When I was researching things to do in Brunei, there were two things I kept reading: 1) There isn’t much to do and 2) Ulu Temburong National Park is the standout natural attraction.
With this in mind, I made sure to arrange a day trip here during my short stay in Brunei.
About Ulu Temburong
Known as the Green Jewel of Brunei (not that there is much competition), Ulu Temburong is a national park covering over 50,000 hectares of rainforest. The park is part of a conservation agreement made between Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia called the Heart of Borneo. The agreement is intended to protect a large forested region of Borneo, which is considered to be Asia’s last great rainforest. Because of this, visitors are only allowed access to a small part of Ulu Temburong and must go on a guided tour.
Arranging the Tour
The hostel I stayed at in Brunei, AE Backpackers, said they could arrange a tour although a minimum of two people were needed for it to go ahead. Fortunately, one of the other guests, a Polish guy named Chris who arrived in Brunei the same day as me, was interested in visiting as well. We had already chatted quite a bit and got on well, so we decided to book the tour together.
Getting to Ulu Temburong
Getting to the park is an adventure in itself. To begin with, we were picked up at the hostel by our first guide on this trip for a short drive to a boat jetty in Bander Seri Bagawan (Brunei’s capital city, which we were staying in). Once here, we got tickets for a 45 minute speedboat ride along the Brunei River to a small town called Bangar. Once the boat came, our first guide left and advised that another lady would pick us up in Bangar. Upon arrival in Bangar, we were picked up by our next guide, a Muslim lady who drove us to Batang Duri, which is the start point for the final leg of the journey. The drive was about 20 minutes long and she chatted to us a bit about the park and life in Brunei while on the way.
Upon arrival at Batang Duri, she introduced us to her son who would be our guide for the park. It was time for the final leg of the journey, a 30 minute longboat ride. I had read that, during dry seasons, passengers would sometimes have to get out of the boat and help push it along shallow spots but June, when we visited, is a wetter time of year in Brunei. It was a sunny day when we visited but water levels were high and the current was strong so the longboat driver would need to take care to ensure the boat didn’t capsize. Chris asked our guide if the boat had ever capsized before and got a quick “no” in response, although his mum then chimed in with a correction – “not often”! At this point, the lady (I can’t remember our guides names unfortunately) told us she would pick us up later once we got back from the park and we headed off on the longboat, along with a cook and the driver. Despite a few nervy moments, the longboat ride passed without incident and we made it to the park around 30 minutes later.
In total it took about 2 hours from leaving our hostel to arriving at Ulu Temburong National Park.
The Park Itself
For conservation purposes, the vast majority of the park is restricted to biologists so there is only one trail for visitors to follow. Upon arrival, we registered our visit to the park then began the walk while chatting to our guide. At first we talked about the park then started discussing life in Brunei with him and he told us a bit about himself. We stopped for a breather (in total, there were 700-800 steps to go up) and our guide made a phone call while we were taking this break. Me and Chris wondered if our questions were becoming sensitive (the law in Brunei is very strict – see my post on visiting Brunei) and we weren’t sure if anything we were asking would be considered taboo here. By western standards the discussion, which by this point was about romantic relationships, was extremely tame but Brunei is a very different place, so we agreed we should keep things light and not push him on anything. A few moments later, the guide returns from his phone call and Chris immediately comes up with this gem of a question: “So, what gets you stoned?” (as in stoned to death, not the usual western meaning). So much for light conversation.
Moving on, we arrived at the most well known spot on the tour – a steel canopy standing 43 meters tall and surrounded by trees. The number of people that can be on the steel canopy at any time is limited to five people so our guide waited at the bottom while me and Chris started the climb up – the place was empty at the time but more visitors were expected to show up.
As we progressed towards the top, the structure started to shake a little. This was slightly worrying but it never became too much and the adrenaline rush that came with it was welcome! We relaxed at the top for a short time while taking in the views, then started the climb back down. By the time we got to the bottom, a small queue of people waiting to start the climb had formed. A couple were nervous about the climb and asked me how it was – I assured them it was fine, although they didn’t seem thrilled when I told them about the shaking at the top…
Back on ground, we started heading back to the longtail boat with our guide, which was going to take us to our next spot – a waterfall. The waterfall is just a few metres high so it isn’t anything to get excited about, but it made for a nice break after all the walking. The water contains fish that nibble at dead skin on your feet so you can enjoy (maybe?) a natural fish spa while here.
After the waterfall we got back into the longboat until we reached our final stopping point along the river – lunch! Because it was Ramadan, the guide wasn’t eating so just me and Chris got stuck into the food.
After Lunch – Visiting a Local Tribe
Once lunch was over, we took the final leg of the longtail boat journey back to land where our second guide from earlier was waiting. We said our thanks and goodbyes to our guide for the park and got back into the car for our final stop – a residential complex belonging to a local tribe.
In brief, there are a number of tribes in Brunei, which the government are not overly supportive of. The indigenous people are actively encouraged to move away from their past ways of life (not necessarily a bad thing, some of the tribes used to practice cannibalism) and financial support, such as new homes, may be offered as an incentive. Indeed, the residential complex we visited was provided by the government as part of a deal with this tribe.
The guide who took us here actually came from this tribe originally although she had converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, so she did not live in this residential complex. There wasn’t a great deal to see here although there was something on offer that is very unusual in Brunei – alcohol! Brunei is a dry country and the sale of alcohol is illegal (non-Muslim visitors are permitted to bring a small amount into Brunei for themselves). However, this tribe is permitted to continue making their traditional alcoholic drink, providing they do not sell it and just produce it for consumption by themselves and any non-Muslim guests. As we sat in the living room of one of the homes, the owner poured us each a glass (or two) of the drink and provided some snacks as well. There wasn’t anything special about the drink but it felt novel to be able to drink alcohol in ultra-strict Brunei.
Back to the Hostel
We briefly visited a second home in the complex before the drive back to Bangar for the boat ride to the capital. It was time for our guide to leave and drive home so we said our thanks and goodbyes. There was a bit of time before the boat was due to arrive so we had a brief look around the town, which didn’t seem to offer anything of interest.
Finally, we took the speedboat to Bandar Seri Bagawan where we were picked up by our first guide of the day for the drive to AE Backpackers.
A few things to note:
- Make sure to bring enough water – Brunei is hot and you’ll be going up a lot of stairs.
- Bring sunscreen and insect repellent.
- Wear proper shoes – don’t be the guy doing the canopy walk in flip flops!
- Ideally, bring a dry pack for phones/valuables and a waterproof cover for your backpack. I came without and nothing got too wet, but it’s better to be prepared.
- Unless you’re lucky, you won’t see much in the way of wildlife. While there is plenty of wildlife in Ulu Temburong, it tends to stay away from the trail.
- If you plan to swim by the waterfall, there isn’t anywhere private to change. Having said that, this spot may be very quiet – nobody was there when we arrived and just one group of four showed up during our time here.
- Most of the tours will take you back to Bangar after the longtail boat ride out of the park. The visit to a tribe was part of the itinerary on our tour because one of the guides originally came from there. If you’re interested in this aspect and are struggling to find a tour that offers this, I’d suggest contacting AE Backpackers Hostel who arranged our tour.
- Tours of Ulu Temburong are on the expensive side – I can’t remember exactly what I paid but the tour prices online seem to vary between 105-185 USD. The one arranged through AE Backpackers was on the cheaper end of this scale and there were no extras to pay. Some of the other guests at the hostel, who didn’t want to do the tour, had just come from the Malaysian part of Borneo and felt they had visited similar locations there for a lower price.
Staying Overnight at Ulu Temburong
I didn’t stay overnight but, if you want to, there is an eco-friendly resort in the park called Ulu Ulu Resort. The reviews online for this are positive though, as you can imagine, an eco-friendly resort in the jungle isn’t the cheapest place to stay. An overnight stay does of course allow you to see Ulu Temburong at sunset and sunrise and there is a night jungle walk you can do as well.
Is it worth visiting Ulu Temburong?
Personally, I think it’s worth a visit if you’re in Brunei. As noted earlier, the tours are quite expensive but there isn’t much to do in Brunei (see here for more things to do) and me and Chris both had an enjoyable day at Ulu Temburong.
Hello! May I know the hostel who arranged for your Ulu Temburong? Thank you!