Tabin Wildlife Reserve Sabah

Tabin Wildlife Reserve

About Tabin Wildlife Reserve

Tabin Wildlife Reserve is located in the eastern part of the state of Sabah, Malaysia, also known as the Malaysian Borneo. Tabin was gazette in 1984 under the Forest Enactment, 1968 and is classified as a Class VII Forest Reserve. Comprises a large area of 120,521 hectares in the middle of the Dent Peninsula, towards the North-Eastern part of Lahad Datu Town, it is the largest wildlife reserve in Sabah.

This reserve is primarily set up to protect huge population of wildlife inhabiting its forest, with some of which are extremely endangered. The three largest mammals in Sabah are the Borneo Pgymy Elephant (Smallest elephant on Earth), Sumatran Rhino and Tembadau (a species of wild cattle which can be found only in Southeast Asia), all can be found within the reserve. Furthermore, nine of Sabah’s primate species are present in the reserve, as well as three species of cats, which one of them is the Sunda Clouded Leopard. Tabin is also an Important Bird Area as it is home to more than 300 species of birds.

Another main attraction of Tabin is the existence of active and rich with minerals mud volcanoes, attracting frequent visits by wildlife for their minerals, hence, setting up an ideal place for wildlife observation and bird watching.

Accommodation at Tabin Wildlife Reserve

The Tabin Wildlife Resort has 20 units of lodges, consist of 10 units of river lodges and 10 units of hill lodges. Every lodges are equipped with a twin-bedded, double-bedded or triple bedded room. All these rooms have en-suite bathroom and hot-water shower, air conditioner, ceiling fan and an individual balcony overlooking hillside forest or the free flowing Lipad river.

Who is it for?

With its abundant bio-diversity of nature, it is suitable to those individuals or even large groups who loves jungle-trekking, night safari, night walk, wildlife-spotting, and rainforest education. Tabin is also considered by many to be a birdwatcher’s paradise with hundreds of species living in the reserve. If bathing Volcano’s mud is something that you are into, then Tabin is the place that you’re should be heading. Wildlife photography aficionados and birdwatching enthusiasts will love the visit to Tabin as the experience is priceless!

How to get here?

From Kota Kinabalu International Airport, the flight duration will take approximately an hour to reach Lahad Datu Airport. Daily departures are operated by MasWings (Malaysia Airlines) only. Upon reaching Lahad Datu, it will take another 1 hour 15 minutes of driving on partially gravel road to Tabin.

Another way of getting to Tabin is by road, which would take approximately 7-hour from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu. In addition, visitors can also get to Tabin via Sandakan or Tawau. Both will take approximately 4-hour worth of ride.

One of the more popular way to visit Tabin is for visitors to take a flight to Sandakan, spend some days visiting the local attractions such as Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Selingan Turtle Island, then onward to Sukau/Bilit in Kinabatangan for at least one night's stay and thereafter, travel by road from Sukau to Tabin Widlife Resort. This journey enables you to witness some of the top eco-nature destinations in Borneo.

Browse through our Tabin Wildlife packages and find one that suit your travelling schedule. Kick-start your wildlife adventure and tour today!


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