Danum Valley Conservation Area

In 1985, the Royal Society of Britain saw the potential of Danum Valley. It entered into research collaboration with Yayasan Sabah to establish the South-East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP) to produce scientific information of tropical rainforest systems, ecology and dynamics which will significantly contribute to its sustainable management and conservation.

Sabah's 438 sq. km Danum Valley Conservation Area, located 83km southeast of east coast town Lahad Datu, is an exciting true rainforest where people of the world can step out of the 20th century and return to see the way Earth was millennia ago. Quite apart from the wealth of plant and animal life, the immense tranquility of a real jungle world is so deeply felt man can feel really "human" again as some have remarked. One of Sabah's larger rivers, the Segama River, cuts through this area. In addition, it is also catchments for the pristine Danum River, which add to the area's appeal.

The focus here is a huge spectrum of plant life and their complex ecosystem that supported a very interesting array of rare fauna.Observations so far tally 275 species of birds, 110 species of mammals including true wild Orang Utans, five species of deer, bearded wild pigs, howling gibbons, giant flying squirrels, flying frogs, magnificent Bulwar pheasants, the [Bornean Pygmy] elephants, [Tarsier] and one of Danum's best known beasts- the Sumatran Rhinoceros which still roam in its deep.

Scientific studies

The ecosystem here is subject of ongoing international and local scientific studies. A dozen or so Malaysian and Foreign field scientists are working at the Danum Valley Field Centre where facilities range from hostels to a suspension bridge over the Segama 40metre high canopy observation platform, where Dutch and American companies fund plant enrichment and reduce impact logging techniques.

Source: adapted from www.allmalaysia.info

Danum Valley Field Centre

Take a nature walk in the virgin rainforest. If you are lucky, you might learn from researchers out on the field
Watch birds from the 170m-long canopy walkway built around Tualang hardwood trees
Trek to the seven tiered Sungai Purut waterfalls
visit an ancient Kadazandusun burial site located at cliffs
Go on a night drive in an open jeep to catch sightof nocturnal animals

Getting here

The nearest town to Danum Valley Field Centre is Lahad Datu on the south east coast of Sabah, which is served daily by Malaysia Airlines and Airasia. The 81km drive from Lahad Datu to Danum Valley Field Centre takes approximately two hours, the first 15km are on the main Lahad Datu to Tawau highway and the remainder on a logging road.