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Maliau Basin Conservation Area is situated just above the Equator in south central Sabah, the northernmost of the two East Malaysian states on the island of Borneo.

Maliau Basin Conservation Area is adjacent to the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area, about 190 km from the town of Tawau (on the southeast coast) and some 40 km north of the Kalimantan (Indonesian) border, at between 116° 44’ - 117° 3’ E and 4° 41’ - 4° 56’ N.

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Maliau Basin Map 2023

Why maliau basin is important

Maliau Rim

Maliau Basin is one of the few remaining areas virtually untouched by man—not just in Sabah and Malaysia but in the whole world!

Giluk Falls 2

Is the catchment of one of the headwaters of Sabah’s largest and most important rivers – the Kinabatangan.

Maliau Basin Skybridge

Contains unusual forest types and a high level of botanical diversity.

Maliau Basin Observation Tower

Offers unique opportunities for research, education, wilderness recreation, and eco-tourism.

Herd of Elephant at Maliau Basin

Is a refuge for rare and endangered animals such as the Sumatran rhino, the orang utan, the banteng, the proboscis monkey, and the Bornean pygmy elephant.

NH-N

Boasts extraordinary geomorphological features, including an exceptionally high number of waterfalls—probably the highest number of any area in Malaysia.

enchanting lost world of borneo

Maliau Basin Conservation Area encompasses a diverse assemblage of forest types, comprising mainly of lower montane forest, rare montane heath forest and lowland and hill dipterocarp forest. Dominated by majestic Agathis trees, the lower montane forest, which also contains oaks, laurels and conifers such as Dacrydium species, grades into mossy cloud forest on the northern rim.

As for fauna, although much of the terrain remains to be explored, Maliau Basin Conservation Area has already revealed itself to be the home of some of Sabah’s most rare and endangered species, including the Asian Elephant, Orang Utan and Proboscis Monkey.

plants
1800 species
Mammals
82 species
Birds
300 species
Amphibian
30 species

outstanding area of wild natural beauty

Widely known as "Sabah's Lost World", the 58,840 ha Maliau Basin Conservation Area is located in the southern central part of the state, only 40km from the Indonesian border. Maliau Basin is one of the top-recommended places to go for ecotourism in Malaysia. 

Fast gaining recognition as one of the most important wilderness areas left in Malaysia, Maliau Basin also well-known for its spectacular waterfalls, the most famous being the magnificent 7-tier Maliau Falls. Its most critical function is as a repository of unspoiled forests. It also serves as a vital corridor of natural rainforest stretching from South-Central Sabah to Danum Valley and up to Darvel Bay on Sabah's east coast.

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