Sandakan

Founded in 1964 to return orphaned or captive-raised orangutans to the forest. Feeds are laid out twice daily, morning and afternoon, and that is when orangutans swing down to the platform. Macaques snatch bags, so use the lockers by the gate.

A rescue centre for the sun bear, the smallest bear in the world, right beside the orangutan centre. From a raised walkway above the trees you look down on bears climbing. When they retreat deep into the forest some days not one is seen.

A steel canopy walkway strung at treetop height above the Sepilok forest brings birds close. Hornbills often come in to feed on fruiting trees. Birds are most active right after opening, so arrive early in the morning.

A private sanctuary that draws troops of long-nosed proboscis monkeys to feeding platforms at the mangrove edge. The males' noses droop so far they are unmistakable. Getting there from town takes an hour by car, so leave in time for a feeding.

Sabah's longest river, its forested banks home to proboscis monkeys, orangutans and Bornean pygmy elephants. People stay at Sukau village and go out in small boats at dawn and dusk. The herds keep no fixed season at the river, so seeing elephants is luck.

A huge limestone cave where swiftlet nests are harvested, the collectors climbing rattan ladders to the roof. Guano on the floor is covered in cockroaches, so do not hold the boardwalk rail. At dusk swarms of bats pour out of the cave mouth.

On a small island off Sandakan, green turtles come ashore every night to lay. Entry is only on an overnight package with the number staying capped, so book early. When a ranger calls after dark you go down to watch one laying and hatchlings let into the sea.

Home of the American writer Agnes Keith, whose book title, Land Below the Wind, became Sabah's nickname. Wrecked in the fighting, it has been rebuilt and furnished as it was then. Next door, the English Tea House serves tea on a lawn looking over the sea.

Ground where a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp stood, from which Allied prisoners were driven on the 1945 death marches through the jungle. Of the thousands, the only survivors were six Australians who escaped. A pavilion holds rusting machinery and testimony.

A Buddhist temple on a hill over Sandakan Bay; between its red pillars you see town and sea at once. The walk up from town is steep, and a taxi makes more sense. Inside the halls take off hats and leave shoes outside.

An Anglican church built of stone on a hillside, one of the oldest stone buildings in Sabah. When bombing flattened most of the town in the war, it held. It lies on the hill walk towards Agnes Keith House.

A stilt village of houses and plank walkways over the sea, close to town. Seafood restaurants cluster at its entrance. The boardwalks pass people's homes, so ask before taking photos.

A market hall by the waterfront, with the dawn boats' fish and dried seafood sold downstairs. Upstairs a food floor serves breakfast noodles. The fish counters are fullest at first light.