Day Trip

Kuching Heritage Walk

The Kuching City Heritage Walk takes visitors through the historic heart of Kuching, exploring the city's rich multicultural heritage,colonial architecture, trading history and local traditions. Beginning around the Kuching Waterfront, visitors can learn how the Sarawak River played an important role in the development of Kuching as a trading centre. The walk continues through historic areas such as Main Bazaar, Carpenter Street and India Street, where Chinese and Indian traders established businesses and contributed to the growth of the city.

Along the route, visitors can discover important landmarks including the Chinese History Museum, Tua Pek Kong Temple and the Old Courthouse, which reflect Kuching's Chinese heritage and Brooke-era administration. The walk also introduces visitors to the Malay and Islamic heritage of the city, showing how different communities lived, traded and worshipped alongside one another.

Overall, the Kuching Heritage Walk is more than a sightseeing tour, it is a journey through the story of how Kuching developed from a riverside trading settlement into a diverse and multicultural city. Through its old streets, historic buildings, temples, mosques, shops and traditional communities, visitors can experience the unique character and history that make Kuching, the “City of Cats,” one of Sarawak's most fascinating destinations.

Annah Rais Bidayuh Longhouse

Annah Rais Longhouse Bidayuh Homestay is a living Bidayuh community in the Padawan highlands, about 60 km from Kuching, making it a popular cultural day trip from the city. This traditional longhouse community provides a popular day‐trip experience where guests can explore village life, discover local customs, and connect with Sarawak’s rich heritage.
The longhouse has a history spanning many generations, with parts of the traditional structure still preserved. It is built on stilts using materials including belian (ironwood) and bamboo, with the long communal verandah known as the awah connecting the homes. The community is traditionally organised around the longhouse, allowing families to live closely together while sharing communal spaces.
One of the most significant features is the baruk/panggah, a traditional communal and ceremonial house associated with the Bidayuh community.
It provides an opportunity to learn about the community's history, beliefs, ceremonies and traditional way of life. Annah Rais also has a history connected with headhunting, which visitors can learn about as part of the longhouse's past, rather than as a practice of present-day life.

Visitors can experience Bidayuh hospitality, traditional food, music and dance, handicrafts and village life. The longhouse also operates a homestay programme, allowing guests to spend a night with the community and experience the culture more deeply. Research on Annah Rais highlights the role of homestay and cultural performances in helping preserve Bidayuh traditions and supporting community-based tourism.

Semenggoh Nature Reserve

Semenggoh Nature Reserve is one of Sarawak's important wildlife conservation areas, located about 20–24 km south of Kuching. The reserve is particularly famous for the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre and its semi-wild orangutan population.

The wildlife centre was established in 1975 to rehabilitate injured, orphaned and confiscated wildlife, especially orangutans that had previously been kept in captivity. Over the years, the rehabilitation programme became highly successful, with orangutans learning to survive independently in the forest and producing offspring in the wild. Today, Semenggoh is mainly a sanctuary and study area for semi-wild orangutans and their descendants.

Visitors have the opportunity to see orangutans during scheduled feeding sessions, when some of the semi-wild animals may return from the forest for supplementary food. However, sightings are not guaranteed, because the orangutans are free to roam in the forest and may have enough natural food available.

Beyond orangutans, Semenggoh is an important natural habitat containing diverse rainforest flora and fauna. The wider area also includes the Semenggoh Arboretum, established in 1951, which preserves an area of relatively undisturbed lowland forest and contains around 2,500 tree species from about 60 plant families.

Dragonboat Regatta

Meeting time: 8:30 AM
Meeting point: Harbour View Hotel

Feel the rhythm and energy of a Sarawak river tradition as teams paddle in unison. The experience celebrates teamwork, community spirit and the enduring relationship between local culture and the river.

Living Heritage Along the Sarawak River

Time: 8:30 AM–12:30 PM
Walking distance: Approximately 2 km
Capacity: 25 participants
Meeting point: Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum
Meeting time: 8:15am

PIC: Noraini (Annie)
Contact number: +60 19-826 3110

Discover the relationship between the Sarawak River, traditional settlements and Kuching’s living heritage through a guided technical heritage walk.

Beginning at the Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum, the programme continues through Kampung-Kampung Bernombor, Satok, exploring traditional settlement patterns, Malay houses, community life and the evolution of Kuching’s river settlements.

The trail concludes at Rumah Warisan Bentara Darul Maziah, a late 19th-century traditional Malay house, with a sharing on its history, architecture and living legacy.

Along the way, invited architects, researchers and heritage representatives will share insights into the places, buildings and communities that have shaped Kuching’s riverine heritage.

The programme, route and invited resource persons are subject to change.

Kuching Heritage Conservation & Adaptive Reuse Trail

Time: 2:00 PM–5:30 PM
Walking distance: Approximately 2 km
Capacity: 25 participants
Meeting point: Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum
Meeting time: 1:45pm

PIC: Noraini (Annie)
Contact number: +60 19-826 3110

Join a guided technical heritage walk exploring conservation, adaptive reuse and heritage management within Kuching’s historic urban landscape.

Beginning at the Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum, participants will be introduced to the adaptive reuse of the historic dockyard and gain insights into the application and implementation of local heritage conservation guidelines.

The trail continues through India Street, Old Court House, Carpenter Street and Main Bazaar, exploring traditional shophouses, historic streetscapes and the challenges of conserving heritage within a living and evolving city.

The programme concludes across the Sarawak River at Fort Margherita, via the Darul Hana Bridge, with insights into the conservation of the historic fort and gallery.

The programme, route and invited resource persons are subject to change.

Kampung Gersik Living Heritage

CANCELLED. Registered participants are now moved to register at Tour 09. 

Kampung Nombor Golden Thread

Time: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Capacity: 30 participants
Meeting point: Riverside Hotel, Astana Wing
Contact person: Dr. Nur Auni Ugong (UNIMAS)
Contact number: 014-8861419

Kampung Nombor Golden Thread introduces visitors to the living heritage of traditional Malay communities in Kuching, highlighting the cultural traditions, craftsmanship and social practices that have shaped their identity over generations. The experience provides an opportunity to explore traditional Malay village life through historical houses, textile craftsmanship, ceremonial customs and community-based cultural activities.

A key highlight is Songket weaving, a traditional textile art featuring intricate patterns woven with gold or silver metallic threads. Traditionally worn during ceremonies and special occasions, Songket represents the artistic skills, cultural symbolism and knowledge preserved by skilled weavers. Visitors can observe the weaving process and appreciate the craftsmanship involved.

The experience also explores traditional Malay wedding customs, including ceremonial practices, traditional attire and decorations that reflect family relationships, communal participation and cultural values. These traditions demonstrate the importance of ceremonial heritage in strengthening community identity. Visitors can also experience traditional Malay games and appreciate the architectural characteristics of Malay houses, gaining insights into traditional lifestyles and social interactions.

Kampung Nombor Golden Thread demonstrates how traditional craftsmanship, cultural knowledge and community participation contribute to the continuity of Malay living heritage while supporting cultural education and community-based tourism.