Malaysia has ancient rainforests, critically endangered primates and countless endemic species. Over 15,000 types of plants, flowers and trees grow inside 130-million-year-old rainforests. Almost extinct Sumatran rhinos and critically endangered orangutans live inside the protected jungles. Endless fields of corals thrive in marine parks where millions of tropical fish call home. Green and Hawksbill turtles …
Malaysia ranks among the planet’s most biodiverse regions. Pre-historic jungle sprawls for hundreds of kilometers along the Malay Peninsular and Malaysian Borneo. Millions of animals, birds and insects thrive inside the never-ending rainforests. Orangutans and pot-bellied proboscis monkeys swing from the trees. Civets and flying fox hide in the undergrowth as hornbills soar overheard. Plants …
Labuan is best known as a Southeast Asia financial center and for duty-free shopping. Most visitors consist of off-shore businesses and local bargain hunters. Only a handful of travelers make it to this island. But they’re in for a treat. Diving to shipwrecks, pristine beaches and World War II military attractions make Labuan among Borneo’s …
Malaysia has hundreds of islands scattered around thousands of kilometers of coastline. Celebrity-standard resorts, world-class diving and metropolitan city centers allure tourists. Others are uninhabited with long stretches of empty coastline. Travelers usually include both Langkawi Island and Penang Island on their Malaysian itineraries. The adventurous go to the dozens along Peninsula Malaysia’s east coast. …
Pangkor Island in Perak has empty beaches, a colonial fort and hundreds of hornbills. The small island in the Straits of Melaka is less than 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Kuala Lumpur. Pangkor remains under the radar, and visitors feel like they have the place to themselves. And it’s close enough for a side …
Borneo is the planet’s third largest island (after Greenland and New Guinea). More than 15,000 species of plants live in the 130-million-year-old rainforests. Hundreds of mammals including both orangutans and proboscis monkeys thrive in the dense jungles. Add dozens of tropical islands, thousands of kilometers of beaches and Malaysia’s tallest mountain. Borneo splits between three …
Danum Valley is among the planet’s most biodiverse and ecologically important regions. The protected rainforest sprawls 438 square kilometers in eastern Sabah. Danum Valley Field Center sits in the heart of this jungle with a world-class research facility. Picture waking to the buzz of activity in the thick jungle air. Or imagine watching the orange …
Limestone cliffs dominate much of Perak giving rise to rugged landscapes and mysterious cave temples. During British colonial days, the region was a tin mining powerhouse. The legacy of this boom period remains in Ipoh and Taiping’s stunning architecture. Beach-lovers relish at the chance for a night on Pangkor Island. Wake to coastlines void of …
Taiping was the center of Perak’s lucrative mining industry for decades. British and Chinese miners extracted vast amounts of tin. Many became overnight millionaires transforming Taiping into a boom town. Increased wealth led to increased investment. The legacy is Taiping’s collection of British colonial buildings. But despite active tourist campaigns by Perak’s state government, the …
Little-known Miri in Sarawak played a crucial role in modern-day Malaysia. In the early 20th-century, geologists struck oil in Miri. The town boomed attracting migrant workers from China. Malaysia’s black gold fuels much of the economy today. But this small oil-rich city on the South China Sea isn’t just about petroleum. It has a thriving …