Rainforest Discovery Center Nature Trail in Sabah

This unique 800-meter long trail is filled with all kinds of rainforest flora and a very educational walk.

I must admit that I had an awesome time viewing the different types of plants and flowers along this walk at the RDC. You must be a nature or flower lover to enjoy this trail and in this article, it is all dedicated to the Flora of Sabah Borneo.

Rainforest Discovery Centre RDC Nature Trail

At the beginning of the nature walk here, you are introduced to the various flowers from the Heliconia family.

While some of them I have seen, most of the other heliconias were entirely new to me and so my Rainforest Discovery Trail began with much interest.

With the support of Sabah Tourism, I first visited the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) in Dec 2009 to explore the wonders of Eco-tourism that Sandakan and Sabah have to offer.

Heliconia flower in Orange-Yellow

Heliconia flower in pink

Heliconia flower in red

Various Ginger Plant Species on a display board

From Heliconias you will start to see various Ginger Flowers and plants along the concrete walkway.

The flowers and plants are well planted on both sides of your trail so keep a look out as there may even be some rare flowering species here.

Medicinal Plants garden at the RDC

After the Ginger plants, we came to the Medicinal Plants section where many locals still believe and use local medicinal plants of the rainforest.

Popular names like ‘Misai Kuching‘ (Cat’s Whiskers) and ‘Tongkat Ali‘ (Ali’s Walking Stick) plants can be seen in this section.

Strange fruits growing out of a tree bark

A large Tiger Orchid plant growing here

One of my personal highlights was the Tiger Orchid (Orkid Harimau) plants which were abundant throughout the beginning of the trail. Some of the Tiger Orchids were extremely huge and beautiful.

I have a small Tiger Orchid growing at my mum’s place and it has flowered twice in a span of one year.

Sadly, I did not see any flowering ones here at the RDC but the sheer size of them put a big smile on my face.

Tiger Orchid information (Orkid Harimau)

Tiger Orchids are the largest orchid species in the world in the world and some say that even after growing them for five to ten years, the orchid never flowered. They are usually found in the tropical forest of Malaysia and growing on trees.

Fern Corner at the RDC

Another section that was along the rainforest trail was the Fern Section (Sudut Paku Pakis). This is one of my favorites as well due to the beauty of the various wild ferns. I have a collection of wild ferns growing at my mums place too.

A very large Staghorn Fern

On seeing the local Staghorn Fern (Tanduk Rusa) growing healthily and beautifully, I could not hesitate but to take a shot of this.

The Stag Horn Fern or Platycerium (Polypod Family) was amazingly very healthy with leaves growing to a length of five feet long. Something I rarely see in captivity.

Ekor Kuching (Cats Tail Fern)

Another species of fern which caught my eye was the Cats Tail Fern or locally known as Ekor Kuching fern. This fern from the Lycopodium family is one of the beautiful ferns that impress me always.

Some of the Ekor Kuching ferns in the wild grow up to over 6 feet in length while most in captivity is about two to three feet and there are a few types of this Lycopodium found here at the RDC.

Various orchids growing off a tree stump

Arriving at the Orchid section, there are just too many to name and are grown everywhere. Orchid lovers would find this a wonderland. Some of the rarest tropical species are found growing here too.

Slipper Orchids which are much protected can land you in jail if caught removing them from the rainforest. And there were a few of the Slipper Orchids growing here at the trail. Sadly they have not flowered yet.

Bulbophyllum Longiflorum or Umbrella Orchid

Did you know that Sabah has over 1500 species of the 30,000 species of orchids known to man and Sabah is one of the top hot spots for orchid enthusiasts from around the world.

There are about 300 species of orchids found in the Rainforest Discovery Trail at RDC and some of the names are Apostasia, Arundina, Aeredas, Coelogyne, Dendrobium, Dipodium, Eulophia, Calanthe, Cymbidium, Bulbophyllum, Paphiopedilum, Phalaenopsis, and Renanthera.

Pitcher Plant Garden

After about 30 minutes of beautiful flowers, we approached the Pitcher Plants (Peruik Kera) area. A relatively small area but with quite a good collection of Pitcher plants found in Sabah Borneo.

Nepenthes gracilis Pitcher Plant

The Pitcher Plant or Monkey Cup as it is commonly known are protected species and one can get fined or jailed or both if caught stealing them from the forest reserves.

Scientifically known as Nepenthes, there are 31 species throughout Borneo Island while 15 of them can be found in Sabah alone.

At the Rainforest Discovery Trail, I must have seen at least five different types of Pitcher Plants here.

Wooden walkway at parts of the trail

Creepers growing on tree bark

Some of the dipterocarp trees growing here are taller than a hundred feet (33 meters) and have an amazing life surrounding them.

Sounds of the rainforest drown everything else and the air smells of green. Best not to look up too much or you will have a neck ache like I did.

Fungi are seen on tree stumps along the walk

Fungi are also spotted at a certain part of the trail where parts of the walkway are made from wood elevated over the rainforest ground. Be careful not to touch them too.

Lianas or Forest Highway

One of the things that caught my eye again was the Lianas or The Forest Highway which will captivate anyone along the trails here.

These amazing plants which are vines begin life on the ground as small self-supporting shrubs and rely on other plants to reach the light-rich environment of the upper canopy.

They can be seen along the trail here at the RDC and some of them grow to an amazing six inches in diameter.

Information on the Lianas plant

Kalumpang Sarawak or Wild Almond Tree with fruit

Apart from the general tropical rainforest trees, I chanced upon some unique ones with strange fruits growing out of the tree barks.

One popular tree named the Kalumpang Sarawak (Sterculia megistophylla) or Wild Almond Tree had a bunch of fruits hanging out in a bright red color. Apparently, they are non-edible but are absolutely fascinating.

Tall various dipterocarp trees line the trails

The other great thing about the Rainforest Discovery Walk is that along the entire 800 meters, there are various signs informing of the names of the flowers, shrubs, ferns or trees.

Most of them are pinned on to the trees or on the ground so you will always know what type of flower or tree it is.

Butterfly creepers growing up a tree bark

While some strange ones are seen like the Butterfly Creeper on the tree above, you may need the assistance of a good guide to giving you the information. Luckily I had my own personal guide Ben with me during this nature walk.

Crossing a wooden bridge at the RDC

At one point during your nature walk, you will come across some bridges and also a section which leads to the Canopy Walk.

The Canopy Walk at the RDC was another amazing place which I learned more about the rare birds of Sabah.

Wood and rope bridge over the lake at RDC

Finally, at the last bridge over the lake, the path takes you around and to the endpoint which is where a small shack selling drinks and doubling as the paddle boat operator is located.

The RDC Lake

At the lake, there are some chairs where you can take a breather and enjoy the serene beauty of the entire place. We spent a total of almost two hours throughout the trail and it was a memorable one.

I had learned so much about our rainforest and about the various flora here and my thanks go to Ben – Our guide and also Sabah Tourism for making this visit possible.