Borneo Jungle Cruise
- A Secret Retreats journey -This journey has been personally designed by Gaye and Lorna had that simple and magic idea to build a traditional boat that would both be an attraction and would transport guests to visit rare and beautiful forest environments and visit villages within the heart of Kalimantan.
Highlights of the Journey:
- Watching the orang-utans on the Rungan river islands.
- Trekking in the Sebangau National Park to track wild orangutans, and place a camera trap to spot the elusive clouded leopard.
- Birdwatching and spotting and watching the proboscis monkeys.
- Meeting local jungle tribes and visiting their villages.
Explore a new destination and venture into the dense jungle of Sebangau National Park - famous as a refuge for the largest remaining population of wild orangutans on Borneo. Following one of the longest rivers in central Kalimantan, the Katingan river, you will experience life along its banks, witness the unique traditions and culture of the Dayak (local tribes) and explore the mazes of black water lakes that finally lead us into the forest where you will overnight on the last night in a comfortable “lodge in the wild”. You will have also the unique chance to enjoy a night-time wildlife walk.
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Your Journey Day by Day
based on 2 people sharing the same cabin
From here we travel to Nyaru Menteng and board a simple local canoe to visit the beautiful orangutan island, home to rehabilitated orangutans prior to their release into the wild managed by The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation that we support. We watch from a distance that will not disturb this process as they adapt to the natural forest environment of the island. On our return, we visit the foundation’s education centre and then take lunch in a forest gazebo before returning to the cars for a 40-minute ride to the rocky outcrop known as Bukit Batu.
An easy scramble over the rocks gives a 360-degree view of the vast surrounding landscape. A final drive of 2 hours gets us downstream to Jahanjang on the Katingan River. Here we board the Spirit of Kalimantan for a welcome drink and snack as the boat heads upstream to a quiet location on the river.
Enjoy sunset on the river followed by dinner.
Overnight on-board the Spirit of Kalimantan
Returning to the Spirit of Kalimantan, we then cruise down to visit Karuing Village, for a stroll through this leafy pretty village to see the plant nursery set up by WWF, growing trees for reforestation and for orangutan food.
Returning to the boat for lunch, we set off downstream to visit Talaga village to join afternoon activities in the village, including a visit to the fish farms.
Overnight on-board the Spirit of Kalimantan
Return to the Spirit of Kalimantan for breakfast while we cruise upstream to the mouth of the small tributary, Punggualas River, the beginning of our forest adventure. We serve lunch on board before transferring to smaller canoes to travel the narrow river course to reach the park information and research site managed by the National Parks Authority and WWF.
Here we settle into a private lodge. Each one can accommodate 2 people. Explore the camp and have a short talk on the activities in the camp. Then venture along the board walks adjacent to the center, walking deep into the dense forest, keeping an ear and eye out for wildlife. After dinner at the center, we set off on an exciting night wildlife spotting expedition, looking for the elusive clouded leopard. On return we look at the wildlife captured on film by camera traps set in the area.
Overnight in a jungle lodge.
End of the program.
Borneo Jungle Cruise
based on 2 people sharing the same cabin
The quoted rate includes:
Airport pick up on day 1.
All meals listed in the program
All accommodations for the 3 nights of the program.
Tour guides and national park fees included in the program.
Airport drop off on day 4
The quoted rate does not include:
Flights to Palangkaraya.
Travel insurance.
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