🇮🇩 Discover Kalimantan
Welcome to Kalimantan — Indonesian Borneo, where vast rainforests, winding rivers and extraordinary wildlife create some of Southeast Asia’s most rewarding adventures.
This is Borneo at its wildest. Journey deep into the rainforest by river, stay in remote jungle lodges and search for orangutans swinging through the treetops. You may also encounter proboscis monkeys, macaques, colourful kingfishers, hornbills and countless other species along the way.
For adventurous travellers, Kalimantan offers the chance to experience Tanjung Puting National Park, one of the world’s most important orangutan habitats, alongside river expeditions, rainforest walks and encounters with local communities.
It’s a destination for travellers who want to go beyond the obvious — trading busy tourist routes for wildlife, wilderness and unforgettable encounters.
🌿 What Kalimantan has to offer
🐒 Orangutan Encounters
Kalimantan is one of the best places in the world to encounter Bornean orangutans in their natural rainforest habitat.
Travel by river into the jungle and keep watch among the treetops for these remarkable animals. In places such as Tanjung Puting National Park, conservation centres and protected forest provide opportunities to learn more about orangutans and the challenges they face in the wild.
Seeing an orangutan emerge from the rainforest canopy is the kind of wildlife encounter that stays with you long after you’ve left Borneo.
Think: 🐒 Wild orangutans • 🌳 Ancient rainforest • 🛶 River journeys • 🔭 Wildlife watching • 🌿 Conservation
🌳 Tanjung Puting National Park
One of Kalimantan’s great wildlife destinations, Tanjung Puting National Park protects vast areas of rainforest, rivers and peat swamp forest.
Explore the park by boat, travelling deep into the jungle in search of Bornean orangutans and other rainforest wildlife. The waterways provide a wonderful way to experience this remarkable ecosystem, with jungle rising on both sides of the river.
For wildlife lovers, Tanjung Puting offers the chance to see Borneo’s incredible biodiversity while learning more about orangutan conservation and the protection of their rainforest habitat.
🏡 Local Communities & Culture
Kalimantan isn’t just about rainforest and wildlife — its people and cultures are an important part of the experience.
Travel beyond the national parks to discover riverside communities, traditional ways of life and the connection between local people and the surrounding rainforest.
Staying in locally run accommodation, visiting villages and travelling with local guides can offer a more meaningful insight into Indonesian Borneo beyond the wildlife trails.
🛶 River & Jungle Expeditions
In Kalimantan, the river is your gateway into the rainforest. Travel by traditional boat along winding waterways, passing dense jungle, riverside villages and remote stretches of wilderness.
As you journey deeper into the forest, keep watch for orangutans in the treetops, proboscis monkeys along the riverbanks and colourful birds hidden among the foliage. Jungle walks offer another perspective, bringing you closer to the sights, sounds and incredible biodiversity of Borneo’s rainforest.
For an adventurous way to explore Indonesian Borneo, few experiences compare with travelling deep into the jungle by river. 🌿🛶🐒
Think: River journeys • Wildlife spotting • Jungle walks • Remote lodges • Rainforest adventures
🦜 Incredible Wildlife
Kalimantan is a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts, with an extraordinary variety of species hidden among its forests and waterways.
Alongside the famous Bornean orangutan, look out for proboscis monkeys, macaques, hornbills, kingfishers, monitor lizards and colourful tropical birds.
Whether you’re cruising quietly along a river or exploring on foot, every excursion brings the possibility of another fascinating encounter. Sometimes the best moments are the ones you weren’t expecting. 🐒🦜🌿
🌿 Remote Rainforest Adventures
For travellers looking to get well away from the usual tourist trail, Kalimantan delivers.
Journey deep into remote rainforest, travel by river, stay in jungle lodges and wake to the sounds of the forest. Days can be spent exploring waterways and jungle trails, while evenings bring a completely different experience as the rainforest comes alive after dark.
This is Borneo for the adventurous — wild, immersive and wonderfully far removed from everyday life. 🌴🛶🐸
Kalimantan isn’t just a place to see Borneo’s wildlife — it’s a place to experience the rainforest from the inside. 🐸🌴
🏡 Local Culture & Communities
Kalimantan is home to a rich mix of cultures, including the many Dayak communities whose traditions are closely connected to the rainforest.
Depending on your route, you can visit traditional villages and longhouses, meet local communities, discover traditional crafts and learn about ways of life shaped by the rivers and forests. In Central Kalimantan, traditional betang longhouses remain an important part of Dayak cultural heritage.
For travellers, these encounters offer a chance to see a different side of Borneo — one shaped by people as much as by the rainforest.
✈️ Getting There
Kalimantan is a little more adventurous to reach, which is part of its appeal!
For Tanjung Puting National Park, the usual gateway is Pangkalan Bun, served by Iskandar Airport. Indonesia’s official tourism information lists direct flights to Pangkalan Bun from Jakarta and other Indonesian cities, with onward road and river transfers into the national park.
For a wider Kalimantan adventure, Pontianak, Palangka Raya, Balikpapan and Banjarmasin can also be useful gateways depending on your itinerary and which part of Indonesian Borneo you want to explore.
From the UK, journeys will normally involve connecting through Indonesia or another Asian hub, so Kalimantan works particularly well as part of a wider Indonesia or Borneo itinerary.
🌏 Borneo Combinations
Why stop at one country when you can experience three very different sides of Borneo?
Kalimantan can be combined with Malaysian Borneo and Brunei to create a truly adventurous Borneo journey — perhaps pairing orangutans and rainforest in Indonesia with Sabah’s wildlife and mountains, Sarawak’s cultural experiences and Brunei’s rainforest and royal heritage.
You could also combine Kalimantan with a wider Indonesia itinerary, linking your Borneo adventure with destinations such as Java, Bali or other Indonesian islands.
For travellers who really want to go off the beaten track, Borneo can become much more than a holiday destination — it’s a journey across borders, cultures and some of Southeast Asia’s most extraordinary wilderness. 🌿🐒🛶
