(December 2025) The fully revised Enchanting Borneo, authored by David Bowden, has just been released and is available in all good bookshops and online sites. First published in 2011, this 80-page, full-colour book is now in its third edition. It has been meticulously updated with refreshed text and vibrant new photography that highlights the world’s third-largest island. 

Borneo is defined by its scale and diversity. The island is home to some of the world’s oldest rainforests, best experienced in places such as Danum Valley and Gunung Mulu National Park. Here, visitors encounter dense jungle landscapes, rich wildlife, and protected conservation areas that safeguard species including orangutans, pygmy elephants, and hornbills. Mulu is also renowned for its extensive limestone cave systems, which include some of the largest cave chambers on Earth, with some being accessible through guided walks and river journeys. 

Cultural tourism also plays a key role in Borneo’s appeal. Along inland rivers, traditional longhouses provide insight into the lives of indigenous communities such as the Iban and Penan, whose connections to the forest remain strong. These encounters add valuable context to the island’s history and ongoing environmental challenges. 

Borneo’s coastline and surrounding seas add another dimension. Sipadan Island is widely regarded as one of Southeast Asia’s premier diving destinations, known for its clear waters, coral walls, and abundant marine life. Inland, Mount Kinabalu stands as a major natural landmark and popular trekking destination, offering dramatic views that contrast sharply with the lowland rainforest below. 

Enchanting Borneo offers a detailed and engaging portrait of one of Southeast Asia’s most diverse regions. While the focus is on the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, the Sultanate of Brunei and Indonesian Kalimantan are also covered. Drawing on extensive travel and research, the book explores Borneo’s landscapes, wildlife, and cultures in an accessible yet informative way, showing how geography shapes daily life across the island. 

The book gives particular attention to Borneo’s natural environment, describing ancient rainforests, limestone caves, and marine ecosystems alongside the conservation efforts working to protect them. Cultural insight is another strength, with indigenous communities presented through their histories, traditions, and evolving relationships with the modern world.

Enchanting Borneo is published by John Beaufoy Publishing in the United Kingdom (www.johnbeaufoy.com). The Enchanting Series is Southeast Asia’s bestselling travel pictorial series, featuring captivating photography and concise overviews of each destination. These fully illustrated hardcover books make ideal souvenir gifts for travellers or an excellent introduction for those planning a visit. 

David Bowden is the author of several titles in the series, including books on Malaysia, Penang, Langkawi, Indonesia, Bali and Lombok, Vietnam, Australia, and Singapore.

Extracts from Enchanting Borneo

Few islands in the world evoke the sense of mystery and fascination that Borneo does. Throughout history, the world’s third-largest island (after Greenland and New Guinea and excluding the continent of Australia) has attracted a rich array of merchants, adventurers and entrepreneurs, and now intrepid travellers and tourists can be added to the list of visitors as they pursue their own personal adventures in Borneo. 

Most visitors are captivated as Borneo is a truly enchanting island where it’s possible to experience many wonderful natural attractions and a fascinating and diverse culture. Some of the most ecologically rich and biologically complex ecosystems in the world are to be found in Borneo. While logging and the cultivation of plantations have taken their toll on the rainforests, there are still large tracts of unspoiled primary vegetation to explore.

Borneo’s flora and fauna are amongst the world’s richest. Kinabalu Park, for example, supports some 5,000 known plant species (excluding mosses and liverworts) plus many more that have not even been identified yet. Ornithologists have recorded 673 bird species with 59 being endemic (found only in Borneo). Borneo so impressed the great naturalist Charles Darwin that he called it ‘one great luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself’.

Borneo’s diverse flora and fauna and its unique geography have inspired the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to set up the Heart of Borneo project to support the three governments in their efforts to establish a network of protected areas. The aim is to prevent further destruction of the Borneo rainforest, and it is targeted that one third of the island will eventually be set aside as protected areas.

Visitors to the Sarawak Cultural Village on the outskirts of Kuching quickly discover that Borneo is an ethnically diverse island of about 23 million people who belong to 32 recognized ethnic groups. Seven main groups have been identified – Barito, Bidayuh, Dusin-Kadazan Murut, Iban, Kayan-Kenyah, Kelabit-Lun Bawang and Maloh.

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