Danum Valley 4D3N Tour
Deep in eastern Sabah on Malaysian Borneo, Danum Valley is one of the best places in Southeast Asia to experience primary rainforest and search for wild orangutans.
I recently went to Borneo to do a Danum Valley 4D3N tour with Borneo Rainforest Lodge – this post will cover my experiences during the visit.
There were morning and afternoon jungle walks, the canopy walkway, night drives, a night walk, Coffin Cliff, the Jacuzzi Pool, rafting on the Danum River and wild orangutans.
I will talk about what a Danum Valley 4D3N tour is likely to look like, as well as give some background information about the Danum Valley conservation area.
This post explains why it is important, why people travel here, how much it costs, the three different accommodation providers, a brief look at Borneo Rainforest Lodge (where I stayed) and any other useful information I think of relating to Danum Valley.
The Danum Valley conservation area can be visited with a number of different tour lengths but I think a Danum Valley 4D3N tour is a great amount of time to see the sights and feels less rushed than shorter visits.
Use the table of contents to skip ahead if a particular part of the Danum Valley 4D3N tour interests you.
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Danum Valley 4D3N Tour Video
I have made this 1 hour long guide to the Danum Valley 4D3N Tour with Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
To me, the video offers a much better visual representation of what to expect during your time in the Danum Valley, or at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge in general.
What Is Danum Valley & Why Is It Significant?
The Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA) is a protected area of approximately 43,800 hectares of lowland rainforest in eastern Sabah, around 80 kilometres from Lahad Datu
Rather than being a national park, Danum Valley is classified as a Class I Protection Forest Reserve, the highest level of protection for a forest reserve in Sabah.
The rainforest itself is commonly estimated to be around 130 million years old.
Described as ‘primary rainforest’, which is a term basically meaning it has never been logged and regrown, it has been growing untouched like this for its entire existence.
This makes the concentration of some species much stronger than in other areas, particularly Bornean Orangutans – hence the tourism.
What makes Danum Valley particularly important is how much undisturbed lowland dipterocarp rainforest remains here. This type of forest once covered large areas of Borneo but has been extensively altered elsewhere through logging and conversion of land for agriculture.
The result is a very diverse ecosystem. More than 120 mammal species and 300 bird species have been recorded in the area, along with dozens of species of reptiles, amphibians and fish.
Its larger inhabitants include Bornean orangutans, Bornean pygmy elephants, banteng, sun bears and Sunda clouded leopards, alongside gibbons, macaques, red leaf monkeys, slow lorises and a huge variety of smaller animals.
The diversity isn’t limited to wildlife. More than 200 species of tree can occur within a single hectare, and Danum Valley is also home to Menara, a yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) measuring roughly 100 metres tall and recognised as one of the tallest tropical trees ever measured.
Danum Valley is also internationally significant for scientific research. Long-term research began here in the 1980s.
The Danum Valley Studies Centre, formerly known as the Danum Valley Field Centre, was established in 1986 on the edge of the conservation area as a permanent base for research, education and training.
Since then, hundreds of research projects have been conducted in and around Danum Valley. Scientists study everything from tropical forest ecology and animal behaviour to carbon storage, climate, forest regeneration and what happens to ecosystems when neighbouring forests are selectively logged.
This combination of protected primary forest, nearby disturbed forest and decades of accumulated research makes Danum Valley particularly valuable as a natural laboratory.
This is an important distinction when visiting Danum Valley. Borneo Rainforest Lodge is only one small tourism operation within a much larger conservation and research landscape. The reason the wildlife experience can be so good is ultimately because the forest itself has been protected.
Unlike visiting a rehabilitation centre such as Sepilok, the orangutans and other animals in Danum Valley are completely wild. There are no feeding platforms and sightings aren’t guaranteed. You are simply entering their natural habitat and hoping to be in the right place at the right time.
A Danum valley 4D3N tour gives you a good opportunity to get into the primary rainforest and experience this natural diversity first hand.
Where is Danum Valley?
The Danum Valley Conservation Area is in eastern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
To start any of the Danum Valley tours on offer you will need to get to the town of Lahad Datu on the east coast. This is where all the tours will start from and Lahad Datu does have an airport.
You cannot drive to the Danum Valley, there are security gates and checkpoints and it is protected, you must be part of a booking – who will be your accommodation and your tour activities.
Below you can see the DVCA in relation to the rest of Borneo.
Below you can see the Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA) and its relation to Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Dermakot Forest Reserve and the coastal city of Semporna which is where you can go to visit Sipadan Island if you’re into scuba diving.
Getting to Danum Valley and Lahad Datu
As was stated above – to begin any Danum Valley tour you will need to get to Lahad Datu.
Most flights from overseas will come from Kuala Lumpur and then through Sandakan or Kota Kinabalu, from there you can get a small internal flight to Lahad Datu.
It is important to check flight times and options from Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau, I decided to arrive the day before the start of the tour and get a hotel in Lahad Datu for the night.
My pickup was around 8:30am on the first day of the Danum Valley 4D3N tour so trying to connect with a flight on the same morning would be leaving it too late in my opinion.
Arriving in Lahad Datu on the same morning as your tour starts can be done though, but any delays with the flights can incur further transport costs and eat into your tour.
Borneo Nature Tours operates Borneo Rainforest Lodge and has an office in Lahad Datu where the trip begins.
After being collected from my hotel, I went to the office to register, fill out the required paperwork and organise everything for the trip. I was also given refreshments and a reusable water container.
The drive into Danum Valley is about 2.5 hours from Lahad Datu, but there are also other activities on day 1 if you choose to do them.
Where to Stay in Danum Valley?
I won’t go into this too much but to do a 4D3N Danum Valley tour you don’t have to book with Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
There are 3 accommodation and tour options at the tiime of writing:
Please note that those links are not the official links, as stated above Borneo Nature Tours are the official provider of BRL and that is who you book through if you want to book direct. However you can book through whoever you want and you don’t have to book direct.
The links above give an amazing overview with images and different tour length packages laid out, I will just give a basic rundown here to keep the post shorter.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge
This is the premium option.
BRL combines comfortable private accommodation, excellent food, a swimming pool, spa, its canopy walkway and organised guiding with an extremely good location inside the rainforest.
This is the only accommodation option that is entirely within the primary rainforest. It is situated on a bend of the Danum River and is an amazing place to stay, but expensive.
The accommodation options include jungle chalets, premium chalets, deluxe chalets as well as villas.
Danum Valley Studies Centre
The Danum Valley Studies Centre is a cheaper alternative based at the research centre that was established in the 1980’s. It was later opened to tourists to generate more income and share the scientific work being done.
The DVSC/DVFC is right on the edge of the primary rainforest and there are walking trails that cross the river into the primary rainforest. There is also the study centres here to walk through and learn more about the area.
Accommodation can be resthouse, chalet or dorm style. There are AC rooms but electricity is off from 23:00-06:00.
INFAPRO
INFAPRO is another option based around a long-running rainforest rehabilitation project. About 11km from DVFC, the research and reforestation studies an area that was previously logged and is being rehabilitated.
However, the actual activities that you do will be at the DVFC area and therefore you will still trek through the primary rainforest and have a similar jungle experience to those staying at DVFC.
The rooms are more spacious, with 24 hour electricity as well.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Sony 16-35mm GM II (Amazon/eBay link).
How Much Does It Cost to Do a 4D3N Danum Valley Tour?
There are multiple accommodation options at each location so the prices can vary a lot. With all that said though here are some example prices for a twin share rate (I paid more since I travelled alone) on a 4D3N Danum Valley tour:
BRL
RM 8,300 – Jungle Chalet.
RM 9,100 – Deluxe Chalet.
RM 11,500 – Premium Deluxe.
RM 14,200 – Double Storey Villa.
DVFC
RM 5,100 – Dormitory.
RM 6,000 – Standard Resthouse.
RM 6,200 – Deluxe Resthouse.
RM 6,400 – Superior Deluxe.
INFAPRO
RM 6,000 – Standard Resthouse.
RM 6,200 – Deluxe Resthouse.
You can also still get a good experience with a 3D2N tour as well if money is tight.
*Please note all prices are estimates as they can fluctuate with differing offers depending on demand and time of year.
How to book a 4D3N tour?
I have a preference of booking direct – but there are great tour operators in Borneo since the large majority of the travel in borneo is tour based, there is minimal markup and sometimes it is easier to go with a tour agent who will organise travel as well.
I like the idea of just doing it all myself though.
Borneo Nature Tours is how you will book direct with Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
They also run DVFC as far as I can tell but the website doesn’t offer the same direct booking, go here to get the contact and reservation information for that.
These sites I linked to before with nice pictures etc is actually Amazing Borneo’s site, so booking through there will be booking with Amazing Borneo. I won’t link all Borneo tour operators as there are so many to choose from and they’re mostly all good.
For booking INFAPRO – use the same DVFC contacts and just mention in the email or WHATSAPP your preference for INFAPRO if that’s what you want. The same people run both centres.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Sony 16-35mm GM II (Amazon/eBay link).
Danum Valley 4D3N Tour Overview
Ok, so now that the background information is out of the way I want to go over a rough layout of what a Danum Valley 4D3N tour will look like.
This can change depending on your group’s fitness levels, which accommodation you stay at and whether it’s your first or second or third visit or whatever. There is flexibility in this, but as a rough guide of what to expect this will help.
Also, subject to what animals you see, the season, the weather, all of this is flexible. If you see orangutans at the start of a trail, you don’t necessarily “finish” the trail, you will just watch the wildlife and then return to the lodge.
For my tour with Borneo Rainforest Lodge I had three options on the first morning:
- Drive straight to the lodge.
- Go to Blue Ring reef for snorkelling.
- Trek up Mt. Silam for cloud forest and coastal views.
I chose the Blue Ring reef option because I thought we would be doing enough trekking over the next few days, so it felt like something different and a good mix up.
Any of these options is great though, even going straight to the lodge which gives you more time to explore that area before check in.
Day 1 – Blue Ring Reef Before Danum Valley
After registration we drove roughly half an hour to W Bay Payang, arriving at around 9:15am.
A full breakfast was available there, although I’d already eaten at my hotel, so I just had some fruit before getting my snorkelling equipment organised.
We eventually headed out by boat at around 10:30am.
Blue Ring Reef
The first stop was Blue Ring Reef.
Blue Ring reef is a relatively new addition to these itineraries, being discovered just before COVID, so tours only really began here once travel started to ramp up post-COVID.
The site consists of two adjacent circular underwater depressions and has been promoted as Malaysia’s only known example of this unusual double-ring formation.
It’s a cool underwater formation but that is best viewed from the sky, from the water you can’t really get a feel for the two rings, but you can see the reef wall that you’re closest to.
For snorkelling, the water was warm and calm during my visit and there were plenty of smaller reef fish and coral to see.
Laila Reef and the Shipwreck
From Blue Ring Reef we continued to Laila Reef, with another snorkelling stop amongst coral and tropical fish. There is a beautiful coral flower at this stop.
After that we headed to a shipwreck that is closer to where we took off from in W Bay Payang. It isn’t necessarily part of this itinerary as it is more for scuba diving, but since we mentioned it the guides took us there to explore.
The wreck sits relatively shallow and although diving would reveal more, it is shallow enough that you can dive down when snorkelling to see a fair bit of it. This was my favourite stop of the morning.
By 12:55 we were back at W Bay Payang, where we had lunch and were able to have a shower before beginning the long drive into the rainforest.
The area of W Bay Payang where you have breakfast and lunch is a beautiful setting and the food was great.
The Drive Into Danum Valley
We eventually left the coast at about 14:40.
From there it was a long drive inland – roughly 2.5 hours to get to the lodge itself.
Along the way, as you get closer to the lodge especially you will start to see wildlife, birds in the undergrowth and macaques are not uncommon and on ocassion elephants use the road to change locations themselves.
We reached Borneo Rainforest Lodge at 17:20, there are toilet stops along the way.
Arriving at Borneo Rainforest Lodge
When you arrive you will have a brief introduction to the lodge and the accommodation side of things, a free 5-minute massage, then meet your guide who will be with you for the duration of the stay.
They will go over the itinerary but you don’t need to remember it all at the start, it gets repeated each day.
After that was some time to quickly unpack before a 18:00 video about the Danum Valley and the conservation that goes on. The video is not mandatory.
Then we have dinner served and the next activity which was a night drive.
First Night Drive
Our first night drive started at 20:30 and goes for roughly one hour.
The drives take place in electric buggys that drive along the road as the guides will stand on the back and look for wildlife. We got quite lucky on this drive.
We saw two Western Tarsiers and we also saw a slow loris, a snail-eating snake, frogs and other nocturnal wildlife.
Because we kept stopping for sightings, the drive ran longer than originally planned and we weren’t back until somewhere around 21:45
It had been a very long first day, particularly after adding Blue Ring Reef, but it was a good day and I couldn’t wait to go to sleep.
Western Tarsier.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Day 1 Summary
Day 1 is a pretty full on day if you choose to do the snorkelling or the Mt. Silam hike in the morning.
It is good though, with lots of variety, a long drive to relax afterwards, check in and unpack and get ready for the days to come. Your first visit to the lodge will impress you.
Curiosity killed the monkey.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Day 2 – Orangutans and the Canopy Walkway
Day 2 of the Danum Valley 4D3N tour for us was an early start, with the first activity beginning at 07:30 they opened the kitchen and buffet for us at 06:30.
Jungle Trek 1
The jungle trek set off along a path, all of the paths here are within the primary rainforest so you can’t go wrong. It wasn’t too hot or humid.
We saw two orangutans during the morning, along with gibbons and macaques moving through the canopy.
We watched the orangutans as best as we could but they were miles away in the tree canopy. The Gibbons were more entertaining as they swung around wildly and make their calls in the morning. We spent a good 45 minutes or so watching them before moving on.
Eventually we made our way to the canopy walkway.
The official BRL website describes the structure as approximately 360 metres long and 27 metres above the forest floor.
I didn’t see much wildlife while actually crossing it but loved being up high amongst the forest canopy and I enjoyed the views.
This canopy walkway can sometimes be shut for repairs, so check in before booking if it’s super important to you but I think it’s not really a main reason for travelling here.
On the walk back we found a troop of red leaf monkeys, and when we reached the lodge another orangutan, Kate, was moving through the trees almost directly beside the accommodation.
By the end of the first morning we’d already had more orangutan encounters than I expected from the entire trip. I wasn’t sure if this was normal or we were extremely lucky.
Canopy Walkway.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
After the first activity you have some free time to relax and enjoy the lodge. There are areas around the lodge you can walk without a guide, or sit and watch the river, or you can get a massage or swim in the pool.
I somehow got a leech bite during the morning walk despite wearing leech socks. Leech socks are still worth having, but they’re not 100% gauranteed to stop leeches they just help a lot.
During lunch it rained heavily with some lightning and thunder very close to the lodge, it was awesome to see and it was all gone by the time we needed to do the afternoon activity.
Jungle Trek 2
The next activity was another jungle trek departing at 15:00
We made it about twenty minutes along the path before we were called to turnaround over the radio as two orangutans were spoted on the nature trail right near the lodge.
Don was a large flanged male and spent much of the next hour following Kate through the forest.
Eventually almost every group at the lodge had heard about the orangutans and appeared on the same section of boardwalk.
We spent more than an hour watching two wild orangutans only a few hundred metres from the lodge.
Kate was feeding, Don was too but he would move around and follow her wherever she went. They moved quite quickly and Don got to the ground very fast so we had to be careful to avoid him.
‘Don’ is a new male orangutan to the area.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Night Walk
Our final organised activity on Day 2 was a night walk. The night walks are a good chance to spot smaller wildlife and insects that you might miss on the night drives.
The walk took place out the back of the lodge, around some ponds and along the road. Due to the thunderstorm at lunch time there was a lot of insect life tonight as they jungle was wet.
We saw stick insects, spiders, frogs, centipedes and a mouse deer.
I really enjoyed it, getting up close to centipedes, tree frogs and some spiders as well.
Little Tree Frog.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Sony 16-35mm GM II (Amazon/eBay link).
Day 2 Summary
Day 2 was still pretty full on with an early start for us after last nights night drive so I was low on sleep, but it was full of stuff to see.
I loved the gibbons and red leaf monkeys, they are very active and fun to watch.
Then we got super lucky to have the up close and personal experience with Don and Kate feeding right near the lodge, coming to the ground, changing trees and hanging out right in front of us without too much care.
Day 3 – Coffin Cliff, Jacuzzi Pool and Danum River Rafting
Day 3 started at 7:30am again.
This time we were heading on the longest and most physically demanding walk of my stay: Coffin Cliff and the viewpoint above Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
On the way back to my room after breakfast there was a group of people gathered on the boardwalks – Kate was right above my chalet feeding again.
Jungle Trek 3 – Hiking to Coffin Cliff
Below is a trail map that can be found on the trails, you can see the layout of the trails, with the Coffin Cliff lookout in the bottom left corner.
From the lodge we walked along the river, then cross the river and as you walk back along the river the trail begins to climb up to the viewpoint and coffin cliffs themselves.
This was easily the hardest of the standard walks I did at BRL, but only because of the humidity. As long as you drink plenty of water you’ll be fine.
It isn’t super long or challenging outside of the humid nature and it’s probably worse for me because of the amount of camera gear that I carry around to make the videos like you see at the top of this post.
You sweat constantly.
The ground can also become extremely slippery after rain but luckily for us it hadn’t rained since the previous day’s lunch break.
What is Coffin Cliff?
Coffin Cliff is an old indigenous burial site in the limestone hills above the Danum River.
Current BRL itineraries describe it as a Kadazandusun burial site.
Our guide explained the practice of placing coffins high on the cliff, associated with beliefs surrounding elevation and the dead.
The guide will talk about local traditions, where they originate from, how the bones were discovered and more. The talk is interesting but you need to go to hear about it, writing it here won’t do it justice.
Danum Valley Viewpoint
After the cliffs you walk up just a tiny bit more and you are treated to amazing views from the high point across the Dannum Valley.
This viewpoint gives you a chance to relax, to sit down, to see just how remote and untouched the surroundings are around the Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
You can see the BRL in the image below, right in the primary rainforest on the river bend. A great resort and very secluded.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Sony 16-35mm GM II (Amazon/eBay link).
Jacuzzi Pool
On the way back down we stopped at a small waterfall and natural pool that we passed on the way uphill called Jacuzzi Pool.
Here you can swim, it is incredibly refreshing with perfect water temp. There are fish that will nibble at you if you sit still for too long but they don’t hurt, it just tickles.
Orangutan Raiding a Beehive
As if we hadn’t been lucky enough already with the orangutan sightings – we got another treat on the way back to the lodge after our swim.
A male orangutan was seen high up in the trees, tearing apart a bees’ nest to get at the honey as the bees swarmed him. He tore it in half and placed it over his head, we watched him for half an hour or so before moving on back to the lodge.
By around 11am we were back at the lodge, leaving a few hours to eat, shower and recover before the afternoon activity.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Rafting on the Danum River
The next activity was rafting which started at 14:00.
This activity is not always offered as it depends on the water levels. Because of the rain we had the previous day we had just enough water for this to go ahead.
You may see older posts or websites mentioning tubing, this is no longer offered at all.
The rafting was calm and relaxing but not overly exciting, however with stronger currents it could offer something different.
There was no wildlife spottings, we had a swim at the halfway point and then were collected by a van at the end and driven back to the lodge, arriving back at about 16:30.
Night Drive 2
My second night drive started at 19:00 and we didn’t see anywhere near as much stuff as we did on the first night drive.
We saw a Sunda colugo, often called a flying lemur despite not actually being a lemur, along with a sleeping bird and some deer.
That was about it.
I would have preferred an 20:00 departure to get dinner in before the night drive, rather than eating dinner afterwards.
Day 3 Summary
Day 3 offered us something different, although we still saw orangutans it was more about the cultural side with the walk up to coffin cliffs and some information about the local tribes.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Day 4 – Sunrise & DVFC Visit
Normally the final morning of a Danum Valley 4D3N tour is left for your to enjoy a sleep in and explore around the area of the lodge before checking out later in the day.
But there are optional activities that you can do.
I’d booked the optional sunrise cycling trip to the Global Atmospheric Watch station at Bukit Atur.
The activity cost me 550 MYR at the time of my visit.
GAW Sunrise and Cycling Tour
Getting to the GAW Station
We had planned to meet in the lobby at 03:45, I was on time but the driver was a little bit late. We left about 04:00 and the drive took an hour to get to the GAW tower – it was still pitch black.
I thought I was the only person there and would be the only person, I didn’t realise it but the tour is also offered to those at DVFCa nd INFAPRO who started to rock up later since they didn’t have the big 1 hour drive.
The GAW station is at the site of the INFAPRO accommodation, making it only 11km for DVFC tourists. The tower was busy with about 12-15 people there at leasat.
What is the Danum Valley Global Atmospheric Watch Station?
The tower isn’t simply a lookout.
The Global Atmospheric Watch station in Danum Valley is part of an international air monitoring network coordinated through the World Meteorological Organization.
Its remote rainforest location makes it particularly valuable for measuring background atmospheric conditions and studying interactions between tropical forest and atmosphere. Research includes atmospheric gases, aerosols, ozone, meteorological conditions and the long-range transport of air pollution.
So while tourists understandably come for the sunrise view, the tower exists primarily because Danum Valley is a very valuable place to measure relatively clean tropical rainforest air.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Sunrise Above Danum Valley
The tower was busy about 10 minutes before sunrise, so I couldn’t move from my spot as I had the camera on a tripod doing a timelapse. I did have the best spot, but it would have been nice to be able to move around.
The mist sits in the valley of the jungle, the animals start to make noise, the sun comes up – it’s all pretty amazing to experience.
It’s a lot easier to do this from DVFC or INFAPRO just because of how close they are but even with a one hour drive each way from BRL it’s still pretty cool.
Cycling Down to the Danum Valley Studies Centre
After sunrise we got onto bicycles for roughly eight kilometres of mostly downhill riding towards the Danum Valley Studies Centre.
The riding was easy, mostly downhill and with some crested firebacks on the road as we went.
Once you get to the DVSC you will sign into a book, then the guide will walk you through the studies centre and show you some specimens, talk about the conservation and read through some plaques.
We didn’t hang around too long as I still had to go pack up my room before checkout.
I left the Studies Centre at 08:20 and arrived back at the lodge at 09:15.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Sony 16-35mm GM II (Amazon/eBay link).
Leaving the Borneo Rainforest Lodge
After getting back to the lodge you have some time to shower and pack, with checkout being at 11:00 and transport out being at 12:30, so you can eat lunch before you leave.
From here you are taken back to Lahad Datu.
You will then be in control of the rest of your trip whether it is a night there, flight out or overland transfer, that’s all on you to organise.
That marks the end of the Danum Valley 4D3N tour.
For me I arranged a drop off at an intersection, where I had a driver waiting to take me to Semporna to go scuba diving at Sipadan Island. This saved me going all the way to Lahad Datu only to drive straight back past this intersection on the road to Semporna.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
Borneo Rainforest Lodge
If you book a Danum Valley 4D3N tour you with Borneo Rainforest Lodge, this is your base for the duration of your stay. All of your meals, relaxation, guides, rules and offerings are based around your lodging choice.
Here I will briefly discuss the lodge itself but I won’t be going into much detail – see the video for a better visual of the lodge itself.
Orangutans appeared beside the chalets. Monkeys passed through the surrounding trees. Deer wandered through the gardens. Owls appeared around the pool after dark. It’s an amazing setup.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge Rooms
I stayed in a Jungle Chalet, the lodge’s least expensive accommodation category. However, everything at BRL is on the premium end so this room obviously has AC, an amazing shower, coffee machine, kettle, tea, comfortable beds and plenty of hanging space.
All of the chalets are connected to the main lodge by raised boardwalks, with perfectly kept gardens, orchids and wildlife wandering around the grounds of the lodge.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
The lodge’s main building as seen from the lookout near coffin cliff. Out the front is the pool, the boardwalk to the right goes along to all of the chalets.
Food at Borneo Rainforest Lodge
I couldn’t fault the food. It was so good it actually made my dislike the food at the places I went afterwards.
There is a coffee machine, or you can pay for barista made coffees.
Meals were buffet-style during my stay and there was more than enough variety. You get the same food no matter your room style, it’s always fantastic.
Meals were made even better by sitting outside looking over the Danum River and surrounding rainforest.
The Pool & Gym
There is a pool open between certain hours but the “gym” is not really worth talking about. Not that you need a gym while you’re here but it is the bare minimum and not what I would call a real gym.
It is on the ground floor of the main building but doesn’t have anything for serious gym goers, it’s just a multi-station machine and minimal floor space, no free weights.
The pool is great though and even just lying in the sun loungers and admiring the view can be relaxing.
Layout of the Borneo Rainforest Lodge
See the picture below, taken from the viewpoint on the other side of the river. The Borneo Rainforest Lodge is on a riverbend in the Danum River, right in the middle of nowhere.
There is nothing here, it is secluded and they do a great job to run a luxury style resort in such a location.
Massages and Other Information
Unfortunately I never had the free time to get a massage but I definitely would have done this had I not been busy filming things or taking photos.
If you don’t do an optional activity on day 1 or the final day of your Danum Valley 4D3N tour then there is plenty of time to book in a massage on those days.
There is also time between activities to book it.
Alternatively you can walk around close to the lodge, the nature trail as you can see on the image below can be walked without a guide. This is where we saw Don and Kate afterall so it’s a great walk to check out.
Other trails require a guide and will cost extra but can also be planned.
On top of this there are plaques of information around the resort, describing the orchids along the boardwalk or some of the historic artefacts on the ground level used by the local tribes for centuries.
There’s plenty to see and do in your free time at the lodge during a Danum Valley 4D3N tour.
Danum Valley Summary & FAQs
Boom!
Done. I just want to finish off this post with some possible questions people might ask regarding Danum Valley 4D3N tours and my experiences.
How Flexible is a Borneo Rainforest Lodge Itinerary?
The itinerary shows you the type of activities you’re likely to do. It doesn’t guarantee that at 7:30 on Tuesday you’re going to walk Trail A for exactly two hours and see Animal B.
Our walks changed repeatedly because wildlife appeared elsewhere.
One afternoon trek barely began because Don and Kate were beside the lodge. Another morning ran longer because an orangutan was tearing apart a beehive.
The guides communicate with one another and will often redirect groups when something worthwhile has been found.
Also if you have been here before then you can discuss with your guide on arrival (or even better via email before you arrive) that you’d like to try specific trails around the lodge.
This can mean you don’t need to pay extra to do them in your free time and instead tackle the trails you want, during the paid for treks, to visit a specific waterfall or try find a specific bird.
This doesn’t just apply to people who have been before, but that’s a good example of someone who might have done the more basic trails already and wants to see something different.
Best is to email or call beforehand but you can also discuss with your guide on day 1.
What Wildlife Did I See in Danum Valley?
Every single day that I was at the lodge I saw an orangutan, including when I was down at DVSC after the sunrise cycling downhill from GAW.
I was probably lucky, but I was also here during fruiting season so gave myself a good change to see them active.
I wouldn’t book Danum Valley expecting these close encounters of a male chasing a female, feeding directly above your chalet, or tearing apart a beehive etc.
These are wild animals and sightings aren’t guaranteed.
Beyond orangutans, I saw gibbons, macaques, red leaf monkeys, Western tarsiers, a slow loris, mouse deer, larger deer, a Sunda colugo, Buffy Fish Owls, Crested Firebacks, frogs, snakes, spiders, centipedes, stick insects and plenty of other smaller rainforest wildlife.
Danum Valley has heaps of animals that I didn’t see like Bornean Elephants, Sun Bears and if you’re super lucky even Clouded Leopards.
Red Leaf Monkey.
Shot on the Sony A1 (Amazon/eBay link) using the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (Amazon/eBay link).
How Hard Are the Jungle Walks?
I don’t think any of them are hard, at least the ones that we did.
The most challenging was the ascent up to Coffin Cliff and the viewpoint due to the humidity on the way up and the slippery descent.
There are longer trails on offer to different places that we didn’t go and conditions can chagne with the seasons but I think most semi-fit people will get each trail done with ease.