A complete guide for Bako National Park.

When we decided to make a trip to Kuching for the first time, the one thing we were sure about was to visit Sarawak’s oldest national park, Bako National Park.

We did not do much research prior to our trip and learnt a lot about the trip along the way. And I thought why not just put it up. Information is wealth after all :-)

beautiful silver leaf monkeys greeting at the entrance

From Kuching to Bako Terminal.

A night before our trip to Bako National trip we stayed in Basaga Holiday Residency in Kuching. We figured out a couple of ways to get to Bako National Park, which is located, approximately 25 KM apart.

1) By Grab

The easiest and comfortable but the most expensive. Costs around RM45.

2) By Bus

Least expensive and could consume a bit of your time. Take the Petra Jaya bus #6 from Kuching bus station to Bako Village. Costs RM3.

We opted for Grab. Not the cheapest way, but it did help us to make the journey much easier. We were dropped at the Bako Village. We just had to walk to counter that sells the boat tickets that will take us to the national park.

To Bako National Park.

By Boat

The only mode to go to Bako National Park. The costs differ if you wish to cater boat to your convenience. We opted for the shared boat trip. Do note that the boat only leaves once there are more than 5 passengers. If you are going solo or smaller group and wish to go on the shared boat, it is advisable to come early by 8 am, which is considered the peak hour for visitors to enter the national park. In that way, you can share the boat with other passengers and save the waiting time.

We only reached the terminal at about 9.15am and we had to wait for about 20 minutes to make up to the number of passengers.

The boat ride is approximately 15 minutes. Enjoy the ride. Look around and try to spot animals and plants. You can even see the beautiful Mount Santubong on your way there.

all you need to know about the boat transfer and its pricing.

 

Entrance fee to the park.

The fees differ for Malaysians and Non-Malaysian. It’s a one-time entrance fee. Which means, regardless of the day trip or overnight trip, the entrance fee is still the same.

RM10 for Malaysian Adult and RM20 for Non Malaysian Adult

Accommodation

When we were deciding on the trip, one thing we were sure about was to stay the night in the park. We wanted to soak in all of what Sarawak’s biggest and oldest national park could offer us.

You can book your accommodation through their official website.

https://ebooking.sarawak.gov.my/eBooking/public/locationInfo.htm?type=of&cat=park&fid=2

Be sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Walk-in booking is not encouraged.

There are several options to choose from.

We opted for Forest Lodge type 6.

It is a twin sharing room with attached bathroom/toilet with fan and basic amenities. Remember you are staying in the middle of an old national park, so don’t expect a fancy stay.

Also note, check in to you lodges can only be done after 2 pm. The check-in was easy and we were given one clean towel each at the lobby like counter at the entrance. If you happened to be in the park early and wish to attempt a trail before the check in time like us, you can leave your bags in the designated room at the lobby. However, be mindful of your belongings that you are leaving unattended. The room does not have any surveillance camera to monitor.

Simple twin sharing room at only RM50 per room.

Keep your rooms locked at all times, our primate friends are pretty cheeky! Smart enough to open the doors.

Meals

There is a comfortable café in the park itself which provides indoor and outdoor table seatings. Anticipate our primate friends to visit if you opt to dine at the outdoor tables. They serve breakfast, lunch, teatime, and dinner. However, it is all self-paid. It doesn’t come in a package or whatsoever. In my opinion, the food and drinks are fairly priced considering its location and the mode of the goods transfer. The only way to bring the goods into the park is by a boat.

If you are on a budget, the one thing you can do is to stock up on enough water for yourself. One 1.5L of mineral water bottle costs RM4 in the park's cafe.

The food is clean and tastes good enough to give a decent meal experience.

Each meal costs us around RM7-10, depending on what we chose from the mini buffet-style presentation. There were not many vegetarian options. Let alone vegan. So if you are a vegan or vegetarian, you might want to pre-plan your meals ahead.

My lunch, costs me RM6. Exclusive of the drinks.

What to do in Bako

There are a total of 18 trails. All the trails are well marked with colour code. You will be given a simple map of all the trails in Bako National Park with the estimated time needed to complete the trail on an A4 paper for free upon arrival.

Be sure to register before and after trekking on the registration book at the lobby for your safety.Also, always keep track on your trekking time. Try to complete your chosen trail before the sun sets. It gets really dark after the sunset. There are no lamps along the trails.

All trails well explained. Kept this with us throughout our stay. Our guide!

We tried to explore as much possible and I think we managed to see more than we hoped to see.

1)Paku Trail

The first trail we chose is the Paku trail. The trail is beautiful and easy. We spent about 2 hours here. Be sure to look out for the proboscis monkeys on your way. Along the way, you will be seeing mossy forest-like terrain as well. Just pay attention to the trail.

spotted some fiddler crabs on our way to Paku Trail.

2)Telok Tajor

This is another beautiful and well-paved trail. Here, we encountered many bird species' and can even hear some of them singing away. We are not vivid bird watchers to know the species' we encountered. But we did have a heap of fun time! The clean and cool air, birds flying and singing away and shadowed by the big trees, it was a therapeutic walk. If you are a bird watcher, be sure to attempt this trail.

3)Beach

Don’t ever miss the beautiful beach and the sunset. We spent the evening strolling along the beach admiring the million years old sandstone and limestone rock formations at the beach.

This got me dazed at the beach. Huge sea stone.

Look upon the trees, you will see proboscis monkeys just chilling on the tree. Watch your head, some of them are cheeky. One of the monkeys threw a mango seed at us for nothing. LOL!

If you have the time, go for a morning beach walk. There is something peaceful about having the whole beach to yourself. We got lucky on that morning, it was just us and the waves and a wild boar! He came for his morning walk too. Fret not, the wild boars around that park are not harmful. Don’t disturb them, and they will do the same for us. We even managed to catch a glimpse of mount Santubong from the beach. Thank god for the fantastic weather.

Dhasa on his morning stroll by the beach.

Spend a good few minutes looking at Mount Santubong view from the beach.

4)Guided night walk

As excited as we were to go for the night trail, due to bad weather we had to cancel it. I'm sure this would have a worthwhile walk because some animals are nocturnal, and its perfect time to watch them being active in the wild. If you are planning, the trail takes about one hour to complete and it starts at the cafe which is the meeting point. The guided walk costs RM10 per pax and you are required to bring your own torch.

5)Night walk

We went for a short night walk after dinner just to help our digestion after dinner, " the digestion walk". It was not planned. Just randomly looked up at the sky. And we were mesmerized! OMG! BEAUTIFUL! A sky full of stars!!! We love stargazing but we have never seen a sky full of stars like that night. Spent a while looking up. Wished we could just camp there but unfortunately, it's not available. You don’t have to go too far into the forest, we just walked from the cafe to the rooms and a little further. Its safe and well-paved walkway. We went back to our room with such big smiles from the peaceful walk.

6)Teluk Pandan Kecil

The most famous trail of all. There are two ways to get here. One is to trek for about one and a half hour to get there and it is free of charge. Another option is to take a boat to get there which costs a little extra.

We chose the latter and will tell you why we chose that instead of trekking the whole way up.

About 25 minutes boat ride later, we reached the beautiful pristine beach that leads the way up to Teluk Pandan Kecil viewpoint.

It only takes about 5 minutes to hike up. Quick and relatively easy trail.

The view at the top is beyond beautiful! Watch the rock formation from the top. It's unique. We even managed to drone from up there.

On our way down, we saw two tiny mountain crabs racing away. Watch your steps on your way down because the mosses on the stone can be quite the slippery.

7)Bako signature sea stack

You can only go close to the sea stack by boat. This is the sole reason why we decided to rent the boat. Since Teluk Pandan Kecil is not too far away from the sea stack and we were in a rush of time, we decided to take the quicker way to get there instead of trekking for 1.5 hours. The sea stack is located in the middle of the sea on the way to the Teluk Pandan Kecil.

Along the way, the boatman showed us many stone stacks that formed to look a lot like animals and there is one that looks just like the Sphinx in Egypt.

The return trip back to the terminal.

Do note that the boat ticket purchased to enter into Bako is inclusive of a round trip. You don't have to purchase separately. However, the boat only leaves from the Bako National park around 2 pm to 3 pm.

We decided to customize our trip to suit our itinerary.

We did the Bako signature sea stack tour right before leaving Bako. We took our backpacks along with us. We were charged a total of RM100 for the two of us to make a trip to the Teluk Pandan Kecil, Bako signature sea stack and also a trip to the Bako village where the Bako terminal is located. It is a pretty good deal, considering that we got to save the time and also we managed to cover all that we wanted to see at the convenience of our own time. You know how the saying goes "kill two birds with one stone", by doing this boat trip we killed many birds with one stone. It's just a saying, we don't kill birds. Jokes aside. If you have immense interest in plants and the swarms like myself, you will enjoy the boat ride. It was a good ride back to the terminal.

There are a lot more to do in Bako National Park. With just a night, I think we managed to get a decent amount of activities covered.

Safety.

No matter where we are, always keep track of our surroundings and whereabouts.

We are in the million years old habitat of the animals there, be respectful. Don't bother them too much.
Bring enough cash to sustain throughout your stay. There are no ATM in the park.

The beach, as beautiful as it is, unfortunately, there are sandflies all over. We got bitten everywhere and were scratching badly. Pack your antihistamines and soothing lotion.

Bring mosquito repellent, sunblock, plasters and the necessary first aids in case emergency.

Bring enough water during your hiking/trekking.

Do not swim in the sea. There are sea crocodiles there. Huge famished ones. Not sure how famished though.

Additional information.

Once you are at the village, try the Bako Seafood restaurant. Too good to miss that out! Delicious and very affordable. Loved the homemade tofu. Also try the three layer pandan tea!!
https://dhashachandran.blogspot.com/2019/07/food-hunting-in-kuching-sarawak.html

Lastly, enjoy your stay in Sarawak's oldest and biggest national park. It left us in awe!