The Sepilok Orangutan Centre, just outside Sandakan, is where most east-coast Sabah trips begin — and for good reason. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre sit next door to each other, and both can be seen in a single morning before you carry on to Turtle Island or the Kinabatangan River. Here is how a visit actually works.
What is the Sepilok Orangutan Centre?
It is a rehabilitation centre for orphaned and rescued orangutans, set in a patch of protected forest. Animals that complete rehabilitation are released back into the wild — some go on to reserves such as Tabin, which is one reason your chances of seeing orangutans there are good. Visitors watch from a viewing platform as semi-wild orangutans come in to the feeding platform, and from a separate nursery area where the younger, more playful animals are learning to climb and forage.
When are the feeding times?
Our tours are built around the 10am morning feeding at the main platform. We arrive earlier so you can spend time at the nursery first, then move to the feeding platform in time for the session. Bear in mind that this is not a zoo: orangutans come to the platform when they choose to, and on days when the forest is full of wild fruit, fewer may turn up. That unpredictability is exactly what makes it a rehabilitation centre rather than an enclosure.
What about the sun bears?
Around 11am we walk over to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. The sun bear is the world’s smallest bear species, and here you observe rescued bears from raised walkways looking down into their forest enclosure. It is a short, easy visit that pairs naturally with the orangutans.
How do you visit with River Junkie?
Almost every east-coast package we run includes Sepilok. The 3D2N Sepilok and Kinabatangan River Safari picks up from Sandakan hotels or the airport between 8 and 8.30am (or Sepilok hotels 8.45–9am), covers the orangutans and sun bears, stops for lunch and reaches Hornbill Lodge in time for the first river cruise. The 2D1N Turtle Island trip visits Sepilok on the morning after the island. Independent visitors can also stay in Sepilok itself — several lodges are a few minutes’ walk from the centre — and join us from there.
Is there anything else in Sepilok?
Yes: the Sepilok Rainforest Discovery Centre has a canopy walk that we can add as an optional last-day stop, together with the Gomantong Caves, for guests with an evening flight out of Sandakan.
What should I bring?
Comfortable shoes, insect repellent, sunscreen, a hat and a bottle of water. Long sleeves help in the forest. Bring some cash — there are no ATMs at Sepilok, Turtle Island or on the Kinabatangan. Binoculars make a real difference at the feeding platform.
Ready to see them? Browse our Sandakan wildlife tours or ask us which combination fits your dates.
