kinabatangan river

Kinabatangan River

It is said that the Chinese Imperial merchants sailed up Kinabatangan River in search of the precious bird's nests. Its floodplain is one of the most exceptional areas in Malaysia. Influenced by the tides of the Sulu Sea and rainfall in the interior, the lower part of the river plain floods regularly. Thus over the centuries, 5 distinct habitats have evolved, waterlogged and dry forests, saline and freshwater swamps and limestone forests, each contributing towards some of the most diverse concentrations of wildlife in Borneo.

The River is 560 km. long and the Lower Kinabatangan is estimated to have the largest concentration of wildlife in all of Malaysia. In fact, all 8 species of hombills found in Borneo - the rhinoceros, helmeted, black, pied, wreathed, wrinkled, white-crowned and bushy crested hombills, have been spotted here. The region is also renowned for colorful tropical birds, crocodiles, huge monitor lizards, wild pigs, otters and several species of monkeys and tree snakes. It is a haven to the rare proboscis monkey, orang utan, the oriental darter, king-fishers and more...

A dawn or dusk river ride past swamps filled with mangrove and nipa promises exciting sightings of wildlife. A view that never fails to delight is a glimpse of the playful proboscis monkeys. These huge-bellied, long-nosed primates with long white tails live by the river and are especially active during these hours when they are socializing, crashing through trees or foraging for food.

The unique landscape feature of the Kinabatangan is the unusual oxbow lakes. A crescent-shaped lake lying alongside a winding river, these lakes are formed as erosion and deposits of soil changes the river's course over time.

An unforgettable experience is the peaceful and serene village-life... as dawn creeps across the river... gentle mists shroud the surreal atmosphere... voices maybe heard across the water as you catch the silhouettes of children floating past in their boats... amidst the birds singing and the animal calls...

Kinabatangan River starts deep in the heart of southwestern Sabah, where trickles spilling down from the watersheds of Trus Madi and the Maliau Basin merge with countless other rivulets to form small streams. These streams grow into the Kuamut and Milian rivers, always moving steadily to the northeast, then merge into one large river, by now the color of kopi susu or milky coffee from silt washed off the sides of the steep slopes down which it flows. The volume of water increases and picks up speed as it moves ever onwards, finally threading through coastal mangroves and spilling out into the Sulu Sea. This is the Kinabatangan, at 560 km, Sabah's longest river and the second longest in all of Malaysia.

Each year, the lashing rains of the northeast monsoon cause the river to swell rapidly. Unable to disgorge into the sea quickly enough, the river frequently overflows its banks and spreads across the flat land of its lower reaches, creating a huge floodplain. The lower Kinabatangan teems with both animal and plant life, making it the best area for viewing wildlife, not just in Sabah but in all of Southeast Asia.

For centuries, the rare treasures of Borneo's forests acted as a magnet for traders who came in search of edible birds' nests, rhinoceros horn, elephant ivory and hornbill casques for the Emperor and the wealthy mandarins of China. They also sought a hardwood resin, damar; flexible rattan vines; beeswax to make candles; fragrant woods and oil-rich illipe nuts. The mighty Kinabatangan was the only route into the forests of northeastern Sabah, to the scattered riverine settlements where forest produce and birds' nests were traded.