Tawau Hills Park

Tawau Hills Park was gazetted as a park in 1979 and is about 25 km northwest of Tawau, Sabah. The primary reason that it was declared as a park was to preserve the water catchment area for the town and the surrounding areas. Facilities that are provided here include well-marked trails and rest areas.

There are designated trails that lead to the hot springs and the waterfall. The waterfall is located 3 hours walk away from the park headquarter. There are restrooms and showers near the waterfall for your convenience. This place used to have volcanic activity in the past with a few mud volcanoes left behind.

Bombalai Hill which is 530m above sea level is the remains of a crater and located 30 minutes walk south of the headquarter. Gunung Magdalena and Gunung Lucia with a height of 1,310m and 1,201m respectively are located deeper into the park.

This park can be crowded especially during the weekends and public holidays. Hence, if you want to avoid the crowd, plan to come here during the weekdays. The rivers are clean for swimming but be careful as some parts can be quite deep.

Flora and Fauna

Look out for the following flora at this lowland dipterocap forest.

Mengaris tree which attracts honeybees to build their honeycombs high up the tree.
Agathis
Orchids
Ferns
Begonia

You may be able to spot some of the animals and birds here:

Civet Cats
Long-Tailed Macaques
Wild Pigs
Borneo Pygmy Elephant
Leopard Cats
Squirrels
Forest Tortoise
Hornbills
Pheasants
Kingfishers

Accommodation

There is a bungalow and hostels with 19 rooms that are managed by Sabah Parks. There is also a campsite that can accommodate up to 1000 people at one time. You will have to bring your own camping equipment if you intend to camp here.

Contacts of Sabah Parks:

Lot 1-3, Block K, Ground Floor
Sinsuran Complex
Kota Kinabalu
Sabah

Tel: +6 088 212 719 or +6 088 211 881

or directly to

Tawau Hills Park: +6 089 925 719

Video

See the video of the park.

Fees and Opening Hours

Admission Fees

Malaysian (18 years and above): RM3
Malaysian (below 18 years): RM1
Others (18 years and above): RM10
Others (below 18 years): RM6

Opening Hours

7:00am to 6:00pm daily

Getting Here

Tawau Hills Park is located 24 km away from Tawau and the best way to get here is by arranging your own taxi as there isn't any regular public transportation here. A one-way taxi will cost you about RM30. Another way is to arrange for a tour package with the local tour operator in Tawau.