Kuching, Permai And Mulu Adventure

• We will have a pick-up arranged from your hotel in Kuching. The trip to Permai Rainforest Resort start at 12:30 in the afternoon and is arranged in an air-conditioned vehicle. The Resort is located about 25 km from Kuching. The resort is a distinctive eco-resort build next to the shores of the south china sea in the middle of the pristine rainforest at the foot of the mystical Mount Santubong. The resort is designed with nature as the muse, everything here minimizes the human impact. It still gives you an experience you will remember for a lifetime. The resort has 10 treehouses, built on stilts 20 feet above the ground. These tree houses offer a unique experience of sleeping amongst the canopy of the trees.
• Besides the treehouses, the resort also offers cabins designed to host as many as 6 persons each. Enjoy the rich forest views you may even get a glimpse of one of the three different species of monkeys that do occasionally roam in the resort's premises. Once we check-in to the resort the afternoon is free at leisure and we can spend time exploring the resort and its facilities.
• The evening has a special adventure stored for you, we venture out on a night walk. Exploring the rainforest in the night is a rewarding experience as many of the creatures here are nocturnal. The animals ranging from insects to small mammals can only be seen in the late evening/night. Your guide will teach you how to use your torchlight to spot the animals in the night. The evening adventure ends with a trip back to the resort. Relax at the treehouse or the cabin.
• Meals included: Dinner

• The day of adventure starts with an early breakfast at the resort. We have a relaxed morning and we use this time to prepare for the adventure we are going to enjoy the day.
• Around 12:00 we will assemble at the beach and our guide will explain in detail the way we kayak in the sea, this will include a safety briefing and a detailed introduction to our equipment. We now start our Kayaking adventure along the coast of the Santubong Peninsula to Teluk Pasir, the very tip of the peninsula. This trip will give you some of the most spectacular views of the pristine lush green rainforest covering the coastline!
• The Kayaking expedition will take over 2 hours and will take us to the remote beach of Teluk Pasir. This is as remote as we can get in today’s world, solitude in its true sense. This gives the true feeling of being Robinson-Crusoe! Nothing but mother nature around us and of course the guide for a sense of security. It is now time to work with your guide and help set up a small camp and start a campfire. We will use this campfire to cook a simple dinner for us all. Enjoy the natural surroundings after dinner. If the weather permits and the sky is clear lie down on the beach and stargaze. Listen to the melody created by the nocturnal jungle creatures and experience coming together with nature like never before.
• We spend the night in the temporary camp at Teluk Pasir.
• Meals included: Breakfast and dinner

• The morning glow and the songs of the forest birds will wake you up early. The rising sun is a sight to behold over the endless South China Sea. It is time to enjoy a refreshing swim in the shallow blue waters while your guide will arrange for a simple breakfast.
• Once the Breakfast is done its time to break camp and pack-up for the trek back to Permai Rainforest Resort. This is an exciting trek, there are no marked trails and the only way to reach your destination is to rely on the guide. This is classified as real jungle trekking and would take around 3-4 hours for you to complete. The trek will give you a chance to enjoy pristine forest views, sounds, and smells, you may also spot a few of the rare birds like the Hornbill on this trek. You will reach the resort around noon, this way you have time to have a good shower and rejuvenate yourself for some more exploring in the later part of the afternoon.
• In the late afternoon, your guide takes you out on a mangrove cruise which will take you to the Santubong river delta. The route goes through the mangrove forests of Kuching National Park. Be amazed by the breath-taking views of the mangrove swamps and understand how nature has built complex symbiotic relationships between animal and plants of the wetlands. The best-described case if of the mangrove trees and the proboscis monkeys.  If the skies are open, you will witness a beautiful sunset over the mangrove forests of Borneo.
• As dusk spreads we go deeper into the mangroves in search of the elusive estuarine crocodile. These are the local predators and hunt in the night. They have distinctive eyes which shine a bright shade of red when a torchlight is shown on them.  The other delight of the rainforest is a large number of fireflies which gather around the mangrove trees making them shine like Christmas trees. The evening adventure ends with a trip back to the resort. Relax at the treehouse or the cabin.
• Meals included: Breakfast and dinner

• It’s now time to wind down our adventure, the checkout is at 12:00 noon but you get a lot of time to enjoy the morning after a good breakfast at the resort. The transfer to Kuching will bring back memories of the last few days. We do hope you captured every possible experience with your camera for enjoying back home with friends and family. Transfer to your hotel of choice is arranged.
• Meals included: breakfast

• The morning is free and relaxed, designed to give you some time to get used to the pace. Use the afternoon for a half day tour to explore the city of Kuching. The city brings together a number of cultures and has a flavor of all including the Malay, Indian and Chinese culture. You will also get to learn about the rich history of Sarawak.
• The evening tour highlights include the Gambier spice streets, India street, Urang Sarawak Gallery, the oldest Chinese temple in Sarawak, Kuching South City Hall, as well as the Brooke Gallery at Fort Margherita. The tour will include visiting a Malay Village, the old State Mosque that is situated at the waterfront and the Civic Centre with the Chinese graveyard. Other places of interest that should not be missed are the Kuching Waterfront with a view of the Astana, the former "White Rajah Palace", and other colonial buildings.
• Return to your hotel for a well-deserved night’s rest.
• Meals provided: none

• We have breakfast at the hotel and start for a 30 min drive to the small village called Bako. From here we take a 20 min boat ride to reach the national park. The national park covers the northern tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula and is spread over an area of 27 sq km.  Bako contains a wide range of vegetation – swamp forest, scrub-like Padang vegetation, mangrove forest, dipterocarp forest, delicate cliff vegetation and more. Bako also contains a rich variety of wildlife and a coastline covered with small bays, coves, and beaches. The park has a number of well-marked trails offering interesting walks ranging from short pleasant strolls to serious full-day hikes. Visitors to Bako are almost guaranteed to see wildlife.  Long-tailed macaque monkeys and silver leaf monkeys are ever present, wild boar is often found rummaging around the park HQ, squirrels and monitor lizards are also common. There is every chance of seeing the rare and unusual proboscis monkeys on trails such as Telok Paku and Telok Delima, particularly if you go out late in the afternoon.
• Once the tour is over we transfer back to the hotel in Kuching.
• Meals included: breakfast and lunch

• A day of activity starts with a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. We then travel to the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, originally built to protect the Orangutans and to rehabilitate captive and orphaned ones back to the wild.
• The reserve has its own rare flora and fauna including the giant squirrel, pigmy squirrel and splendid variety of birds. Trekking trails make Semenggoh an ideal place for wildlife photographers and nature lovers.
• The highlight of the visit is a chance to see an Orangutan, your guide will help spot one during the morning feeding time. This is when the Orangutans swing down from the trees for a free handout of fruit. This reserve is one of the few places in the world where humans can interact with their shy jungle cousins.
• Our next destination is Batang Ai, where we spend time with the natives of Borneo. This is a 290 Km drive through the countryside. We will stop at local markets and enjoy the local flair throughout the drive. We will enjoy a few well-chosen stops along the way: the first one at Serian town, where we will visit a fascinating native fruit and vegetable market. The other stops include a visit to the pepper farm and a stop for lunch at "Lachau", a small upcountry Chinese village. At Lachau you may wish to make some last-minute shopping, for necessities such as insect repellent or for gifts for the Ibans.
• The long road will take us to a beautiful lake called Batang Ai. The local lifestyle is what we are exploring on this trip, we shift to a traditional long boat for a 60-90 min boat ride over the lake to reach our destination, a Longhouse. This longhouse belongs to the Ibans (a local tribe), we interact with the resident families and relax over a cup of tea. Your guide will take you through the longhouse encouraging you to take part in daily activities.
• After dinner, an elaborate local ritual is planned for your visit, The Ibans will sound their gongs and perform their traditional war dance in full ceremonial regalia. Night stay is arranged in the longhouse which has basic accommodation in the community hall. You will be provided with mosquito net, mattress, pillows, and blankets for comfort.
• Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

• The longhouse is as close to nature as civilization gets, the morning will be greeted by the singing of cockerels as you wake up and start your day. After a traditional breakfast join the Iban people in a blowpipe demonstration. We now start our return journey by native longboat downriver to arrive back at the jetty. The drive from here to Kuching is by air-conditioned vehicle and we do stop an en-route for lunch at a local cafe. Night stay is at your hotel of choice in Kuching.
• Meals included: Breakfast and lunch

• You will be received at the Mulu airport, a quick transfer to your designated hotel follows. Once settled in comfortably, change into your trekking gear. We now move to the Mulu National Park Headquarters for registration. Lunch is arranged at the park’s canteen.
• We start our adventure with a 45 min walk to the first set of caves. This walk is on narrow forest paths made of wooden planks that take you through riverine and lowland forests on limestone cliffsides.  The first cave we reach is the Lang’s cave which has an exquisite collection of stalagmites and stalactites. You are observing nature at its creative best, we recommend carrying a good camera for some stunning pictures. The next cave we visit is the Deer cave, this is famous for its passage which is the largest for any cave in the world. The Deer cave is also famous for its large (as many as 3 million) populations of bats. These caves are designated as world heritage by UNESCO.
• Once the exploration of the caves is done we move to the bat observation platform. The site of millions of bats coming out of the caves in the dusk is simply mesmerizing. It appears like black streams emerging from the caves. You will require a good camera as the light is low when the bats finally decide to venture out in the evening.
• We return to the park headquarters for a transfer to the hotel.
• Meals provided: lunch

• The day’s adventure begins with a half hour long boat ride. Our first shortstop is at a Penan settlement. This is your chance for understanding the old nomadic lifestyle of the people and indulge yourself in the local handicrafts market. The boat ride then takes us to the wind cave. A plank walk leads from the riverbank to the entrance of the Wind Cave. This cave is so named because of the cool breezes which you can feel at the narrow parts of the cave. This cave is part of the Clearwater system and has many impressive stalactites, stalagmites, flowrocks, helitites and rock corals. Some of these are illuminated in the ‘King’s” Room. A short walk takes us to the Clearwater springs, we take a short break here. 200 steps lead up through the forest to the mouth of Clearwater Cave. Clearwater is a fascinating cave system to scroll around, it has its own underground river system. Plank walks, paths and small floating bridges make this an easy and enjoyable experience. There are excellent photo opportunities for those who are bitten by the photography bug.
• We now climb down the steps to the picnic area. At the base of the steps, there is a crystal-clear pool, swim in the pool or just relax on the picnic benches and admire the rainforest scenery. Lots of beautiful flora and fauna around, watch the swarms of butterflies that are often found fluttering around near the river bank. Your guide will help spot the Rajah Brooke butterfly with its huge bright-green colored wings. A simple picnic lunch is arranged at Clearwater spring.
• Transfer to your hotel is arranged. The rest of the afternoon is available at leisure to enjoy the beautiful natural environment of the surrounding areas. There are a number of activities available at the Mulu world heritage area which one can join (separate from the tour). Interesting options include activities like canopy walk, a trek to a waterfall or a night walk. The park also has a short and easy botanical loop trail for you to explore. This trail has interesting information boards about the amazing flora of Mulu National Park. Mulu provides significant natural habitat for a wide range of plant and animal both above and below ground.
• If you missed the bats the previous evening, now is a great time to walk up to the observation deck, this natural spectacle is worth a view any day.
• Night stay is arranged at your hotel
• Meals included: breakfast and lunch.

• The morning is relaxed with a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. The last few days of natural wonders and the beauty of the place will all come back to you as you pack for the onward trip. We will have a transfer waiting to take you to the Mulu Airport for a flight to your next destination.
• Meals included: breakfast  

Notes

• This tour package is only valid from 01. April until 30. September, this is to avoid rough sea conditions during monsoon season.
• While on a visit from 01. April until 30. September there is the occasional chance of heavy rainfalls and rough seas, affecting the sea kayaking activities. In such cases, the guide may at any given time decide to divert to a similar alternative tour if necessary.
• Sightings of wildlife depend on several natural factors (e.g. weather) and therefore cannot be guaranteed.
• We try our best to get the mentioned hotels, but during heavy bookings period, we may have to substitute within the offered category.
• Tours will be offered as stated in the program, but conditions may require adjustments, and this may be done without prior intimation.
• Some package can be booked on a private basis, but certain services may be on a shared basis only. This is to minimize impacts on the natural environment or if other circumstances require so. These services include boat transfers in Bako, boat transfers & activities in the longhouse and land & boat transfers in Mulu.
• A longhouse is a traditional place mostly untouched by modern facilities, be prepared for some discomfort. We will take the best care, but You will be accommodated in the community area of the longhouse with no privacy. A mattress, mosquito net, pillow, blanket and clean linen will be provided. Simple sanitary facilities are available. Please note - Pets like cats and dogs might be encountered in the communal hall of the longhouse and livestock such as chicken or pigs are roaming freely within the longhouse compound.
• It is customary to bring some gifts for the Iban longhouse people, which can be divided by the number of families. Your guide can assist you during one of the stops en-route to buy some suitable presents. This custom is only applicable to Iban longhouse tours.