Semenggoh Wildlife Centre — Attraction in Borneo

Tips (As of 20 April 2025) – 19/04/2025: No orangutans in the morning, 3 spotted in the afternoon. – 20/04/2025: One big male seen at 10 AM. 🌟 You can stay till afternoon or re-enter later with the same ticket if no orangutan appears in the morning. 💩 Only one toilet at the entrance, and it’s dirty — better poop at home before you come!

🚌 How to Get There (from Airport or City): • Take the free electric Bus 103 before 6AM • Track it using the Kuching Metro app • Best to avoid Google Maps — it’s not accurate for bus timing • From city centre: catch it from Saujana Bus Station (also labelled as Open Air Market or Electra House on Google Maps)

🕗 Visiting Hours: • Morning: 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM • Afternoon: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM • No entry is allowed outside of these times.

🍌 Orangutan Feeding Times: • Morning: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM • Afternoon: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM • Sighting not guaranteed especially during fruiting season, but rangers will update daily.

💵 Entrance Fee for Foreigners: • Adult: RM10 / Local adult: RM5 • Senior Citizen / OKU / Under 18: RM5 • Children under 6: Free

💳 Payment: • Entrance: Cash only — no credit/debit, no TNG, no QR accepted. • Buggy (different companies) & vending machines: Touch 'n Go and QR accepted.

🚗 Parking & Entry: • Only 2 time slots available (AM & PM) • Parking space is limited — come early if driving, especially with a rental car. • No restaurants nearby, just basic seating and vending machines.

🥤 Vending Machine: • Super affordable drinks • Accepts Touch 'n Go & some banking QR apps (tried Touch 'n Go QR app works great!)

🍦 Coned Ice-cream only RM 3 can mix chocolate + vanilla flavour. Bread ice cream RM 5!

🛺 HIGHLY RECOMMEND Electric Buggy Service: • Malaysians: RM10 return trip • Foreigners: RM15 return trip • Infants (under 1 year) ride free if not using a seat • Part of ticket sales go to orangutan conservation

🚶 Distance from Entrance to Feeding Platform: • Walk: 15–20 mins on paved road (not a jungle trail) • Buggy recommended for ease and time • Yes, you can walk back and still catch the free electric shuttle to...

This location is about 25 km from the city center, and there’s a free bus (accessible via the Kuching Metro App) that takes you there. However, the bus ride takes around 1.5 to 2 hours, making a 20-minute ride via Grab or Maxim much more convenient. For the 8 AM visit slot, you’ll need to catch the 6 AM bus, and for the 2-4 PM slot, the 12 PM bus is required. We opted for Grab on the way there and took the bus back. The entry fee for foreigners is 10 RM, with an optional buggy ride for 15 RM. The walk to the feeding area is about 1 to 1.5 km, and it’s a pleasant experience if you’re fit; otherwise, the electric buggy covers the distance in about 5 minutes. There’s also a free museum inside. The center has a semi-wild setup, and the staff brief visitors before the tour. They’ll guide you to the best viewing spots, based on updates from field staff who call the orangutans for feeding. Only the field staff are allowed inside the feeding areas, but tourists can watch from designated platforms. During the briefing, the center provides guidelines for visitors, and the staff use walkie-talkies to relay orangutan movements in real time. You can see the orangutans swinging between the trees and ropes as they approach the feeding area. We noticed that the orangutans here tend to use the ropes more than the tree branches, which is different from those in the wild.If it’s your first time seeing orangutans, this is a fantastic place to visit. However, note that from November to February, during the fruiting season, sightings may be rarer as orangutans find ample food in the forest and may skip the feeding areas. Additionally, the best time for sightings is in the morning (8-10 AM) rather than the afternoon (2-4 PM). Factors like heavy rains can also influence the numbers of orangutans visiting the feeding area. There is a mandatory registration and it's better to do it prior to visor else can be done in the ticket counter...

Such an amazing experience! The centre only opens 2 times in a day everyday at 8am - 10am and 2pm - 4pm for feeding times which will start at 9am and 3pm. Prior to that, the rangers will brief us on what to do and what not to do. There are about 3 feeding platforms, 2 of which are nearby the briefing area while the other one is a walk further into the forest.

Tickets are RM10 for adult foreigners (RM5 for child) and RM5 for adult Malaysian (RM2 for child). You would need to scan the QR code and register your names and details before heading to the ticket counter. You can also rent a buggy transport at RM15 each for two ways. If you decide not to rent the buggy, it takes about 1.5km to walk to the feeding area.

Located approximately 24 km from Kuching, Semenggoh Wildlife Centre is an orangutan sanctuary and nature reserve. It offers the chance to see the semi-wild orangutan up close. Do bear in mind that they are still wild animals so distance must be kept, thus do not expect to hold or touch them. They spend most of their time in the forest (653 hectare forest reserve) but some do return to the centre where they are fed twice daily.

On most days orangutans will descend from the canopy to the nearby platforms. Sometimes they will grab some food and quickly move off into the forest. On other times they will hang around for a while. Sometimes there are only 1-3 orangutans and on other days maybe more. If you are lucky, Ritchie the dominant male will turn up or maybe a mother with a young baby. It depends on your luck and the season you visit in.

However, on some days no orangutans show up. This happens during the fruiting season when there is abundance of food in the forest so the orangutans do not need to return to the centre for...