Grey mud bubbles quietly in a forest clearing, crossed by the prints of deer, pigs and sometimes elephants that came in the night to lick the salt. Tabin Wildlife Reserve is a huge block of lowland rainforest in eastern Sabah and that mud is one reason the wildlife gathers here. It's off the classic route, so this guide covers what Tabin is, where you'd stay, how it compares with the Kinabatangan and which organised holiday goes there. If you're still choosing a trip, start with our Borneo wildlife holidays.
What is Tabin Wildlife Reserve?
It's a protected area filling the middle of the Dent Peninsula, north-east of Lahad Datu. Much of the forest was logged before it was protected, but an untouched core was left and the rest is growing back as tall lowland dipterocarp jungle. The Sabah Wildlife Department looks after the animals while the Sabah Forestry Department manages the trees, as it's legally a forest reserve. The resort calls it Malaysia's largest wildlife reserve.
Oil palm plantations run right up to the boundary, so the drive in ends with a sudden wall of green.
Tabin was also the last stand for Malaysia's Sumatran rhinos. The final one, a female called Iman, died at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary inside the reserve in 2019, so the species is gone from the country and its conservation story now continues elsewhere.
Mud volcanoes, night drives and the wildlife at Tabin
Tabin is walked and driven, not cruised. Days start early, there's a rest through the hottest hours and the evening belongs to the night safari.
The Lipad Mud Volcano
The Lipad Mud Volcano is the nearest of several in the reserve, a short guided walk from the resort. Minerals rise through a bare clearing of small craters and make a natural salt lick, with an observation tower beside it for watching the forest edge. It erupted in 2022 and 2023 and a geologist said it posed no danger.
Night safaris and night walks
After dinner you climb onto an open-top vehicle while a guide sweeps the trees with a spotlight. Leopard cats and civets are the regular finds. A slow loris or, very rarely, a clouded leopard is the kind of sighting people talk about for years! Night walks near the lodge bring frogs and sleeping birds instead.
Elephants, primates and birds
- Bornean pygmy elephants, the largest mammal here, which roam freely and are never predictable
- Nine primate species, from gibbons and red leaf monkeys to macaques and the odd wild orangutan
- Hornbills and hundreds of other birds, making bird watching a highlight of any stay
- Lipad Waterfall, a jungle trekking walk away, with natural pools for a cool dip
Nothing is guaranteed. Keep your distance, keep your voice down and keep the flash off at night. Our guide to wildlife in Borneo covers each animal and our page on pygmy elephants explains where the herds move.
Tabin Wildlife Resort or Tabin Rainforest Lodge?
There are two choices of accommodation. Both sell packages with meals, guided walks and the road transfer from Lahad Datu.
| Tabin Wildlife Resort | Tabin Rainforest Lodge | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Inside the reserve by the river | On the north-east edge of the reserve |
| Rooms | Timber river and hill chalets with en-suite, air conditioning and a balcony | A small, newer lodge with air-conditioned rooms |
| Road from Lahad Datu | Over an hour, partly gravel | About two hours |
| Best for | The mud volcano, the waterfall and night safaris close by | A quieter corner of the forest |
The resort has run far longer and it's the accommodation most tour packages use.
How does Tabin compare with the Kinabatangan?
On the Kinabatangan River you sit in a boat at dawn and dusk while the wildlife comes to the bank. At Tabin you go into the forest on foot or by open vehicle, which suits people who like walking and don't mind mud. Proboscis monkeys keep to riverbank and mangrove forest, so the river is the place for them. It's also quicker to reach than Danum Valley, the other big rainforest inland from Lahad Datu.
Which organised holiday goes to Tabin?
Of the escorted holidays we compare, only Explore's Borneo Sarawak and Sabah Discovery stops here, going by its own page as checked on 29 October 2026. After Sepilok and the Kinabatangan the group drives to Tabin, walks the Elephant Trail to the mud volcano, climbs an observation tower early for birds, walks to Lipad Waterfall and can join a night walk, staying at the Tabin Wildlife Resort. It's graded Full On and priced without flights. See the Explore trip page for dates.
Travelsphere's The Best of Borneo doesn't go to Tabin. It gives you river lodges at Abai and Sukau instead, with early morning and evening wildlife cruises, UK flights and a Holiday Director who handles the boats, bags and timings.
Before you go
You fly to Kota Kinabalu with a change, then MasWings flies on to Lahad Datu for the road in.
- Are you steady on muddy trails in heavy heat and humidity?
- Have you packed leech socks, long trousers and a head torch?
- Have you read NaTHNaC's advice for Malaysian Borneo?
- Have you checked the GOV.UK travel advice for Malaysia?
See NaTHNaC's Malaysian Borneo page and talk to a travel nurse well before you go. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the islands and dive sites off eastern Sabah from Sandakan to Tawau and says this doesn't apply to the mainland, where Tabin sits. Read the live GOV.UK Malaysia regional risks page and check it before you travel. Sabah Tourism's Tabin page has more.
Tabin rewards keen walkers and birders. For a first trip with the boats and timings done for you, compare our Borneo wildlife holidays.
Holidays that go there
Let a tour handle the internal flights, the river boats and the jungle lodges.
Travelsphere
The Best of Borneo: Orangutans and Rainforests with Singapore add-on
The Best of Borneo wildlife tour with three nights in Singapore added before the flight home.
- Sepilok orangutans
- Kinabatangan river cruises
- Rasa Ria
- Singapore
From £4,759about £297 a day · per person
See dates
Newmarket Holidays
Borneo's Orangutans and Rainforest Adventure
Sandakan, Sepilok, the Kinabatangan and Kinabalu Park, finishing with four nights on the beach at Rasa Ria, with flights from Heathrow.
- Sepilok orangutans
- Kinabatangan river cruises
- Kinabalu Park
- Rasa Ria
From £3,271about £252 a day · per person
See dates
Titan Travel
Wild Borneo
A small-group wildlife tour from Kota Kinabalu through Kinabalu Park, Sukau and Sandakan, ending at Rasa Ria, with home pick-up for the flight.
- Kinabalu Park
- Kinabatangan river cruises
- Sepilok orangutans
- Rasa Ria
From £3,595about £277 a day · per person
See datesPrices are per person sharing, from the operators' own sites when we checked in October 2026. They change with dates and offers, so check the live price before you book.
