Tawau Hills National Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Tawau Hills National Park, Tawau Overview

Tawau Hills Park is a nature reserve located in Tawau town in the Southern-East part of Sabah, Malaysia. Nature lovers, hikers and adventure seekers would definitely love a visit to this park which offers several activities like wildlife watching, bird watching, hiking and trekking to the hills. Grey leaf monkeys, Gibbons and Langurs can be spotted here. The night drives and night walks of Tawau are a big drawing feature to spot the nocturnal animals.

The newly opened 9 km long trail to the World’s Second Longest Rainforest Tree with the height of 96.7m is also located here. Several exciting natural trails to waterfalls, hot springs and mountains await the adventurous travellers to Tawau! All this makes Tawau Hills Park an ideal place for social gatherings like picnics, campings and night stays. The River Lodges at the park are a popular accommodation option which give a serene view of the river and the park.

1. Natural trail to Bukit Gelas Waterfall

Most popular spot of Tawau Hills park is the Bukit Gelas Waterfalls. The distance of 2.5km from the Lodge to the waterfalls takes about 1 hour to cover. The trail is easy except for the last 200 m whi (Read More)ch is an adventurous climb up the slope.

2. Trail to Table Waterfalls

It is a 200 m walk from the park main entrance to the very famed Table Waterfalls with a natural swimming pool.

3. Nature Trail to Sulphur Springs

The trail is mostly flat with a total distance of 3.2 km from the Lodge. However, the latter half of the trail is hilly. The natural trail to Sulphur springs gets divided from the natural trail of Buk (Read More)it Gelas Waterfall at the juncture of the suspension bridge. To reach the Sulphur springs, cross the suspension bridge and take the climb up the muddy hills.

4. Natural Trail to Mountains

This includes a 3 day guided forest trail to extinct volcanoes covering a total distance of 17 kms. It covers a visit to Gunung Magdalena and Gunung Lucia along with Bukit Gelas Waterfalls and Sulphur (Read More) Springs and Kerangas forest. Gunung Magdalena is the highest peak in Tawau Hills Park with a height of 1312m. The trail to Mount Magdalena is 14km and the longest trail. As it is a 3 day trail, 2 nights are to be spent at the hostel which is located at 10km into the trail. This trail also includes a tour to Gunung Lucia which is the second highest peak with a height of 1202m.

5. Trail to Gunung Maria

Trail to Gunung Maria is another alternative for a shorter and faster hike. It is the third highest peak with a height of 1067 m. It is compulsory to hire a guide on all trails and special permi (Read More)ts are to be issued by Sabah Parks before the commencement of the climb to these trails.

6. Bombalai Hills

The easy jungle walk to 530m high Bombalai hills takes about 30 minutes. Witness the panoramic view of the park from these hills. The sight is breathtaking with a view of the Tawau Town along with Cac (Read More)ao and Palm oil plantations.

Read More on Tawau Hills National Park

How to Book?

It is recommended to make prior reservations as the resort can accommodate only a limited number of people. The supplies and accommodations are arranged accordingly by the Park Administration. You may visit it for a day- trip or spend a few nights at the park. Either pre- book by contacting Tawau Hills Park Manager or make the booking by contacting the Headoffice at Kota Kinabalu.

Wildlife at Tawau Hills Park

Bornean Gibbons, Maroon Langurs, Grey Leaf Monkeys, long tailed Macaques and Red leaf monkeys can be spotted here.
Among other fauna species that can be found at Tawau Hills Park includes Civets cats, Leopard cats, Clouded leopard and Giant squirrels.
180 species of birds have been reported so far.
Six out of eight species of hornbills are found while three species of pheasants can be spotted.
One of the rarest birds spotted is the threatened Lesser Fish-eagle.
The park has diverse and rich waterlife including forest tortoise, small fishes and frogs.

Flora

The park predominantly consists of Dipterocarp Trees and lianas.
There are about 200 species of Orchids including the very rare Elephant ear orchid. These orchids, scientifically named as Phalaenopsis Gigantea are a wild orchid endemic to Borneo and Sabah.
Mengaris Trees can also be spotted throughout the park with beehives.
Above the altitude of 1000m, the flora is mostly damp forest with orchids, epiphytes and forest herbs.
The Park is also home to several species of Begonia, Agathis, Mountain Ru, forty three species of ‘halia hutan’, wild yam, Tongkat Ali and sixty species of Tree Ferns.
At the fringes of the forest one can notice oil palm trees, rubber trees and cacao trees.
The park is also noticeable for its Shorea Fagutina which recorded the longest tropical tree in the world at 96.9 m in 2018 and before that for 88.32 m high tree until 2017.

How to Reach Tawau Hills Park

Tawau Hills Parks is located 24 km from Tawau. It takes approximately 30 minutes to cover the distance of 24km. No buses ply from Tawau to Tawau Hills Park. The only alternative is to take a taxi which charges about RM 40 - RM 50 one way from Tawau City Center to park.

If coming from Tawau Airport, then the taxi charges RM 70 - RM 80 one way while the journey takes about 1 hour. Opt for GrabCar as it is inexpensive and easily available. Either call for a taxi or pre-book GrabCar for the return journey from Tawau Hills Park.

Where to Eat?

There are several restaurants, canteens and cafes run by KOKTAS within the park. However, not much variety is available at these eating points. Canteen has rice and noodles which are not extraordinary. The hostel has a kitchen for self-cooking. However, the supplies are limited. It is suggested to carry some snacks and ready to eat packets.

Where to Stay?

There is only one accommodation service provider at the park, that is, Tawau Hills Resort. It has several staying options like Chalets, Droms, Lodges and a Hostel. There is one jungle lodge and one mountain lodge. The Hostel is located at 10.5 km of Mount Magdalena Trail with facilities like kitchen, bathroom and furniture while other accommodations are located at the entry of the park.
Hostel : RM 25 per bed per night.
1 chalet : RM 290 for maximum 6 people
4 bed dorms : RM 30