Similajau National Park — Attraction in Sarawak

5 things about Similajau National Park

Most important tip : Check first to see if Similajau National Park is closed. We reached there, waited for the office to open (they open later than 8am as expected) and the lady said the park was closed!! It's closed from Nov 2019 to Apr 2020 because of the monsoon season, fallen trees and maintenance. (The sarawakforestry-dot-com site did not have any announcements about the park's closure - so perhaps it might be better to make a call from the number given in the website). However, so as not to disappoint "ignorant" tourists like us who come from so far away, the park authority opened the trail up till View Point (Tg Batu Kuda). Something to be grateful for, I suppose.

Getting there. No introduction about SNP is needed if you're already planning to go there. I saw that it was RM32 one way on Grab - if you use Grab, you'll probably have to negotiate for the driver to pick you up for the return journey. A friend helped me to book a taxi - RM100 in all for a return trip (tipped the driver RM20). The hotel reception quoted me RM350 return. The taxi bringing me to the hotel from the airport quoted RM180 for a one-way trip. Someone on the internet said RM20/foreign passenger each way. There you go - the price range - so now you have a good idea how to negotiate the price. Or you could try Grab. Took us about 40 minutes to get there.

The SNP Park Office. The park office is a nice and neat place. There's a cafeteria (it's open on a weekday) and a proper toilet. The park entrance fee is RM20/pax for foreigners - Malaysians pay RM10/pax. You need to register at the office. There are some exhibits and information boards around. There's accommodation too if you feel like staying a day or two.

Signages. SNP is a park that you can't get lost unless you stray from the main trails. There are clear signages all along the trails, colour-coded ... well, at least till View Point and so I assume it's the same for the rest of the way till Golden Beach. There are board walks at some parts - rather slippery when wet.

Attire and tips. Long-sleeves, long pants for protection against mosquitoes and don't forget your repellant. For me, proper waterproofed trekking shoes is best for SNP's terrain. However, I've seen photos of those who came out alive with just shorts, t-shirts & sandals. So pick your choice. And definitely a towel, you'll need one cause you're going to perspire loads!

Water is absolutely necessary of course. Someone recommended 2 x 1.5l of water for the whole 20km trek - from the terrain of the first km, I think it will be quite an exhausting 20km walk. You should plan based on your own level of fitness. We took a stroll to/from View Point and it was definitely not a walk in the park!! Spent half an hour at View Point to just enjoy the scenery as no one else was there and there was no other place to go.

The Park Office is next to the beach and you can walk there.

Birding tip. I was most fortunate to see a Black Hornbill high up along the trail. The other birds that I found was near the park office where there was a fruiting tree - Red-crowned Barbet, Blue-ear Barbet and Bornean...

Last Saturday I trekked to Golden Beach covering 10 km one way and it took 3 hours and 40 minutes including 2 stops at Turtle Beach 1 & 2 along the way. The entrance fee is RM10 and the female staff at the reception was very friendly and informative. The trail was easy to navigate because of the red marks along the trail except for some spots where few trees collapsed blocking the trail. I wore sandal and short pant and regretted it. I only met other trekkers near to Golden Beach. There were around 10 trekkers who reached the furthest beach I guess. I brought 2 liter of water and it was barely enough. You need to bring more. There is a hut halfway to rest and near to the beach there is a small cabin. I think you can stay there overnight. The trail expands along the coast from the entrance area to Golden Beach. So, you can always hear the sound of water splashing from the beach. There are bridges built to cross few rivers and streams. Some of them were in poor condition so please be careful while using them. The park is inhabited by many species of wildlife like boars and saltwater crocs. But I didn't see em that day. Lucky me I guess. The destination granted me with a quiet and beautiful beach. There were no ships in the sea unlike in Bintulu city where the sea is infested with cargo ships. The total time was 7 hours to return to the HQ. It was a beautiful day, no rain. reminder: no swimming and other water activities are allowed in the...

¡Be careful the park is closed!

(And the security guard at the main entrance speaks better English than the main office on the phone)

I literally called this morning to the park 27/08/2022 and when I asked if I could visit the park they told me: Yes!

There's no lie on what they said, except for the fact that all the trails are closed. So literally, the park is open for money collection, nothing else.

I took a grab 34 Ringgit to find out that I had to pay 20 Ringgits to get into the park to not be able to see or do anything.

The guard at the gate warn me of the fact that if I wanted to pay 20 Ringgits I could but I wasn't going to be able to do anything which was very nice but, why did nobody warn me of that when I called in the morning.

The trip back cost me another 30 Ringgits, which means a total of 64 Ringgits for a useless trip to the national park.

The only reason I went to Bintulu is to visit this national park, but my ultimate question is: why me as a foreigner my 2 to 5 times more than any other Malaysian to enter places but do not even get proper...