Maliau Basin conversation Area is one of Malaysia’s finest remaining wilderness areas. Bounded by formidable escarpment reaching over 1,675 metres above sea level, the almost circular Basin encompasses 390 km of pristine forest, a virtually self-contained ecosystem, never permanently inhabited and with large areas still remaining to be explored and document. Remarkably, the whole Basin is a single huge water catchment, drained by one river only, the Maliau river, which flows out through a gorge in the southeast of the Basin, joining the kuamut River, and eventually the kinabatangan River, Sabah’s longest and most important waterway.

Given that the area is in the wet tropics, and its special geology that is extremely conducive for selective weathering, crucial for waterfall have been discovered throughout the Basin, one of which is the magnificent 7-tier Maliau Falls. Located in the northern part of Maliau Basin is lake Linumunsut, through to be Sabah’s only non ox-bow freshwater lake. Here, one can find fossilized marine gastropods from 16-17 million years ago when the lake area was once a coastal zone.

In 1981, together with Danum Valley, Maliau Basin was made a conservation Area within the yayasan sabah’s long term forest Management Plan, to remain unlogged for conservation, education, research and recreation. While Danum Valley flourished into a world-renowned tropical research centre, Maliau Basin has remained in the shadows as Sabah’s Lost World’