako National Park Sea Stacks by boat
Take a day trip to Baku National Park to see the wildlife and sea stacks
Our motor boats continued on up the coast to the nearby sea stacks. These famous rock formations were amazing to see close-up, and we were given some time to cruise around them slowly and take them all in.
Bako National Park Sea Stacks
After we had seen our fill our boats turned for home, back to the fishing village and Bako Jetty.
Before we knew it we were saying goodbye to our Bako National Park guide and once again boarding our coach to return to the Damai Beach Resort and the Rainforest World Music Festival, ready for the night’s entertainment.
What an adventurous day we had at the wonderful Bako National Park!
Watch our Bako National Park Day Trip videos to see what it’s like!
Watch these videos of our wonderful day trip to Bako National Park…
Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here
For more information about accessing and visiting the Bako National Park you can visit the official website here.
Are you visiting the Rainforest World Music Festival? Buy your tickets on Klook
The Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak
We always buy our online tickets using Klook – an official ticket reseller of Rainforest Music Festival tickets! Tickets for the Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 will go on sale around April 2024.
Go to Klook to buy discounted Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 tickets online
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Do you have any questions about attending the Bako National Park? Ask me in the comments below!
You may also like to read the following family travel blogs for Kuching, Malaysia…
Damai Beach Resort review – Kuching accommodation
Rainforest World Music Festival review, Kuching, Malaysia
Disclaimers: This page may contain affiliate links. If you book a stay or an attraction through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!
The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Sarawak Tourism for this trip to Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo, including our day trip to the Bako National Park in Kuching, Sarawak. As always, all opinions are our own.
All prices and times quoted were correct at October 2023, the time of publishing this article, but can change frequently. Please always re-check for current prices.
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Bako Jetty
