Padas River White Water Rafting in Sabah

Traveling to the Padas River will be best done by booking from your hotel or tour agent in Kota Kinabalu. They offer full-day trips here with prices starting from RM200.00 (USD$50.00) per person.

The water rafting will take place for a distance of 9 kilometers with 7 exciting and challenging rapids from Class 3 to Class 4, and is noted to be the best water rafting in Sabah Borneo.

On rainy seasons, it could even go up to Class 5 and this requires skill rafters and also weather pending too.

Padas River White Water Rafting

The journey to the start of the water rafting site

Your Padas River White Water Rafting journey there will be one to remember as you will board an old diesel train from Beaufort to Pangi where the train stops in the middle of nowhere and you get off.

However, on my last trip there, there was no train service due to a major mishap where the local train had derailed after a massive storm.

Therefore, for this unique journey, we took platform trolleys which you can read about in my Journey To Padas White Water Rafting in Sabah article.

Some water rafting companies will start the journey by van to Tenom and then board the train to Pangi. It depends on which you prefer, so choose carefully.

I would go for the Beaufort-Pangi journey as it will take you 1.5 hours via train where Tenom–Pangi will only take 30 minutes.

A lorry which fell in at class 5 rapids

To get to Padas River, you will pass the Pangi Hydroelectric Dam which is just before the water rafting area. However, when you see the rapids after the dam, you will be thinking, is the river going to be like this?

Fear not, it will not. The rapids at the start near the dam are class 6 rapids and no sane person will water raft there.

I was told by Alex who runs one of the water rafting businesses there, apparently many years ago, some hardcore Americans actually did raft there.

Crazy, Alex exclaimed, as even a pro rafter like Alex would not dare to try that part of the Padas River.

Class 5 and 6 rapids at Padas River

I took a good look at Class 5 and 6 rapids and thought it would be suicide to even try it. The rapids were amazingly crazy and ferocious, all ready to eat you and your raft alive. No kidding!

Arriving at the Pangi train station, we were gathered at a spot where the full detailed briefing was conducted by Alex himself.

He kept stressing about safety being the number one priority for us. Again, we had cameras on us and our water rafting trip was specially arranged by Mark, our Sabah buddy, and personal guide.

Gearing up to raft along the Padas River

There are a few water rafting companies that operate here so one needs to know which group you are following.

There are different colored life vests to indicate the companies. Even water rafts are in different colors.

A group of rafters leaves the start point

At our water rafting start point, there was another company that had finished their brief and was ready to rock and roll. Usually, a six-man raft is used followed by a safety canoe behind.

Starting point at Padas River

As they left the banks of the Padas River, we could only wait for the boys to pump up our rafts as we were going next.

I must stress the term White Water Rafting, it is actually when a clear river with strong rapids produces the white foam which then is called White Water.

Sadly for our Padas River, it was Brown Water Rafting, and just take a look at the color of the water, it looks like tea with milk or Teh Peng as locals would call it.

Then we saw another rafting group from the RiverBug Rafting Company pass the river. There was a huge group of them in about six rafts in various sizes.

Pumping air into the raft, manually

And they are still pumping air into our raft. So we wait patiently while we get more tips from the pro rafters and Alex. Telling us about some old stories and also how he plans to expand the business.

By the way, I also went for some Water Rafting at Kiulu River with Alex and my gang. He operates the water rafting services there as well.

At least you get real White Water Rafting at Kiulu River which is easier to get from Kota Kinabalu and with rapids of class 2 and 3 only.

Carrying the raft into the Padas river

We then help to carry the raft into the water and everyone jumps on board the six-man raft. Our water rafting at the Padas River starts!

Everyone looks excited not knowing what kind of rapids to expect. For the record, we did not have a safety canoe follow us as we had 2 of the best rafters follow us.

A quick group shot taken by the raft captain (me on the far left)

Videos of Padas River White Water Rafting

Below are a series of videos taken during my water rafting at the Padas River in Sabah. They are unedited and straight from the camera to YouTube.

A local sign at the Pangi Coffee Shop

Pangi Station

Arriving at the Pangi Station, we took a break at a local stall serving drinks just next to the station building. Alex met us there and we discussed our rafting experience while downing a cold drink.

The stall is actually run by one of the local village people at Pangi. They also offer accommodations for those who want to stay over, and you can book this experience from any of the tour agents.

Beautiful landscape view of Tenom

Pangi has some really beautiful views of the hills and sky with white clouds and clear blue skies. There are no roads there and only that one train track that runs through the local villages.

Padas River Water Rafting class 4 and above rapids

Our exploration took us to various parts of the Padas River. Some were out of bounds for white water rafting as they were too dangerous to even Class 4 rapids.

Normally, your rafting guide will know which are the ones to avoid and so on. Not to worry as these guys have been doing this for years and are very professional.

The long and tiring journey back

And our final journey back to Tenom town via platform train. This time, another set of boys took us back via rail.

It was a tiring journey for the entire group and we will never forget this platform train service which was used to ferry us to Padas for the White Water Rafting Adventure of our life. Thank you, Alex, Mark, and gang!

Final Thoughts on the Padas River White Water Rafting Experience in Sabah

For those who enjoy a bit of adventure, and if you ever head to the Land Below The Wind, you should make a date with this place.

Padas is well known as one of the best water rafting in this part of the world and may come from afar to experience the rapids here.

If you have been water rafting before, this is hands down one of the circuits that you have to try. Pick a rainy season for the best time to enjoy the adventurous Padas River White Water Rafting in Sabah.