Begin your tour early in the morning, arriving at Kiulu Valley Hub at around 9am for a warm welcome and briefing about the tour. Then, you’ll proceed through a little bit of rough terrain to one of the Bamboo Hut, a beautiful cottage located just beside a mesmerising river. Here, your hosts will welcome you officially with traditional music, and will introduce you to several traditional activities throughout the morning, including fire-making, rice pounding, blowpipes, rampanau (stilt walking), slingshots, rattan weaving, and fish netting (if weather permits).

After some light refreshments, proceed to another bamboo-made home perched atop a gorgeous jungle paradise next to a gentle waterfall and stream. After some mouth-watering local delicacies as lunch and a relaxing break, in the afternoon your hosts will take you on a short trek to gather wild vegetables in the area, before returning to the hut for a demonstration of some local culinary processing such as the cleaning and cutting of tuhau (wild ginger endemic to Borneo). Be left at your own leisure from there until around 6.30pm, where you’ll get to enjoy some scrumptious dinner. Then, engage in listening to some local folk tales and pleasant conversation with your host family while enjoying the evening scenery, before tuning in for the night.

Wake up for a hearty breakfast before departing at 9am to one of the villages where the locals will regale you with stories of the village’s legendary tempayan (traditional crock) known for the supposed medicinal and mystical properties of its contents. Stay refreshed under the tropical sun by drinking locally made drinks and sampling stingless bee honey, all while being entertained with a traditional Silat (a local martial art) performance.

Afterwards, depart for Kiulu Farmstay, where you’ll be having lunch with the locals. Then, try your hand at some cultural activities such as rice processing, paddy planting, and rubber tapping, before proceeding for a for a leisure village walk which would offer you stunning landscapes of the scenic valley as you pass through a local school, lush paddy fields, and a hanging bridge. If time and weather permits, you can even take a dip in the sensationally cooling Kiulu River before making your way back to the Bamboo Hut.

Return to the Bamboo Hut, have your delicious dinner, and once again enjoy the beautiful night-time scenery while spending the evening chatting with your host family, before getting some well-earned rest.

Rise up early in the morning for some breakfast, before departing to Kiulu Valley Hub and afterwards back to Kota Kinabalu – marking the end of your memorable adventure in the magical hilly forests of Kiulu Valley.