Bako National Park, Sarawak

The Bako National Park covers 2,742 hectares of a rugged sand stone peninsula to the east of the Bako River near Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. Millions of years of erosion have created a coastline of steep cliffs, rocky headlands and stretches of white, sandy bays. Wave erosion at the base of the cliffs has carved many of the rocks into fantastically shaped sea arches and seastacks. Coloured patterns formed by iron deposition have also dominated the rocky headlands. The coastline is also dotted by a sandstone cliff vegetation characteristic of Bako. Other major vegetation types include the mangrove forest, mixed dipterocarp forest, peat swamp forest, kerangas (heath) forest, and kerangas scrub on the plateau; it's possible to see just about every type of vegetation found on Borneo at Bako. THE PARK AT A GLANCE: Location: Sarawak Size: 2,742 hectares Flora Fauna: Beach forest, cliff vegetation, mangrove swamp, mixed dipterocarp, kerangas pole forest and padang scrub. Nearly every plant in Borneo is visible here. Animal highlights include the rare proboscis monkey, silver-leaf monkeys, long-tailed macaques, and monitor lizards. Activities: Jungle-trekking, swimming, sunbathing, bird watching, touring the seastacks.