To the south of the Philippines, is another land of infinite tropics and cultural awakenings. Kudat Town, Beluran Town, Kinarut Town, Kota Marudu Town and Sandakan City, Largest and Busiest cities in Sabah, Sandakan is one of Asian Spirit Airline International destinations.  Growing and developing city. Sandakan is a center of commerce, thriving with business and development. It is also known as the gateway for Ecotourism sites in Sabah North Borneo. As a premiere Eco-Tourism destination of Sabah. Sandakan is also fast creating an ecological hub for its Residents. Being Asian Spirit's gateway to Sabah North Borneo. Sandakan City may be your first taste of Sabah cuisine, culture and traditions. Experience the differences in this neighborly destination. Visit Sandakan City and get to know some of the cultural and natural treasures of Sabah  North Borneo

Sandakan is a City on the east coast of North Borneo Sabah, facing the Sulu sea. It is a town rich in historical sites and a gateway to many eco-tourism destinations. To the west of Sandakan (about 20 min drive) lies Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation centre. It is the world oldest and largest Orang Utan Rehabilitation centre. "Sandakan" is derived from the Suluk word "sanda" meaning, to pawn and "kan" being the suffix. So "Sandakan" means the place that was pawned.  Best time to visit Sandakan City is January to September

Sandakan itself has been earmarked as a new growth hub for Sabah North Borneo whereby commercial and tourism activities are increasing over here,’ said Value Hospitality’s area General Manager of East Malaysia Mr John Augustin.
 

Sandakan has a wide choice of accommodation that fits to every visitor’s budgets. From a classy 4 star hotel accommodation to a simple bed and breakfast or jungle camping lodges, visitors can have a wide choice that suit their tastes and purposes. Even the classy 4 star hotels in Sandakan are very affordable by international standards. Table 11.1 shows a list of accommodations that are available to choose from in Sandakan

Sandakan City is known for its Seafood Heaven !   Fresh Seafood is abounding here at affordable prices. From giant groupers to juicy oysters, our seafood will tantalize even the fussiest of taste buds.

Sandakan has a wide variety of attractions, from historical places, wildlife to just places to have a leisure time. Indeed, Sandakan has quite a number to offer. Some of these places of attraction are briefly described in the following:

The Turtle Islands

The Turtle Islands are situated about 32 km north of Sandakan town. Some of these islands are on the Sabah North Borneo and some within the Philippine’s territory.

Libaran Island is the biggest island of the chain on the Malaysian side and is inhabited by a fishing community. Visitors to this island will have the opportunity to experience life in a typical fishing village. The villagers are good boat builders and the women folks do a lot of weaving of pandan leaves.

The three islands of Selingan, Gulisan and Bakungan Kecil form the Turtle Island Park. Nightly marine turtles come on shore to nest in these islands. The most common species is the Green Turtle, and another species, which is less common, is the Hawksbill.

Langkian Island – scuba diving/fishing

Belian Island – scuba diving/fishing

Tengiatil Island – scuba diving/fishing

Berhala Island

This island is situated at the entrance of Sandakan Bay and is a place of historical interest for those who remember this island as POW camp for civilians during the Second World War. Berhala Island, therefore, is a destination for visitors who had relatives or friends interned in the POW Camp during the war. It has a lighthouse on its highest point which signals the end of the long sea journey from China or Singapore.

Today, Berhala Island is also a sanctuary for birds where one can come and enjoy the pleasure of bird watching. 'Berhala' is described in Smythes’ book, ‘Birds of Borneo’ as the site to see many birds of prey – especially the Brahminy Kites, Serpent Eagles and Sea Eagles.

Berhala Island is easily accessible by boats within 10 to 15 minutes ride from Sandakan Port.

Islands in the Labuk Bay

North of Libaran Island is the Labuk Bay, in which lie a few islands such as Tagahang, Tetabuan and other smaller islands. These islands are known for its artificial pearl cultivation using scallops instead of the commonly used oyster pearls. Apart from artificial pearl cultivation, these islands are also very popular fishing islands in this region. These islands are accessible via boats from Beluran. One can get to Beluran from Sandakan by road and then get on the boat to these islands.

Tiga Islands

These islands are situated north of Labuk Bay and are known to be frequented by turtles to nest. These islands are few of the islands that still have their beach unencroached by squatters and therefore, still have unpolluted pure white sand around with water still suitable for swimming. The outer island is surrounded by very deep water. Visitors who have been to these islands and have dived in the area reported that coral reefs are still abundant and fish population are still high, which qualifies the islands as a good recreational diving sites.

The Gomantong Caves

The Valley of the Kinabatangan is dotted with many limestone out-crops caves. These caves are the homes of countless swiftlets, which produce the edible birds’ nests – nests built with the saliva of the birds. In the early days, Chinese traders come to visit these caves to harvest the bird's nest for export to China where these nests fetched a good price. Today, birds’ nest remains one of the most expensive commodities from this district.

In the early days, many of the caves were also used as burial sites by the tribal people who inhabit the Kinabatangan riverbanks. Although the caves of the Kinabatangan valleys still exist, only the Gomantong Caves and the Tulug Caves are more popular and are known to visitors outside the region. The Supu Caves, the Suripi Caves and the Batu Timbang Caves are still unknown to many, as tourist attraction.

The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre

The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre was first started in the early sixties by Brian and Barbara Harrisons who first found the orphaned baby Orang utans after their mothers were killed in the logging concessions.

Today, the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre located at about 14 miles north of Sandakan is one of the famous tourist wildlife attraction in the district. It has attracted tourists as well as researchers from all over the world.

Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary is a remarkable place. They've managed to hold onto a large swathe of forest to release rehabilitated Orangutans into. Before the 'Tan's get released they go through some really clever training, teaching them to build nests (Orangutans are the only primate to do so, dontcha-know) and to find food. Then they're on their own. As a (slightly controversial) way of raising funds to do this, they have a platform in the middle of the forest where they lay out fruit twice daily. Tourists are allowed to come along to watch and see if any of the released Orangutans come back for some free dinner

Remarkable thing about the orang-utans is that they have a 96% DNA match with humans and this is evident in a lot of their behaviour and facial expressions. On arriving in the park we even got to see some unexpected "monkey business" as the older orang-utans showed the younger on lookers how it was done (it´s mating season). Only 20,000 remain in the wild so we were very exited to have a chance to possibly see one.

The Rain Forest Interpretation

This is a museum-like-institution financed by German Government under its foreign technical programme (GTZ). It is housed in the Sepilok Complex and was opened in August 1997. A visit to this site will give the visitor a very good picture of the tropical rain forests, its history and the status of the forest as well as what can be done to preserve them. An educational trail is also provided for those visitors who want to see and learn more about the trees in the rain forests.

The Sepilok Forest Research Centre

Although this centre functions mainly as a research centre for the study of forests including the effects of logging, the insects in the forests, productions from the forests, species found in the forest and also sustainable forest management, the Insect Museum and the Wood Library sections of the centre offer attractions to visitors.

The museum has some very interesting collections of the species of insects found in the jungle. The wood library offers its visitors an experience to learn about the many species of timbers, which are commercially viable in Sabah.

The Sandakan Crocodile Farm

The Crocodile Farm, located 8 miles north of Sandakan, is another place of interest in Sandakan for those who like to see live crocodiles.

 Sandakan Memorial Pavillion honouring the 2000 Prisoners of War or so victims of the Japanese Death March from Sandakan to Ranau

This is another historical place of interest in Sandakan. This was the site of the POW Camp where the Japanese had imprisoned more than 3000 men and made them build the Sandakan Air Strip. Towards the end of the War, the Japanese Force marched the surviving prisoners on what was known as the ‘Sandakan-Ranau Death March’. 

The Buddhist Temple

The Buddhist Temple located on top of Sibuga hill another place of attraction in Sandakan. It has a beautiful view of the Sandakan Bay and harbour. The temple is impressively built with a very well kept landscape.

11.2.4 RECREATIONAL AREAS

Apart from the 18-hole golf course- the Sandakan Golf Club and the newly-completed Sibuga Sports Complex, no other public recreational areas that can be found in Sandakan. However, there are several private recreation clubs that are available in Sandakan. There are Hill Top Golf Course, Sibuga Resort, Equestrain Centre and the Sandakan Yatch Club. Some of the high-class hotels in Sandakan do offer many facilities for recreation.

Interesting Destination:
Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Agnes Keith House, Turtle Islands Park, Crocodile Farm, Kinabatangan River, Sandakan Market, Gomantong Caves, Labuk Bay, Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary

William Clarke Cowie, in the early 1870s, a Scottish adventure and engineer, delivered guns and ammunitions to the Sultan of Sulu & Sabah. He did this for protecting territory of the Sultan against the Spanish conquerors. In return, Mr Cowie was granted permission by the Sultan of Sulu & Sabah to set up base on Pulau Timbang, in Sandakan Bay, where a small Suluk (Sabahan Filipinos) village existed. Cowie called his base "Sandakan". In 1883, the British North Borneo Chartered Company moved its capital from Kudat to Sandakan.
Sultan of Sulu and Sabah had collected rental payments for its property of  Sabah North Borneo from the British North Borneo Company



A "building mania" started and Sandakan became a bustling Modern City. Allied bombings towards the end of World War II nearly flattened the town.  Sandakan was first and foremost a port for the export of logs and timber. In fact, it was said that Sandakan timber went into the building of Peking's Temple of Heaven. In its heyday, Sandakan used to boast of having the greatest concentration of millionaires in the world! Today, it is known more as the gateway to nature's most prolific treasures in Borneo.

There are flights from Manila (MNL) to Sandakan airport (SDK) by Asian Spirit Airline and Air Asia (AK). At Sandakan airport, there are two main options to get to Sepilok. The easiest one is by taxi. Otherwise, there are a number of public buses that go into the orang utan sanctuary. Journey will take about 20 minutes.
Sandakan City  to Kudat Town  is 453 km  -  Sandakan City is only 40 minutes away by flight from Kota Kinabalu



Sam Sing Kung Temple, or the Three Saints Temple. Located at the edge of the town padang (town field). Dating from 1887, the Three Saint's Temple is the oldest building in Sandakan City. The three saints are: - Kwan Woon Cheung, the saint of righteousness; - the goddess Tin Hou, worshipped by fishermen; - and the Emperor Min Cheong, worshipped by those who seek success in examinations. Before school exams you will find hopeful students at this temple, which was built by four Chinese communities: the Hakka, Cantonese, Hainanese and Teochew. Places of interest in Sandakan include the Puu Gih Jih Chinese Temple - a majestic temple erected on top of a hill facing Sandakan Bay. Don't miss the panoramic views across the town and huge bay from the great Puu Jih Shih Buddhist temple. St Michael and All Angels Cathedral, erected in late 19th century and one of the oldest stone buildings in
North Borneo Sabah. There's also an interesting forestry exhibition and orchid house to visit. Other places of interest that can be visited are the world famous Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary which is located just 26 km from Sandakan City. The Sandakan Crocodile Farm located on the Labuk Road near the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary is also a major attraction.