Brief History
DVCA is among the few unlogged primary forests left in Malaysia. Some of the other famous forest conservations include Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA, Sabah), Taman Negara (Pahang) and Belum National Park (Perak).
DVCA is about 438 square km in area and it is surrounded by a huge logging concession area (10,000 square km or more than 20 times DVCA) awarded to Yayasan Sabah.
DVCA is about 438 square km in area and it is surrounded by a huge logging concession area (10,000 square km or more than 20 times DVCA) awarded to Yayasan Sabah.
The first documented exploration into Danum Valley was in 1887 by a team lead by R.D. Beeston in search for gold.
DVCA was officially opened in 1986 by the then Chief Minister of Sabah, Joseph Pairin. It was further upgraded to Class I Protected Forest Reserve, which means no logging license can be legally issued to log this area.
Currently, the main sponsors of DVCA are Yayasan Sabah and the U.K Royal Society; and it’s managed by a committee consists of Government officers and universities. The location of DVCA within the Yayasan Sabah logging concession area is shown in the picture in the left. Imagine the irreplaceable old growth forest that had been logged, being logged and to be logged from this vast concession area.
Getting there
The only way to get to DVCA is to go through Lahad Dato (Sabah). There is a transport service between the office in Lahad Dato and the field center in DVCA every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The transport departs from DVCA around 10:00am and leaves the office (Lahad Dato) around 3:00pm. The journey takes about 2 hours of bumpy ride on mainly trail road cleared for logging activities. Should we thank the logging companies for building the road?
Facilities
There are only two places where visitors can stay in Danum Valley. For budget travelers (myself included), the Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) provides excellent accommodation at very reasonable and affordable rates.
There are only two places where visitors can stay in Danum Valley. For budget travelers (myself included), the Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) provides excellent accommodation at very reasonable and affordable rates.
Danum Valley Rainforest Lodge is for those looking for luxurious accommodation and 5-star services. Since luxury wasn’t on my itinerary, I went to DVFC and left some room for those who wanted the experience of having their nails polished deep inside a tropical rain forest.
At DVFC there are 2 huge dormitories, male and female, for budget travelers and unsponsored researchers. The male dormitory can easily house more than 80 people. However, the bathroom is rather small and do expect a long queue if the dorm is fully occupied.
At DVFC there are 2 huge dormitories, male and female, for budget travelers and unsponsored researchers. The male dormitory can easily house more than 80 people. However, the bathroom is rather small and do expect a long queue if the dorm is fully occupied.
There are also a few private rooms for sponsored researchers and travelers who are willing to pay a bit more for privacy and the comfort of AC and individual bathroom.
3 meals and afternoon tea are included and is served at the canteen, which is located about 1 km away from the dorms. There is also a mini market that sells essential items such as batteries, leech socks, biscuits, soft drinks etc. The lab and computer center are off limits to the visitors. The research assistants and staff live in the linked houses provided to them.
A small but complete weather station was commissioned a few years ago and it is recording valuable daily weather data for research purposes.
Attractions
The whole of DVFC is surrounded by thick vegetation that is mainly made up of Dipterocarp forest. “Dipterocarp” literally means “2-winged fruits”.
The whole of DVFC is surrounded by thick vegetation that is mainly made up of Dipterocarp forest. “Dipterocarp” literally means “2-winged fruits”.
For most visitors, the main attraction is wildlife watching and there are plenty of them in DVCA. Wild orangutans are frequent visitors to the field centre during fruiting season in the surrounding forest. I was fortunate enough to see three of them feeding in the trees just behind the canteen. They stayed there for a few days.
Wild orangutan seen in the field centre
Occasionally, gibbons (Siamang in local language) can be seen swinging gracefully in the trees around the field centre. Their loud vocalization can be heard early in the morning.
Wild gibbon seen in the forest
If you visit DVCA at the right time of the year, you may be lucky enough to see families of pigmy elephants. According to the research assistants at the field centre, the elephants move between the forests in Sabah in fixed time cycles. Unfortunately, many of the forests in their path have been cleared and turned into oil palm plantations where unwanted conflicts occur. There are many theories with regards to their origin. The widely acceptable one is their ancestors were the now extinct Java elephants imported by the then Sulu Sultan a few hundred years ago. However, recent DNA studies reviewed they are an entirely new sub-species. We shall leave this to the experts. I was lucky enough to find - their dried dung pads in the forest.
Dried dung pad left by pigmy elephants
Besides orangutans and gibbons, a bearded wild pig and a group of deer are the “residents” of the field centre. The pig was seen in the day searching for food in the compound of the field centre while the deer came out at night.
The “resident” bearded wild pig
The elusive and rare Sumatera rhino is believed to still roam the forest within DVCA, but nobody has even seen one except for their dried dung since many years ago.
The other less elusive wildlife is the Red Leaf Monkeys, civet cats (musang in local language), bats and many hornbills and birds. The Nocturnal Tarsier is another elusive primate that only an experienced ranger can find in the dark.
No visitors can escape the intimate yet “bloody” encounters with the leeches in DVCA. They move swiftly and latch on any warm body effortlessly. I learnt through hard experience that once they latched on, don’t pull or burn them off unless you want a bleeding wound that attracts more of them. The wound will also remain itchy for months. The best way is to use some salt on them to make them release willingly, or just let them be if you are a generous blood donor.
Bloody blood suckerThere are a few beautiful water falls in DVCA and accessible from the field centre if you are prepared to walk for a few hours. The furthest one is Purut falls which takes about 8 hours for a return trip. Tembaling falls requires about half the time and the track is relatively easier. In fact, the field centre gets its water supply from here.
sign board showing the trails
After a tiring walk through the humid jungle, a dip in the fresh, cold water refreshes better than a pint of icy cold beer. Besides, beer doesn’t wash away the sweat and the smell.
A few short trails are also available around the field centre for the less adventurous visitors. There are also a few observation towers along these short trails which serve as an excellent bird watching platforms. Even you are not into feathered creatures, spending half an afternoon alone up on one of these platforms in the quiet jungle calms down messy minds embattled by office politics or nagging spouse.
A night drive on a 4WD on the bumpy road is the closest thing to night safari in a tropical rain forest and the quickest way to spot some nocturnal creatures. However, don’t go on a night when storm or rain is expected. That was another hard lesson for me. Not a single animal was spotted for 2 hours no matter how hard our experienced ranger was trying with his powerful flash light. I guess the animals could smell the looming storm and were all in hiding that night, in which more than 30mm of down pour was recorded.
Another not to be missed sight is the sun rise on an observation tower located on a small hill about 1 hour drive from the field centre. Under the early morning light, the forest submerged in mist seems mystical and yet heavenly peaceful and calm. It’s better than the best scenes in “Lord of the rings”. You just have to see and experience it.
A night drive on a 4WD on the bumpy road is the closest thing to night safari in a tropical rain forest and the quickest way to spot some nocturnal creatures. However, don’t go on a night when storm or rain is expected. That was another hard lesson for me. Not a single animal was spotted for 2 hours no matter how hard our experienced ranger was trying with his powerful flash light. I guess the animals could smell the looming storm and were all in hiding that night, in which more than 30mm of down pour was recorded.
Another not to be missed sight is the sun rise on an observation tower located on a small hill about 1 hour drive from the field centre. Under the early morning light, the forest submerged in mist seems mystical and yet heavenly peaceful and calm. It’s better than the best scenes in “Lord of the rings”. You just have to see and experience it.
Sun rise in Danum
Jungle in the mist
During my 5 days stay at the field centre, I slept soundly every night, something I rarely enjoy at home in PJ where the traffic never stops.
Danum Valley is indeed a well managed forest reserve and makes a great show case for rain forest conservation. As long as we have those people in power who thinks that trees are more valuable dead than alive, the destruction of our priceless natural heritage is unavoidable. The current efforts in conservation are, at best, delaying it to happen. And that, my fellow earthlings, is a very sad reality to learn.
Danum Valley is indeed a well managed forest reserve and makes a great show case for rain forest conservation. As long as we have those people in power who thinks that trees are more valuable dead than alive, the destruction of our priceless natural heritage is unavoidable. The current efforts in conservation are, at best, delaying it to happen. And that, my fellow earthlings, is a very sad reality to learn.
