Ulu Temburong National Park in Brunei: All You Need to Know

 If you are planning a trip to Ulu Temburong National Park in Brunei, this guide covers absolutely everything you need to know before visiting, from how to get there and what to expect, to canopy walks, boat rides, packing tips, wildlife, costs and whether the trip is actually worth it.

Hidden deep in the “Green Jewel of Brunei”, this pristine rainforest is one of the country’s most unforgettable experiences and probably the closest you will get to stepping into a real-life jungle documentary.

Brunei surprised me in many ways. Before visiting, I honestly did not know much about the country apart from its oil wealth, golden mosques and how rich the sultan is (or how many wives he has). But what I discovered was a peaceful destination with lush nature, incredibly kind people and some of the cleanest, most untouched landscapes I have seen in Southeast Asia.

And if there is one place that truly captures the wild beauty of the country, it is definitely Ulu Temburong. It is actually what I imagined Borneo to be like, but without the hustle of logistics. It is also a perfect trip top feel Borneo if you are short on time.

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What is ulu temburong national park in brunei

Ulu Temburong National Park is a protected rainforest located in the Temburong district of Brunei. The park covers around 550 square kilometres of pristine jungle and is often described as the “green lung” of the country.

Unlike many national parks around Southeast Asia, this one has remained remarkably untouched. Logging and large-scale development are prohibited here, which means the rainforest feels incredibly raw and authentic. You won’t find huge resorts, loud crowds or endless souvenir stalls. Instead, expect thick jungle, misty rivers, wooden walkways and the sounds of wildlife everywhere around you.

One of the things I loved most was how peaceful the whole experience felt. It genuinely feels like entering another world.

If you are building a Brunei itinerary, this is one experience you absolutely should not skip, but you’ll definitely need a full day for this tour. We combined it with other activities during our 2 days in Brunei.

Is Ulu temburong worth visiting?

Yes, absolutely. Even if you are not normally a “jungle person”, the experience is incredibly accessible and rewarding. You do not need to be an experienced hiker or hardcore adventurer to enjoy it. Brunei is suprisingly an amazing destination for nature lovers as it also give you an opportunity to see proboscis monkeys, native to Borneo long-nose monkeys.

The combination of longboats speeding through rivers, walking through ancient rainforest, climbing above the jungle canopy and swimming in fresh waterfalls makes it one of the most unique things to do in Brunei, especially that there is not that much to do.

What I appreciated most was how uncrowded it felt. Actually, we only met a few more people in the park. Compared to famous rainforest experiences in Malaysia or Indonesia, this felt much calmer and less commercialized. It is one of those places where nature still feels genuinely wild.

Best time to visit Ulu Temburong

Brunei is hot and humid all year round, but the driest months are generally between February and April. That said, rainforest weather is unpredictable and rain can happen anytime. We visited in the second half of December during our trip to the Philippines (check out my guide to traveling to Brunei from Manila, if you are doing a similar route).

Since you need lots of time and it gets extremely hot and humid, I would strongly recommend:

• Starting early in the morning
• Wearing lightweight clothing
• Accepting that humidity is part of the experience

Honestly, sweating is unavoidable here. The jungle feels extremely humid even early in the day, but somehow that also adds to the atmosphere.

How to get to ulu temburong national park in brunei

It takes around 2 hours by car from Bandar, but the park is not directly accessible by car. Getting there is part of the adventure itself. You will cross the bay using the new, 30 km long Sultan Haji Oman Ali Saiffudien bridge. In the past, it took a very long time to see these two parts on Brunei as it is divided into two sections with Malaysia in the middle.

The easiest way to visit Ulu Temburong is by an organised tour. Tours usually include:

• Hotel pickup
• Speedboat transfers
• Local guide
• Lunch
• National park entrance fees
• Activities

Or you can go there by a rented car by yourself, but keep on reading, because it is not that simple.

Can you visit ulu temburong independently?

One important thing to know before planning your visit is that you cannot simply turn up and explore Ulu Temburong National Park on your own. Access to the protected area is controlled, and visitors are generally required to enter with an authorized guide or tour operator. While technically permits exist, arranging everything independently as a foreign traveller is extremely difficult and honestly not very practical unless you have local connections.

Access to certain parts of the park is regulated and logistics are complicated without local transport. Unless you speak Malay or have plenty of time, joining a tour saves a lot of stress. On top of that, you are actually not allowed to venture all by yourself.

We visited friends, who live in Brunei and they went with us to the park in the own car. So the transportation was not an issue. But even though we could go there independently, we were not allowed to enter the park without prior planning. They already new all the rules as it wasn’t their first time.

You always need to arrange the visit the previous day, at least. For that, you need to have a contact of someone in Brunei. Once you arrive to the entrance, there is a little lodge and kind of reception. It is not always open, there are times that nobody is there. Brunei doesn’t get much touristic traffic, so it doesn’t make sense for them to be always available.

Our friends arranged it for us and booked a guide, who took care of the entry payment and the boat.

How much does it cost to visit ulu temburong national park?

The visit to Ulu Temburong National Park in Brunei is not cheap. Actually, Brunei is not that cheap in general. Booking a guided tour from Bandar Seri Begawan is by far the easiest option. Tours handle all the logistics for you, including river transfers, park entry permits, guides, lunch and transport.

Considering how remote the national park is, I actually fink this can make the whole experience much less stressful (luckily we had all arranged for us by friends). However, if you find the price to be high and think that you could cut it in half by going there by yourself, you’ll be disappointed. We didn’t pay much less without the tour.

Tour prices in 2026 generally range from around BND 140–180 per person for a full-day experience depending on the company and inclusions. While Brunei is definitely not the cheapest destination in Southeast Asia, this is one activity where the price genuinely reflects the amount of coordination involved. Between the speedboats, longboats, guides and protected park access, there is quite a lot happening behind the scenes. Knowing all that, I really recommend booking a tour.

Several operators now offer trips again after tourism slowly recovered in recent years, although options are still more limited compared to pre-pandemic days. You will also find overnight eco-lodge experiences and 2D1N jungle stays if you want something more immersive than a standard day trip.

What to pack for ulu temburong tour?

There a few things worth taking on the tour to Ulu Temburong. They can make a difference to how much you enjoy it.

• Make sure to pack water shoes (although they can provide you a pair of rubber shoes),
• An extra t- shirt- it is so extremely humid there that you’ll be soaked. You might want to get changed before getting back to the city.
• Lightweight, breathable clothes- humidity again. Best of you wear long trousers and long sleeve to protect from bugs.
• Insect repellent- this is a must as Brunei as there are many mosquitos and other bugs. There’s nothing pleasant about being bitten. Brunei is considered to have low risk of malaria but it could be a possibility. It also has dengue and Japanese Encephalitis- both spread by mosquitos.
• Sunscreen and a hat- the sun get very strong there and during the canopy walk you won’t get any shade.
• Reusable water bottle.

What does the visit to ulu temburong national park look like

Once you arrive at the entry point and step into the Freme Rainforest Lodge area, the whole experience shifts into a much more structured but still very immersive jungle rhythm. We parked our car and were assisted by a local, who looks after the area. He took us to the lodge to meet our guide.

Following on from the previous questions, because this is the most crucial part. Technically yes, but realistically it is much easier with a tour. Brunei is not the easiest country for spontaneous backpacker-style travel and public transport is quite limited.

There is a shaded reception-style space right by the river and it is quite comfortable considering how deep into the rainforest you are. Before we started the tour we had to sign a medical waiver form and had a drink and a snack. Nobody else was there, just us.

There are toilets at the reception, but nothing later during the longboat tour and canopy walk, so make sure to use it beforehand. Just be mindful of the giant ants everywhere (the biggest ants I’ve ever seen in my life).

After the boat ride and canopy walk, lunch in Ulu Temburong feels like a well-earned pause right in the middle of the rainforest. It’s usually served in a simple communal setting at the lodge, and the menu leans heavily into local flavours.

One of the standout dishes is chicken cooked inside bamboo, which gives it a subtle smoky aroma and a surprisingly tender texture from being slow-cooked over heat in a very traditional way. I found it really tasty. Alongside that, there are fresh local vegetables and a spread of tropical fruit that really brings the meal together.

I ended up going back for quite a lot of rambutan, sweet, juicy, and honestly a bit addictive once you start. And I also tried a generous portion of durian. It’s one of those fruits people either love or avoid completely, and while it definitely has its infamous smell, I found it much more approachable here than expected.

Interestingly, locals often say durian in Brunei tends to be less overpowering in smell compared to some neighbouring countries, so if you’ve ever been hesitant, this might actually be a good place to give it a proper try. Apart from the smell, you might dislike its texture, because it is like eating sweet butter. Overall, I must admit that I don’t hate it, but it’s not a fruit I would eat regularly. That being said, when traveling I consider it a must to try local dishes as much as possible.

Longboat ride

Then it was time to start the tour to the jungle. This is where the guides take over completely, life jackets are handed out, and there’s a short briefing so everyone knows what the day looks like. We were given some rubber shoes and walked to the longboats.

The longboat ride into Ulu Temburong National Park is one of the most memorable parts of the entire journey, and it really sets the tone for what’s ahead. After leaving the entry lodge, you hop into a narrow wooden longboat with a powerful outboard engine and begin gliding along the Temburong River, heading deeper into untouched rainforest.

Depending on water levels and conditions, the ride usually takes around 20 to 45 minutes, and it feels like a mix of calm cruising and fast-paced adventure as the boat occasionally picks up speed through wider stretches of river.

In some sections, the river narrows so much that the jungle seems to close in around you, with dense greenery on both sides and the water reflecting the canopy above. It can get bumpy at times, especially after rain, and you’ll almost certainly feel a bit of spray as the boat navigates bends and shallow sections. T

However, no matter how beautiful it was, it was also a very uncomfortable ride. The longboat is not very steady, so you must be quite still inside and not move much. The position of sitting like this for 45 minutes becomes a bit painful with time. You need to also remember not to put your hands outside the boat. There are crocodiles in the water and your hands mich be a tempting snack for them.

The famous canopy walk

The canopy walk in Ulu Temburong is considered one of the highlights of the entire experience, and it’s the moment where the rainforest really reveals its scale.

After a short jungle walk from the river, you start climbing a series of steep metal ladders and towers that rise higher and higher above the treetops, and you quickly realise just how tall these ancient trees actually are. The structure itself is simple but sturdy, built in sections that connect different observation platforms across the canopy.

Once you reach the top, you’re standing above an endless sea of green, with layers of rainforest stretching in every direction and mist often hanging low between the treetops in the early morning. It’s quiet in a way that feels almost unreal, broken only by wind, birds and the occasional creak of the structure.

The walkway can feel a little shaky at times, especially when another person is moving. Only one person is allowed on each platform at a time and two people in total. It’s a short experience overall, but one that leaves a lasting impression because it gives you a perspective of the rainforest that you simply can’t get from the ground. You will realize how massive the jungle is. This is when it hit me that I am in Borneo- my lifelong dream, even though it was just a tiny part of it. A more in-depth Borneo trip is still to be planned another time.

Wildlife in Ulu Temburong National Park

Because Ulu Temburong National Park in Brunei is such a strictly protected rainforest, the biodiversity here is genuinely impressive and still very intact, almost like stepping into a living museum of Borneo’s ecosystem.

The forest is filled with towering oud trees , which carefully conserved in this area. It is an expensive wood for perfume production (a fragrance that is so popular in Arabic perfumes).

As you move through the jungle, you’re surrounded by layers of life, hornbills flying overhead, gibbons calling in the distance, and smaller wildlife like flying squirrels, macaques, monitor lizards, frogs, and an incredible variety of exotic insects hiding in plain sight. We did not see many, but we could hear all sorts of noises.

Birdlife is especially rich here, with hundreds of species. We saw one rare rhinoceros hornbill bird flying over the canopy (but so fast that I did not manage to take a picture or video of it). That said, wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, and that’s part of the reality of a true rainforest experience.

The jungle is dense, vast and completely unscripted, so animals are not put on display for visitors, instead, you might only catch brief glimpses if you’re lucky. The guide told us that in fact, we were extremely lucky to see that bird as it is usually heard, but rarely seen.

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