Nature places in Asia

It's worth the drive out to Kouang Si Waterfall if you are in Luang Prabang for a few days. The crowds do not make the emerald green river any less spectacular. The water is cool and refreshing on a hot day. The big falls are beautiful to sit under, and, if you are lucky, a rainbow will form in the mist. Continue on the trail to the top of the waterfall, and you will be rewarded with a wonderful view overlooking the valley. Keep in mind it is most busy midday, so for a more intimate experience, head out very early or late in the afternoon!

Sarawak's touristic profile could easily have been designed based on this tranquil and lush national park. Jungle cruising in canoes on bending rivers, spotting orangutans (or maybe just their nests) while trekking, swimming under cool waterfalls, and longhouse stay with the friendly Iban people are the attractions here. Bookings need to be made from Kuching and longer expeditions deep into the jungle are possible, which will only increase the chances to see orangutans, gibbons, hornbills, and other wildlife.

The iconic image of Borneo is a zoo like forest with big trees and an ecosystem teeming with life. Danum Valley gives you exactly that. Danum Valley is made up of 438 square kilometres of protected forest. It has the highest concentration of orangutans in the world, pygmy elephants, clouded leopards, and many more animals. Staying at the research centre is amazing because at the restaurant, you can converse with scientists that are studying the ecology of the forest. Very helpful if you have questions about the Bornean rainforest. There are many activities to keep you busy there from trekking to waterfalls to doing night safaris through the jungle. Bring some leech socks because it is a very healthy rainforest, and so that means lots of leeches! Go to the ridge observation tower for sunrise and watch the clouds burn off from the forest as the day starts. We guarantee it will be something you will never forget.

This is "the place" to see semi-wild orangutans in Sarawak. The centre is located 25 km outside Kuching and doesn't see that many visitors (compared to Sepilok in Sabah), not even in high tourist season (July - August). Feeding happens twice a day at the platform a couple of hundreds metres in the jungle, but there are no guaranties - the orangutans are semi-wild. Sometimes, they just hang around the park centre, especially mothers with their toddlers in tow, and then there's a pretty good chance to see them up close.

Satang Island, Pulau Satang Besar, is a small island off the coast of Sarawak and part of Talang-Satang Marine National Park, a sanctuary for sea turtles. The marine national park includes three other islands, but only Satang Island is open to visitors. It has a small turtle hatching area and there is a chance to see turtle landing, where sea turtles (mostly green turtles but also Hawksbills) come ashore to lay eggs (April to September is peak season). Some great snorkelling can be done around the island at low tide, where you might bump into a turtle under water. Though it's possible to stay overnight on Satang Island in some very basic accommodation, most people visit the island on a day-trip combination with some dolphin watching (Irrawaddy and Indo-pacific humpback dolphins) at the river mouths of Santubong and Salak Rivers off the mainland.

33% of Sibuyan's surface is covered in virgin rainforest which spills in luscious green waves over the slopes of mountains rising up to and above 2,000 m. There are hundreds of endemic species including birds, reptiles, mammals and more constantly being discovered. People called the Sibuyan Mangyan Tagabukid also live in the interior. As in many parts of the rural Philippines, they have preserved a strong belief in the powers of the babaylan, or medicine man, such as the one pictured to the right performing a ritual. Tourist infrastructure on the island is limited and finding a guide to interior villages or to the Guiting-Guiting National Park for wildlife watching is difficult. There is at least one guest house in each of the main coastal towns such as Magdiwang, so start by asking there. Otherwise, just come to enjoy Sibuyan's relaxed provincial atmosphere, friendly locals and beaches that are wonderful, weather permitting. Storms here are regular and heavy, often causing passenger ships to be cancelled.

The waters off Donsol are where you have one of the best chances to swim alongside the largest fish in the sea. Known locally as Butanding, whale sharks converge here in phenomenally large numbers from October till June. With a little bit of luck, you might even see up to 15 whale sharks in a day! These gentle giants can measure up to 12 m, but are surprisingly friendly and calm, often interacting with the snorkelers they encounter. Touching the whale sharks is a strict "no" though, as it removes the protective layer of mucus preventing infection. You're not allowed to dive to limit the human interference but beware of lethal snorkelers indiscriminately kicking as though their lives depend on seeing the large pelagic. If jumping from a moving boat and swimming after a whale shark isn't your thing, Donsol offers a variety of other activities like firefly watching, kayaking and scuba diving with manta rays.

The government-run Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is a sanctuary for rescued and injured elephants. It is home to about 70 elephants, where some were orphaned as babies because their mothers were the victims of poachers or accidents, while others have been injured by landmines or have been in conflict with farmers. They roam free in the parkland, but are controlled by mahouts who ride working elephants. The daily highlight is the bathing (twice daily), when the herd is lead across the road and down to the river for their much loved bath. The feeding is equally fascinating to watch, particularly the bottle feeding of the cute baby elephants who happily guzzle down large quantities of milk.
Some visitors have been unhappy about how mahouts deal with the elephants and beg for tips. So if wild elephants is more your thing, Yala National Park is a good place for spotting those.

The south and south-western coast of Sri Lanka is pretty much one long palmy beach. These white stretches of sand are nesting grounds for a range of sea turtles, mostly Green turtle, Olive Ridley, and Hawksbill, but also Loggerhead and the rare Leatherback. During peak nesting season (December to March) you have a pretty good chance to bump into the turtles that are patrolling the shore. Though they are super cute, please give these amazing creatures some space and discourage any trade with their shells (or any other part) - yes, locals still sell them and moron tourists still buy them.

Sri Lanka has pretty much everything: beaches, temples, colourful culture, friendly people, misty tea plantations, colonial towns, civil war, wild life, and jungle. Sinharaja belongs to the last category and is a hilly virgin rainforest hosting an impressive range of endemic species, including most of Sri Lanka's bird species, butterflies, insects, and reptiles. Though a paradise for tree huggers and birdwatchers, the bigger wildlife is close to impossible to encounter, for the jungle is simply too dense. There are mountain ridges that rise above the tree tops and give magnificent views over the whole jungle. Be prepared for muddy trails and leeches.