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Cultural, Adventure & Cycling Tours in Borneo

Into the Heart of Upper Baram: Discovering Community-Based Tourism in Sarawak

A view of a mountain ridge in Upper Baram from the cabin of a Twin Otter. A journey to into the heart of Baram to discover community-based tourism in Sarawak.
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There’s a place in northern Sarawak where roads fade into forest and rivers take their place. This is Upper Baram — remote, raw, and rich with life. Travelling here feels like entering the living heart of community-based tourism in Sarawak, Borneo. Our journey wasn’t about chasing attractions. It’s about connecting with people and hearing their stories. From hosting and engaging with travellers, such activities help communities stand tall.

Interactive Place Map of the Villages Travelled To

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Community-based tourism in Baram offers a window into the real Borneo — remote, cultural, and alive with human warmth. Villages like Long Banga, Long Moh, and Long San welcome travellers into their daily rhythm through coffee farming, jungle treks, and longhouse stays. Every visit supports local livelihoods and helps preserve the forests and traditions that define Sarawak.

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Long Banga: Coffee and Connection

Our small plane dips between clouds before landing on a short take off and landing (STOL) airstrip in Long Banga. Villagers scanned for fresh faces as we step out, smiling, warm, curious. The air wet from the afternoon shower and the green saturates the landscape.

Looking into the distance of wide swathe of green padi field fringed by secondary forest in the horizon. A community-based tourism in Sarawak experience
Wet padi field at Long Banga.

Here, coffee isn’t only a drink. It’s a symbol of pride and resilience. Farmers speak of sharing their story with visitors through agrotourism in Sarawak.

They dream of travellers joining harvests, learning and tasting the fruits of their soil. At the homestay, the faint smell of roasted Liberica coffee waffs through the air. Here, a cuppa only in the morning does not do justice to the freshness of the beans. This is where community tourism in Baram begins — simple, human and real.

Long Banga homestay host spooning ground liberica coffee powder into a brewing pot. A community-based tourism in Sarawak experience.
From seed to cup: Freshly brewed Liberica coffee.

Long Siut: Where Crafts Meet Purpose

The rough road to Long Siut hides a small miracle. In the village, a community craft shop supports local artisans. Of significance, it benefits members of the OKU (disabled) community. Inside, shelves glow with woven baskets and carved wood. And you know you are in an Orang ulu region on seeing the soft curve of a handmade sape, the iconic string instrument (boat lute).

A handicapped local craftsman at work on his wooden boat lute instrument, the sape. A community-based tourism project in Upper Baram.
Local craftsman finishing off an iconic ‘sape’ (boat lute) musical instrument

Each craft tells a story — of patience, culture, and pride. Buying one means more than taking home a souvenir. It means standing with those who keep old skills alive. This is social impact tourism in Sarawak, built from care and creativity.

Long Tungan: Forest Guardians of Upper Baram and the spirit of Community-based Tourism in Upper Baram

We left Long Siut by longboat, motoring along clear river that’s both calm and alive. At times, we had to get off the longboat to push across shallow stretches At other times, the front look-out helped steer us out of troubled waters. It felt like entering another world, one that few travellers have seen.

Two hours later, we arrived at Long Tungan, surrounded by pristine rainforest. The village sits at the edge of wilderness, yet its people live in balance with nature.

Here, we found the locals speak with quiet conviction about their jungle for long jungle treks and wildlife spotting.

Two lady passengers wading towards the longboat to embark after being floated over a shallow stretch of river. A community-based tourism in Sarawak experience
Navigating shallow water is a good time to stretch the legs and wet the feet.

This connection between people and place is what makes community-based tourism in Baram so meaningful. Visitors don’t just explore the forest; they share its rhythm with those who call it home.

Long Moh: Longhouses and Birdsong – The Anchor of their Community-Led Tourism

Leaving Long Tungan, we followed the river once more. This time to Long Moh. The longboat cut through calm brown water, its engine echoing softly against the forest walls. Sunlight broke through the canopy, scattering gold across the surface.

The protruding bow of a longboat leads the way as it cruise along the smooth river surface with the jungle on the flanks and a hill in the distance. Longboat travel is a community-based tourism in Sarawak experience.

At Long Moh, the day begins with the crows of cockerels and the smell of woodsmoke rising from kitchen fires. This Kenyah longhouse sits high on a slope, its timber walls glowing in the morning sun.

Inside, life moves at an easy pace. Families share breakfast, children run along the veranda and laughter fills the air. Hosts welcome guests like old friends — offered rice wine, stories, and smiles.

A poster showing 12 bird species found in Upper Baram and Usun Apau Plateau
Part of the 24 bird species with status ranging from Least Concerned to Endangered, found in Upper Baram and Usun Apau Plateau.

The village is a quiet gem for birding in Sarawak. Mornings echo with calls from babblers and drongos, while evenings hum with cicadas. During our visit, we spotted rhinocerous hornbills flying over our head. The people here live close to nature, yet they’re eager to learn how to share it with travellers.

A pair of rhinocerous hornbills flying together in the distant sky.
Spotted: A male and female rhinocerous hornbills flying over the sky of Long Moh. Hornbills are life-long partner.

Some asked about homestays and how they could host visitors the right way. Their curiosity shows how far community-based tourism in Baram has come. And the potential it still holds.

A cluster of 3 longhouses at Long Moh with a power lines running between 2 rows of longhouses on the left and I row on the right.
Longhouses at Long Moh

Long Moh could become a model for authentic longhouse hospitality in Borneo. But they need to have the right training and support.

Long San: Adventure and Heritage

We left Long Moh for Long San early, the air cool and the hills wrapped in mist. And thankfully, good weather ahead. For the road ahead was a rugged trail – part red earth, part gravel. In the wet, red earth would turn slippery muddy. Today wasn’t the day. Navigating the valleys, we would cross Bailey bridges that felt solid under our 4×4. Each turn offered a glimpse of forest, river and mountain ranges. A total driving time of four hours.

View from the cabin of a 4x4 truck while crossing a Bailey Bridge at the beginning part. Community-based tourism in Sarawak travelling experience.

Halfway to Long San, we stopped at Segah Selaan Homestay. It is a well-loved rest point for travellers and locals alike. It sat quietly beside the road surrounded by fruit trees and laughter. Over tea, our host shared stories of guests who had passed through. Such as 2-wheel adventure motorists chasing the same winding road we were on.

A finished parang hanging from a post of work hut. Blacksmiths at work in the background.
A parang aka a machete in its wooden sheath hanging from a post of ‘parang‘ making hut.

We soon reached Long San, a community where Baram’s pulse feels strongest.  Here, adventure finds its home. White-water rafting, waterfall treks and homestays bring visitors closer to daily life. In a nearby Penan settlement, Penan craftsman hammered steel into a parang knife. Near to the Long San STOL airport, Fort Long Akah, a Brooke-era landmark, stands as a quiet witness to history. The Tua Pek Kong Chinese temple adds to the multi-cultural vibes of the place.

Long San proves that sustainable tourism in Sarawak can blend excitement with heritage.

Reflections from the Journey

Travelling through Baram has been a revelation. Each village taught something different, yet all shared one truth. That is when locals lead, tourism thrives.

From Long Banga’s coffee growers to Long Siut’s artisans. From the forest guardians of Long Tungan to the hosts of Long Moh and Long San. Every stop showed how people are shaping their own stories through tourism. Their pride is quiet but powerful.

We saw that community-based tourism in Baram isn’t built overnight. It takes trust, patience, and the courage to dream beyond what’s familiar. Villagers spoke about hosting visitors, learning new skills and keeping their youth close to home. The moments of shared meals, laughter, the sound of sape music at dusk remind us the meaning of travel. In one word, it means ‘connection’.

Tourism here isn’t about luxury. It’s about meaning. It’s about standing with communities who choose a different kind of progress. In which culture, nature, and hope take root.

The future of sustainable tourism in Sarawak belongs to the people who live it, not those who pass through.

An elderly Kenyah lady with her kenyah sun hat looking at part of her village as she walks to her farm in the morning sun

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“The Upper Baram reminded me why I began this journey. Travel can lift people when communities lead.

That’s the heart of community-based tourism in Upper Baram.” .

JC Chua, Director of Paradesa Borneo

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Paradesa Borneo’s Community-based Tourism Commitment

At Paradesa Borneo, we believe tourism should help the communities that shape it. Baram reflects that belief in every way. As we explore new partnerships and co-create journeys, our goal is clear. That is to grow community-based tourism in Upper Baram the right way. This means: local, sustainable and human.

The Upper Baram may be far away, but its message is close to the heart. When you travel here, you don’t just see Sarawak. You feel it. And you leave knowing your journey mattered.