Kuching destination guide
Kuching is the capital of Sarawak and, in the Sarawak Tourism Board's words, the largest city on the island of Borneo. People fly in for the city itself, a riverside centre of colonial-era buildings, markets and newer cafes, and for the national parks and wildlife centre within a short trip of it: Bako, Semenggoh and Kubah.
Malaysians flying in from Peninsular Malaysia should know one thing before they book. Malaysia's immigration law treats entry into Sarawak separately from the Peninsula, so a domestic flight into Kuching still ends at an immigration counter, as set out under Flying to Kuching below.
Sights and culture around Kuching
The Waterfront, Darul Hana Bridge and the Floating Mosque
The Kuching Waterfront is a 1.5 km promenade along the Sarawak River. The Sarawak Tourism Board's list of city sights also names the Darul Hana Bridge, an S-shaped pedestrian bridge opened in 2017, and the Floating Mosque, opened in 2019.
Borneo Cultures Museum
The Borneo Cultures Museum is in the city centre next to Padang Merdeka, on Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, in a five-storey building whose design draws on Sarawak's traditional crafts. Its galleries run up the building: a children's gallery, Love our Rivers, on Floor 2; In Harmony with Nature on Floor 3; Time Changes on Floor 4; and Objects of Desire on Floor 5.
As published by the Sarawak Museum Department in September 2026, the museum opens from 9:00am to 4:45pm Monday to Friday, and from 9:30am to 4:30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Last admission is at 4:00pm, so a late-afternoon visit gets less time than the closing hour suggests. The museum asks visitors to wear modest clothing.
Sarawak Cultural Village and the Rainforest World Music Festival
Sarawak Cultural Village is at the foot of Mount Santubong and is the venue for the Rainforest World Music Festival, an annual three-day event with daytime workshops and craft displays and evening concerts on the main stage, the mountain behind it. The 2026 festival ran from 26 to 28 June. Check the festival's own site for the next dates before planning a trip around it.
National parks and wildlife near Kuching
Bako National Park
Bako National Park is Sarawak's oldest national park, and in September 2025 it was designated an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Heritage Park. Within a compact area it takes in lowland dipterocarp forest, mangroves, peat swamp, kerangas heath forest and rugged coastal cliffs. It is best known for its proboscis monkeys, and long-tailed macaques, silvered langurs, bearded pigs, monitor lizards and many bird species live there too.
Reaching the park takes two legs. The Sarawak Tourism Board describes a 30-minute bus or taxi ride from Kuching to Bako Village, followed by a 20-minute boat ride to the park.
The board suggests March to October as the best period, when drier conditions suit trekking and wildlife-watching. Check opening hours with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, the park's operator, before you go.
Colour-coded trails range from gentle walks to full-day hikes, and named spots include Telok Paku, Telok Delima, Pandan Kecil Beach and Lakei Island. The park has chalets for overnight stays, guided night walks, an education centre and a cafeteria.
Semenggoh Wildlife Centre
Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, 24 km from Kuching inside the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, has cared for injured and orphaned wild animals, and animals once kept as illegal pets, since 1975. It made its name rehabilitating orangutans, and when the surrounding forest reached capacity, active rehabilitation moved to the Matang Wildlife Centre.
Semenggoh now studies orangutan biology and behaviour, and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation describes it as a haven for semi-wild orangutans, including some born in the wild to rehabilitated mothers. A route of the Kuching Metro electric city bus calls at Semenggoh. Check visiting times with the centre before you go.
Kubah National Park
Kubah National Park covers 2,230 hectares of the Matang Range, 20 km from Kuching. Its forest is dipterocarp with patches of scrub, plus kerangas forest, and the park is known as "The world of Palms" for the variety of palm species growing there.
Well-marked trekking paths lead past waterfalls and clear jungle streams. The park is popular with birdwatchers, and its wildlife includes hornbills, bearded pigs, squirrels, mouse deer, reptiles and amphibians.
Overnight stays are possible, with basic cooking facilities, but the Sarawak Forestry Corporation states that the park has no cafeteria or catering service. Bring your own food.
When to go to Kuching
The Sarawak Tourism Board names June to August as Kuching's dry season and the best time for outdoor activities such as hiking, with temperatures averaging 23 to 32 degrees Celsius through the year. The Malaysian Meteorological Department puts the northeast monsoon, the country's main rainy season, from November to March, and it brings heavy rain to Sarawak. For Bako in particular, the tourism board suggests March to October.
Sarawak has its own state public holidays, dated in the Prime Minister's Department schedules for 2026 and 2027:
- Gawai Dayak, the Iban and Bidayuh harvest festival, a Sarawak-only holiday: 1 and 2 June in both 2026 and 2027
- Sarawak Independence Day, Sarawak only: 22 July in both years
- The Sarawak Governor's Birthday, Sarawak only: 10 October 2026 and 9 October 2027
- Good Friday, a holiday in Sarawak and Sabah: 3 April 2026 and 26 March 2027
Flying to Kuching
Flights land at Kuching International Airport (KCH), about 11 km south of the city. Terminal facilities and the transfer into town are on the Kuching International Airport page.
Arriving from Peninsular Malaysia
Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 restricts Malaysian citizens' right of entry into East Malaysia and makes them subject to holding a pass or permit to enter and be in Sabah or Sarawak. So a domestic flight from the Peninsula still ends at an immigration counter in Kuching's arrival hall.
According to the federal Immigration Department, Malaysians from West Malaysia can get a Document in Lieu of Internal Travel Document at the immigration counters in Sarawak's airport arrival halls. It is valid for a single journey and gives a Social or Business Visit Pass of up to three months. A longer stay needs a Restricted Travel Document, issued to Peninsular Malaysians for stays in Sabah and Sarawak of more than three months.
Sarawak's rules are not Sabah's. The exemption endorsement under Section 66 is issued only by the Sabah State Immigration Department; no Sarawak equivalent appears on the Immigration Department's site. For a domestic flight out of Sarawak, the Immigration Department asks for an identity document such as a passport, MyKad or Restricted Travel Document, a valid pass and a boarding pass.
For entry to Malaysia itself, see the Malaysia travel guide.
Direct flights recorded from Kuching
Direct domestic flights recorded from Kuching go to these places, with the airlines recorded on each:
| Destination | Airlines recorded |
|---|---|
| Kuala Lumpur | AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, AirBorneo, Batik Air Malaysia |
| Kota Kinabalu | AirAsia |
| Penang | AirAsia |
| Johor Bahru | AirAsia |
| Miri | AirAsia |
| Sibu | AirAsia |
| Bintulu | AirAsia |
| Gunung Mulu National Park | AirBorneo |
| Limbang | AirBorneo |
| Mukah | AirBorneo |
| Tanjung Manis | AirBorneo |
For Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and AirBorneo are recorded to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), and Batik Air Malaysia to both that airport and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB). AirBorneo took over all former MASwings services on 1 January 2026, so older references to MASwings on these routes are out of date.
Guides to places at the other end: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu and Gunung Mulu National Park.
Getting around Kuching
The Kuching Metro electric city bus is run by HENZ Pacific Sdn Bhd under Sarawak's Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, and has operated since March 2021. Its buses are wheelchair-accessible, with a bicycle area, priority seating, onboard wifi and stop announcements, and the operator publishes a route-tracking app for Apple, Google Play and Huawei AppGallery.
A rapid transit system is being built but is not running yet. The Kuching Urban Transportation System is an Autonomous Rapid Transit project owned by Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, itself wholly owned by the Sarawak State Financial Secretary, and it will use trackless hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on dedicated lanes. Sarawak Metro's August 2026 progress update describes construction under way at stations and depot facilities, and the operator's page gives no opening date.
Questions about visiting Kuching
Do Malaysians from the Peninsula pass immigration when they fly to Kuching?
Yes. Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 makes Malaysian citizens subject to holding a pass or permit to enter Sabah or Sarawak, so a domestic arrival from Peninsular Malaysia goes through an immigration counter in the arrival hall. The Document in Lieu of Internal Travel Document, available at those counters, gives a Social or Business Visit Pass of up to three months.
How do you get from Kuching to Bako National Park?
The Sarawak Tourism Board describes a 30-minute bus or taxi ride from Kuching to Bako Village, followed by a 20-minute boat ride to the park. Check opening hours with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, the park's operator, before you go.
When is the dry season in Kuching?
The Sarawak Tourism Board names June to August as Kuching's dry season. The main rainy season, the northeast monsoon, runs from November to March.
Is Kuching's rapid transit system running yet?
Not yet. Sarawak Metro's August 2026 progress update for the Kuching Urban Transportation System describes construction under way at stations and depot facilities, and the operator's page gives no opening date.