Rejang River Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

The Rajang River is the longest river in Sarawak as well as Malaysia. The river and its tributaries serve as the main access route to the vast Sarawak hinterland which is dotted by small frontier towns and longhouses inhabited by the state's many tribes. The gateway to the Rejang River hinterland is Sibu.

• 2.3111.8166671 Sibu - the "big city" of the Rajang
• 2.016667112.9333332 Kapit - the main town in the hinterland
• 2.7113.7833333 Belaga - a typical small, quiet upriver town

• Pelagus Rapids
• Bakun Dam

The starting point of most trips up the Rajang River is Sibu. Sarawak's second largest city is well connected by road, air and even boats with other Sarawak cities. See Sibu's Get In section for details.

However, there are several other less used ways of getting to other parts of the Rajang River hinterland.

Belaga can also be accessed via logging road from Tubau which in turn to connected to Bintulu by road and also by boat along the Kemena River. You can try and pay for a seat on the four-wheel drives and landcruisers which travel along the roads. There are no more flights to Belaga and travellers are no longer able to do the boat-plane combination to cover the Rejang River.

From Tubau, roads also go to the Sungai Asap resettlement village where the Kayan and Kenyah people who used to live in the area affected by the construction of the Bakun Dam have been relocated. Vans and other vehicles may take passengers for a fare from Bintulu to Sungai Asap. The road beyond Sungai Asap continues to the Bakun Dam construction site.

The Rejang River is of course the region's main highway, linking the entire hinterland with the main gateway Sibu. Travelling by boat up the Rejang River is one of Sarawak's main attractions and this is one of the best ways to get a taste of the state's interesting hinterland.

Regular express boats leave Sibu upriver to Kapit, often stopping in towns along the way like Song and Kanowit. The journey takes between two-and-a-half to three-an-a-half hours depending on the number of stops. See Sibu page on where to take ferry.

From Kapit, one express boat leaves at around 9am for Belaga. Express boats are used only if there is enough water in the river. Otherwise, smaller boats are used. The journey, which passes through the Pelagus Rapids, may take up to four hours.

To go further upriver beyond Belaga, such as to the Bakun area, travellers may have to hire their own boats.

There are two flights weekly between Bintulu and Belaga (see Get in above). There are no flights linking the towns within the Rejang River area.

There is no road linking all the towns in the Rejang River area. However, there are logging roads linking Belaga and the Bakun Resettlement Villages with Tubau and onward to Bintulu where passenger-carrying four-wheel-drives may operate. see Get in above for details.

Kapit:

Belaga: Not much to see but has a relaxing atmosphere and very cheap accommodation. Watch out for interesting characters and visit the Long house nearby. address Domian Ding, Rh Lato Juman, Long Amo, 96900 Belaga. The Longhouse is in the process of modernisation and the people are quite friendly.

Soup Power or Kampua Mee

The Melanau version of Sushi (Umai)

The Iban Passuh (Chicken cooked in Bamboo)