Friday, April 4, 2014

Visit Malaysia Year 2014 - Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Sandakan

To support Visit Malaysia Year 2014, I will be writing on various tourist attractions in the country. Let us work together to bring in tourists to our lovely Malaysia.

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It was feeding time and there was a large crowd all standing at the viewing platform, waiting for their arrivals. One by one they slowly came, although I was told the numbers were diminishing over the years. It was a good sign, the decreasing figures, for it shows that the rehabilitation program worked and these fragile creatures are assimilating back to their natural habitats and are able to find their own foods.

Welcome to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is a popular attraction in Sandakan, one that you should not miss on any reason. This centre is more than just a sanctuary for orangutans but also a learning centre to the public on all things about this gentle primates and the efforts showered into the program.

Entrance fee

Feeding time and video schedules

There is a scheduled screening of a documentary on orangutan every day that should not be missed as it will give a better insight into the works being done to save the animals. However, the main spotlight is the orangutans and there is no better way to see them than to visit them during feeding hours.


One by one came right on time for their meals

We were only allowed to see from afar as they are shy animals. The caretaker put their meals - mostly fruits - on a platform and waited for them to come and eat. There are times when only one or two of them will be there for the fruits. During my visit, there were more than that.

Some even hide among the leaves due to shyness

The feeding hour lasted as long as they were still there. As the orangutans began to leave, so too were the public. It was indeed a wonderful experience, to be seeing them in a natural habitat and not a zoo.

The jungle is their playground


One of the few times being up close and personal

Info Box

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre,
Sepilok Rd, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah.
Open daily from  9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the exception on Friday which opens from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Entrance fee is at RM 5 for adult (RM 30 for non-Malaysian) and RM 2 for child (RM 15 for non-Malaysian). There is a RM 10 charge on cameras.
You can read about Orangutan Appeal UK, the organisation that supports the centre, and how you can help out here in the website. You can learn more about the centre here in Sabah Tourism Board.

3 comments:

  1. I went here like N years ago and unlucky us, we arrived too early for the feeding times. So most of the orang utan were so lazy to move around.

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  2. Pity Diana. Hehe. Anyway, surprising the camera charge is more expensive that the actual ticket price. Lol.

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  3. Diana: Well, you can always visit again since Sandakan is just an hour flight away..

    Khai: Well, the entrance ticket was cheap due to our citizenship..otherwise, it's more expensive than the camera charge..

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