Ulu Temburong National Park: canopy walk, longboat, day trip or a night

The park: river, rainforest and the canopy walk

Ulu Temburong National Park covers 46,210 ha of lowland and mountain rainforest in the south of Temburong, and Brunei Tourism calls it the country's "Green Jewel". Roads stop short of it. The last stretch is by temuai, the long wooden boat of the Iban communities who live along the river, upstream between forested banks to the park headquarters, where visitors register.

From the headquarters a boardwalk and steps climb the ridge through tall dipterocarp trees, some with name plates. Freme counts more than 1,000 steps to the canopy tower, so the climb is the hardest part of the day; at the top, a walkway in the treetops stands about 50 metres above the ground. Bornean gibbons and several kinds of hornbill live in the park, and Brunei Tourism describes gibbons foraging along the river at daybreak, which is the best reason to sleep nearby.

On the way back downriver, the boats stop at a waterfall with a natural fish spa, where small fish nibble at your feet in the pool, and Freme's itinerary leaves time for a swim. Lunch follows at the operator's lodge.

Day trip or a night by the river

A day trip suits most visitors and keeps BSB as the base. A night at a lodge adds a guided walk in the dark and an early start on the river, at the price of a second transfer and a simpler room. Both operators below are licensed tour companies and include the park guide, the park fee and the boat. Brunei Tourism lists the park as open every day from 08:00 to 18:00, with a Friday break from 12 noon to 2 pm; no visitor entry fee, daily quota or guide ratio is published, as visits run through the operators. The tours run all year; heavy rain or a low river can change the boat times, and the waterfall stop depends on the river and the weather.

Prices were checked on 3 November 2026 on the operators' own pages, for non-resident adults with a minimum of two. Freme Travel Services' Explore Temburong + Canopy Tower Visit (FRL16-1) costs BND 155 per adult and BND 95 per child aged 3 to 11, leaves your BSB hotel at 07:30 and takes about seven hours, with morning tea and lunch at Freme Rainforest Lodge, all entrance tickets, a licensed English- or Malay-speaking guide and a buoyancy vest. Hotels in Jerudong pay BND 10 per person more for the pickup, and children must be at least three for the boat. BorneoGuide's Ulu Temburong National Park canopy walk day trip (SEV02) costs from BND 150 per person, starts at 09:00 at Sumbiling Eco Village and lasts about five hours; its return car from BSB is BND 100 per vehicle for up to three people.

For a night, BorneoGuide's overnight trip from Sumbiling Eco Village costs from BND 225 per person: you meet at the lodge at 15:00, walk in the forest after dark, sleep in a glamping tent, cabin or room, and go to the park the next morning, with dinner, breakfast and lunch, the guide and the park fee included; the overnight car from BSB costs BND 160 per vehicle, about BND 610 for two in all. Freme's Free and Easy Overnight at its own lodge costs BND 155 per adult and BND 92 per child: it leaves your BSB hotel at 14:30 and ends with the drive back, with dinner, a night walk and breakfast, but no park visit.

Our where-to-stay guide compares the rooms in town for the night before and after.

Over the Temburong Bridge to Bangar

Temburong is cut off from the rest of Brunei by a strip of Sarawak, and since March 2020 the 30 km Temburong Bridge, officially the Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Bridge, has carried the road across Brunei Bay. It is a dual carriageway over open water and mangrove; it lands at Labu, and the road continues to Bangar.

By road, BSB to Bangar is about 53 km and Bangar to Sumbiling Eco Village about 18 more, some 71 km in all on OpenStreetMap's routing. BorneoGuide gives about 1.5 hours for the drive, the last 30 minutes of it inside Temburong, so a 09:00 start at the lodge means leaving BSB at about 07:30. BorneoGuide says there is no public transport from BSB to Temburong, so the tour's car or a hired car with a driver is the way in.

Upriver by longboat to the park headquarters

The longboats start from the operators' lodges at Batang Duri: BorneoGuide's at Sumbiling Eco Village and Freme's at Freme Rainforest Lodge, both on the Temburong River. From Sumbiling it is about 10 km by river to the registration jetty at the park headquarters, measured along the river on OpenStreetMap.

The UK's advice for boat trips is to check there are enough life jackets for every passenger, children included, and to keep your hands inside the boat, as there may be river crocodiles. Freme lists a buoyancy vest among its inclusions.

Licensed operators and park passes

Visits to the park run through licensed operators. The Forestry Department issues Ulu Temburong entry passes to the guides and boatmen of companies licensed by the Tourism Development Department; each pass is valid for six months. Both day trips above include the park fee, and Brunei Tourism's Temburong brochure lists further agents with Temburong packages, among them Freme, Anthony Tours, Pan Bright, Darussalam Holdings and Straits Central; its package prices are indicative and need at least four people.

France's travel advice says to go into the forest only with an official guide, and the UK's that the police advise against hiking alone in the forest, including at well-known recreation areas, and recommend recognised, well-known guides. On the canopy day the guide comes with the booking; the advice applies just as much at Bukit Patoi below.

Bangar, Tamu Bangar and Batang Duri

Bangar is Temburong's district town, a small grid of shophouses on the river with a "Super Tree" and colourful shopfronts that Brunei Tourism's brochure points out. Tamu Bangar, the district's main market, sells salted duck eggs, wajid Jawa Temburong, a local sweet, and rattan baskets; ask the driver to stop on the way back if your tour does not.

Batang Duri, near the lodges, has a recreational park with barbecue areas, steps down to the river and a mini zoo, open from 06:00 to 18:00. Sumbiling Eco Village is run with the Iban community of Kampung Sibut; a night there brings river tubing, swimming in the river, bonfire picnics and dawn walks, and guests forage wild vegetables and cook Iban dishes. Rumah Panjang Sibut, an Iban longhouse nearby, appears in the brochure's packages.

Bukit Patoi in the Peradayan forest

East of Bangar, the Peradayan Forest Reserve rises to the peaks of Bukit Patoi and Bukit Peradayan. Bukit Patoi Forest Recreation Park, 997 ha in the Forestry Department's list, has marked trails over roots and moss past rock formations to viewpoints; on a clear day you can see over the border into Malaysia. The park is open from 06:00 to 18:00, no entry fee is published, and you need your own water.

The summit stands beside the road from Bangar to Labu and the bridge: the nearest point on the road is about 17 km from Bangar on OpenStreetMap's routing. It is a half day on its own, not an add-on to the canopy day, so it suits a second day in Temburong with a car and driver or an agent's package, and a guide.

Fridays and what to bring

On Fridays businesses close from 12 noon to 2 pm for prayers, and the park pauses for the same two hours. Our best time to visit Brunei guide has the rain month by month.

Bring insect repellent, a hat, a rain jacket or poncho, two litres of water per person for the climb, a dry bag for the phone and camera, shoes that can get wet and a towel for the waterfall; the steps to the canopy tower are steep, so leave the tour out if anyone in the party cannot manage a long climb.