Luxury Hotels in Long Banga, Miri

Long Banga is a relatively rural village situated in the the Marudi Division, in the north-eastern part of the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. Getting its name from a small river near the village with the same name, Long Banga is approximately 589.6 kilometers away from the state capital, Kuching while being an hour walk from Long Peluan and two days walking from Lio Matoh.

If one is coursing through the Baram River, the village can be easily found on the upper reaches. The said village is actually made up of two smaller villages, each for Saban people and Kenyah Leppo Ke’ people. It is also pretty close to the Batu Kallong border separating Sarawak with Kalimantan. The village is said to be opened back in 1900, being founded by a group of Kenyah people coming from Long Peluan before being followed by the Saban people later on. They are said to discard their Pagan faith around 1960s, replacing it with the Christianity faith. This happened in parallel with the influx of the Allied Army following their participation in the Confrontation with Indonesia shortly after the formation of Malaysia Federation.

To ease access to the area, the Army opened a flying base using an empty land plot donated by the Lale Wa, the local resident of Long Banga. However the flying base was still not open for commercial flights, even after the Confrontation subsided. Until 1980s, the whole village was accessible solely by river. Nonetheless only in the late 1980s and early 1990s, smaller aircrafts can be landed on the said airport, while Malaysian Airlines begin handling flights to nearby Miri and Marudi. Via land, the village can be visited by using the timber or logging road from Merawa Camp. A recent visit by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in 2010 brought more developments in terms of new roads, mini-dam and a mobile clinic.

How to Get There

By Plane

There are flights to Miri and Marudi from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) which are provided by Malaysia Airlines, while AirAsia only providing flights to Miri. Upon touchdown, from the airport, guests can book another local route flight to Long Banga with MASwings.

By Car

People driving from Miri may drive via Jalan Tun Hussein Onn / Route 1 for immediate access to Long Banga. The journey could take up around eight hours depending on the traffic situation.

Tourist Attractions

Lang Tajit Waterfall

Lang Tajit Waterfall is a place of attraction in Long Banga which is very well-known among tourists alongside the 80-feet high Udau Waterfall. Since it is located closely to the mini-dam, from the village, one needs to travel about four hours via a four-wheel drive to reach there. Then, visitors would opt to walk fifteen minutes further into the depth of the jungle before finding the mentioned waterfall. Despite the long travel time, upon seeing the waterfall, all burden falls down as if it is the sight of the waterfall that matters, hence making the whole traveling worth it.

Kelabit Highlands

Kelabit Highlands is a series of mountainous valleys lying slightly over a thousand meters above the sea level. A lot of these are flanked with jungle-covered peaks rising to above 2400 meters. The highlands is occupied by the Kelabit and Orang Ulu people. Being isolated as it is at the most northern part of the state, the only mode of transport to access this place is by flight, with Bario being the main entry point. Here in the highlands, the visitors can look forward to partake in the jungle trekking activities which are popular here. Some of the trails here can be done in a day, some can be done in two days or more with an experienced guide. There are also accommodations in the form of lodges and homestays being run by the locals, therefore visitors do not have to worry about where to stay throughout their journey here.