Passage to Long Pasia in Sipitang, Sabah

Long Pasia is a remote rural village in southwest Sabah (in the Sipitang district) close to the Sarawak border. Long Pasia is a fertile basin which is home to the Lundayeh Muruts, one of Sabah's colorful indigenous people. with its rugged terrains covered with heath forest, Long Pasia definitely welcomes adventure travellers with open arms to the heart of Borneo. For more information on Long Pasia, the following article, published recently in the Bangkok Post by Sara Schonhardt, is an excellent introductory piece for tropical adventure lovers:


In the Red Riding Hood book of travel, a destination that is wild, isolated and oozing with natural habitats is all the better through which to hike, climb or kayak. Indeed, finding remote places to explore is part of the quest of the adventure traveller. And in Borneo that quest culminates at Long Pasia.

Nestled at the headwaters of the Padas River in southwest Sabah, Long Pasia and its twin village Long Mio are only accessible via a logging road, and until a satellite phone was installed last year no modern form of communication existed there. With that isolation comes magnificent landscapes, some of Borneo's oldest forests and one of the state's richest plant diversity sites with more than 700 species of orchids recorded so far.

The area known as Ulu Padas is steep and hilly (70 percent rests above 1,200m), but the variety of soils at differing altitudes has birthed a range of vegetation - 11 identified forest types to be precise, from riverine forest to dipterocarp to ancient mossy Agathis, a tropical pine whose sturdy wood is highly valued in the construction of homes and furniture.

That rich biodiversity is now under threat from logging and traditional agricultural practices that are often non-sustainable, such as slash and burn cultivation. Recognising the need for conservation, the Sabah state government and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia are pushing education and research initiatives that focus on understanding the region's unique plant diversity and distribution, while a homestay and tourism programme serves as an alternative income generator for local villages.

Continue reading (incl. pics) at: Passage to Long Pasia in Sipitang, Sabah