You can smell Sandakan's rainforest before you even see it. On the northeast coast of Borneo, in the Malaysian state of Sabah, this former colonial capital opens onto a wide bay where ships dock right in the heart of the city or bring their passengers ashore by tender to the yacht club pier. The town is easy to explore on foot, but almost everyone comes here first for one very specific reason: the orangutans of Sepilok.

Sepilok, a meeting with the great apes

About twenty-five kilometres from the pier, or some forty minutes by road, the Sepilok sanctuary has taken in orphaned orangutans since 1964, victims of deforestation or poaching, to teach them how to live in the wild again. Raised wooden boardwalks cross through the trees to the feeding platforms, in a silence broken only by birdcalls, where the residents swing from vine to vine at the morning and afternoon feeding times. Seeing a mother and her baby, clinging to each other, emerge from the foliage remains a moment few travellers forget. The guides firmly remind everyone of the rules: keep your distance, stay quiet, no visible food, because these great apes share most of our curiosity.

Sepilok's neighbours

The area includes other sites that are easily combined in a single outing.

The canopy walkway deserves special mention: suspended at treetop height, it places walkers at eye level with hornbills and flying squirrels, in the green morning light, while the mist still clings to the highest branches.

The town between sea and hills

Back toward the port, Sandakan lines up its markets piled high with dried fish, spiky fruit and highland vegetables, in a mix of smells that leaves no one indifferent. Vendors cheerfully call out to passersby, old scales sway, and you often leave with a bag of mangoes for the road. The waterfront, rebuilt after the Second World War, lives to the rhythm of the fishing boats unloading their catch right on the quays. The town's attractions are almost all within a kilometre and a half of the landing point, leaving time for a stress-free stroll before reboarding. Bring water, a compact umbrella and light clothing: Borneo's humid heat demands respect, and its downpours arrive without warning.

A port call that engages

Few destinations confront travellers so directly with conservation issues. The orangutans, sun bears and proboscis monkeys owe their survival to teams working with modest means, and every admission ticket contributes concretely to their mission. You finally climb back up the ship's gangway with your memory full of canopy images and, often, a new reflection on the value of a standing forest. The centres' shops donate their profits to the care programs, which gives souvenir shopping a special flavour.

On to what's next

At departure, the bay slowly closes behind the dark green hills of Borneo. Somewhere beneath that canopy, a young female orangutan is learning to build her nest for the night, as her mother would have shown her. The ship continues on its way, but part of the traveller remains suspended in the branches, somewhere above the wooden boardwalks.