Mari Mari Cultural Village — Attraction in Borneo

Mari Mari cultural village, a great place to learn about Sabah's tribes and culture

• Half day trip from KK, location: Inanam (17 km away from KK downtown)

• Open daily

• Opening hours: 10am - 5pm

• There are 2 sessions per day, at 10am and 2pm which last ~3h each. It's mandatory to join one of them as only guided tours are allowed. You must arrive 15 minutes before the tour for registration and briefing.

• Entry ticket: 130/110 RM for foreigners (adults/children) 110/100 RM (locals, adults/children)o4

• Only cash or app payment. Cards not accepted.

• The entry fee includes: 》 Admission 》Guided tour 》5 traditional houses introduction and visit (reproductions of Dusun, Rungus, Lundayeh, Bajau and Murut tribes) 》Cultural performance (traditional music, dancing, singing) where guests are invited to perform with the staff some traditional dancing 》Tasting sessions during the visit (traditional beverages, sweets) 》Buffet lunch on site, with coffee / tea (but no soft drinks or alcohol) 》Free henna tattoo with traditional motifs!

• Contact: 》Whatsapp nr: +6013 881 4921 》Insta, facebook: mmcv.official

• You can add Kiansom waterfall on your list as well, as it's a 5-10 minute walk from Mari Mari village. It does have an additional entry fee though.

• Transportation

》Cheapest way (public transportation). Go in front of ShangriLa hotel (in KK downtown) and take a shared van to Inanam city. Then change to another minivan to Kionsom direction (the driver will know where to drop you off, in the main road, if you tell him you are going to Mari Mari village). You must cross the street, go straight and turn left to get to a parking lot where the minivans are.The way back is a lot harder by public transportation, as there aren't many cars passing by. I personally ended up hitchhiking after waiting for a while and refusing a local to give me a ride to the town (big mistake!). You can actually ask one of the many people leaving the village to offer you a ride, as everybody goes back to KK passing Inanam. From Inanam it is a lot easier to get the shared van back to KK downtown.

》The easiest way to get to Mari Mari village from KK is by Grab or Maxim (taxi).

• Without spoiling too much of this amazing experience: 》Expect to learn how to start a bamboo fire, a mandatory skill women had to posses to get married 》Stingless bee honey, delicious food prepared inside a bamboo stick, traditional rice wine and sweets tasting 》Perform some hunting skills in order to get permission to enter Murut's tribe longhouse 》And more!!!

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Visited this place without booking for my family of 5, which is 2 adults and 3 kids below 5 years old on Saturday morning in October.

In summary, feels over-rated, not worthy of the 4.5 star rating it has, probably between 3 and 4 instead.

Our guide for the day was generally informative, friendly and nice. But we had 15 people (mixture of paying adults and children) people under him, which I felt was too big for a group. Exhibits were generally OK, especially the main houses itself, but other than that, not much of a glimpse into their lifestyles, equipment/tools, entertainment, community interactions...etc

There were testing sessions of traditional food and drinks that were created by the tribes but the amount was miserable. The traditional honey - a drip, while the other traditional snacks/cookies - a mouthful.

The traditional dance and music performance was rather short. Given that there were 5 tribes that were taught, was expecting more on the dance and music performance.

Last but not least, is the buffet spread. It wasn't a buffet spread as the food was very limited. They had a grilled chicken, which was rather tasty, but it was all gone, without any refill to the tray when it was my turn in the queue (I was one of the last in the line to take my own food, as I had get my kids seated first and let them settle down at the dining table). Food served seems that of a normal modern Malaysian meal - rice, chicken, fish, vegetables, soup and local fruits. None of the snacks/cookies or drinks that were on testing were available - which is rather sad, since those were the unique food and drinks that are hard to fine.

The entry fees is RM100 for an adult and RM90 for children above 5 years old. Given the price, which isn't cheap at all, was certainly expecting more, especially in having a small tour group and better...

I would agree that this is the "Best Tourist Attraction Non Nature/Man Made", as stated on their main website!

Opted for the morning (10am) slot. The tourists are generally divided into smaller groups, or into groups per families led by a guide each group. Staffs were extremely cordial and welcoming. Our guide was Layren, who was fluent in English and Bahasa Melayu and spoke little Mandarin.

The location is shaded by the tall forest trees, so there was no direct sun despite the timing of the tour and we found ourselves surrounded by enchanting nature, with birds occasionally calling out from the trees and some long wild lizards creep at corners of the walkway. We were safe from being bitten by any mosquitoes throughout the tour. Would, however, recommend to don light, cooling clothing as it’s still quite humid and a little smoky in some areas.

The tour was enlightening and fun, as we got the chance to immerse ourselves into the lives of the 5 tribes, their distinct cultures, homes and even taste their snacks at their long-houses. Guests were welcomed to join in on activities such as their traditional trampoline called the Lansaran, give it a go with the “Sumpit”, a blowpipe weapon, take home a souvenir in the form of their artform “tattoo”, which looks similar to Henna ink and enjoy the cultural dance. Guests are also welcomed to the stage to join in on the bamboo dance.

The buffet lunch spread is delightful and the drinks served are refreshing.

Our small family went together in one group, consisting of 2 senior citizens and 2 toddlers. The steps are gentle and cater to the toddlers and senior citizens. Entering the long-houses, there are options for the traditional bamboo steps, for the immersive experience or the gentle steps. Everyone of us enjoyed the experience at Mari Mari Cultural Village! Definitely...