Bako National Park

Bako National Park, established in 1957 as Sarawak's first national park, occupies a 27 km² peninsula jutting into the South China Sea north of Kuching on the island of Borneo. Despite its modest size it packs in almost every forest type found in Borneo — mangrove fringes, kerangas heath forest, and dipterocarp rainforest crowning sandstone plateaus sculpted by coastal erosion into dramatic sea stacks and blowholes. Bako is one of the world's most reliable spots to observe wild proboscis monkeys, the bulbous-nosed endemic of Borneo's riverine forests, alongside silvered langurs, bearded pigs, and multiple species of carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants. Access is by boat only from Kampung Bako, which keeps visitor numbers low. Seventeen marked trails range from short mangrove boardwalks to full-day ridge crossings, and ranger-led night walks reveal the park's dense reptile and insect life after dark.