ABOUT BORNEO

Borneo Island has in the past, been synonymous with Head Hunters and the White Rajahs. Of course, the head hunter days were the wild wild Those years back in the era of 18 hundredth.
Borneo is the third largest island in the world covering an area of ​​roughly 750,000 sq. kilometers. It is divided into 3 Countries i.e. Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Brunei and Indonesia. Indonesia takes up about 2/3 of the Island Which is commonly known as Kalimantan.

Borneo being a Tropical rain forest is rich in flora and fauna. Given the abundance of rainfall, it makes sense that Borneo’s flora is among the most diverse in the world. Borneo has nearly 11,000 species of flowering plants, about a third of which are indigenous. How dense is the vegetation? In one 16 acre area of Borneo’s lowland forest, over 700 species of trees have been recorded. In comparison, there are only 171 native tree species in all of eastern North America.

Borneo has been known to have the oldest forest in the world and perhaps supplies the largest amount of oxygen to the world. It has the largest flower in the world – the Rafflesia and the smallest flower in the world – the Orchid Podochilus. Borneo Island, located in the center of Maritime South-East Asia has the highest mountain in South-East Asia, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah at 4095 meters high. Mt. Kinabalu National Park at the foot hill of Mt. Kinabalu is known as the Botanical Paradise due to its diverse range of flora and fauna. The smallest flower in the world is found here.

Borneo is the home of Orang Utan or Man of the Jungle. It has the largest Orang Utan Rehalibitation Center at Sepilok, Sabah which is managed by WWF with more than 30 local staff. There are several other Rehalibitation centers in around Sarawak and Kalimantan. The other Iconic wildlife of Borneo is the famous HornBill bird. Most of the traditional culture and craft are centered around this huge but graceful bird. Sarawak is also known as the Land of the Hornbill. The Long Nosed Proboscis monkeys can only be found in Borneo Island.

he natives of Borneo are generally referred to as Dayaks. However, there are smaller varieties of different tribes in the coastal as well as in the highland of Borneo. Each of these tribes is distinguishable from each other by their language and culture. The largest group is the Iban or the Sea Dayak. Most of the natives dwell in long houses which can accommodate up to 100 people. The only nomadic tribe is the Penan tribe who moves from places to places while hunting for their food. They stay in simple temporary shelters.

If you are interested to find out more about Borneo, this is the place for you!