Utan Rainforest Lodge

Utan Rainforest Lodge is located in Borneo’s newly created Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR), where the rainforests of lowland Borneo combine with the mangroves of the coast to give a unique transitional habitat.   

Here, you can see a wide variety of Borneo’s rainforest endemics such as the proboscis monkey, Bornean orangutan, sun bear, Borneo ground-cuckoo, and the elusive helmeted hornbill. Moving towards the sea, you have large stands of Nipah palms which are home to orangutans during the day and dazzling firefly displays by night. Once you get close to the coast, you might be greeted to sightings of the spectacular white-bellied sea eagle or incredibly rare Irrawaddy dolphins hunting in the forested waterways.

This new lodge has just 14 air-conditioned rooms dotted amongst the rainforest, providing the perfect base from which to explore the local area. There is an excellent restaurant, plus an outdoor swimming pool to cool off in after your rainforest adventures. 

Each morning you’ll wake to the sounds of gibbons and hornbills before heading out to explore the rainforest trails or local waterways. There is a purpose-built ground cuckoo hide where you may be able to photograph one of Borneo’s most sought after endemic birds, as well as a newly-constructed mammal hide. The lodge offers boat trips in search of the reserves riverine wildlife, which includes proboscis monkeys, kingfishers, fruit bats and perhaps even Irrawaddy dolphins.  There are currently less than 300 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the wild, making these some of the world’s rarest cetaceans.