1ST DIVISION  > DISTRICT KUCHING >  KUCHING CITY  >  SARAWAK RIVER

SARAWAK RIVER
Kuching City, Malaysia

Kuching City. Kuching's location beside the Sarawak River was chosen for its strategic commercial importance and its enchanting natural beauty.

Sunset over Sarawak River. It is beautiful to watch the sunset from Kuching Waterfront. The beautiful colors of orange and red sunset color streaming across Sarawak River casting lovely shadows of the lower clouds on the river's cool calm silver surface.
 

Eastern cost of Borneo Island show up captivating sunsets where the local witness nature's awe-inspiring spectacle from waterfronts to secluded beaches. The golden hour for sunset range from 5 to 6 pm .

Following are some enchanting sunset spots to experience breathtaking sunsets in Sabah and Sarawak :

Nexus Resort Karambunai (27Km from Kota Kinavalu City)

Magellan Sutera Hotel (3Km from Kota Kinavalu City)

Rasa Ria Resort (32Km from Kota Kinavalu City)

Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Hotel (7Km from Kota Kinavalu City)

Sutera Harbour Resort (3Km from Kota Kinavalu City)

Tanjung Aru Beach (6Km from Kota Kinavalu City)

Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront (Kota Kinavalu City Center)

Kuching Waterfront (Kuching City Center)

Sematan Beaches (110Km from Kuching City)

Sri Aman Waterfront (190Km from Kuching City)

Bintulu Waterfront (Bintulu City Center)

The Sarawak River is the best way to view Kuching  city. The river cruises give you an unobstructed view of the city and its surroundings impossible to experience from dry land.

Sungei Sarawak as a tourist draw


TRICKLING down from a small stream in Upper Kapuas Range, Sarawak River meanders and bisecting Kuching City into two zones and ends its long winding journey to the sea 120km away at Muara Tebas.:

1- South Zone
2- North Zone

Two centuries ago, the first white Rajah, Sir James Brooke, set up an early settlement opposite two populated Malay Kampungs on the left bank of the river as his administrative centre:

1- Boyan Village
2- Surabaya Village

Since then, that part of the river had figured prominently in the life of the early settlers, contributing to the birth of downtown Kuching.

Apart from Main Bazaar (1864), the historical significance of Sungei Sarawak is exemplified by the heritage buildings along its banks such as the old State Mosque (1847), the Astana (1870), the Old Court House (1874), Fort Margharita (1879), Brooke Dockyard (1912) and Chinese Museum (1912), not forgetting Kampung Boyan and Kampung Surabaya which provided a vibrant hub for village life on the left bank as early as 1860.

A beautifully designed 1km waterfront walkway was declared open in 1993 and later extended to about 2km, making it a “must visit” tourist spot and also a leisure family hangout for locals in the late afternoon.


Besides the tambangs, there are also big motor vessels such as the Equatorial which has been providing dinner and cultural shows, especially for tourists, during a river cruise.

In recent years, the increase in tourists had also given rise to river taxis for medium-distance cruise along the 24km waterway.


The tambangs come in more or less similar size. The cruise boats, on the other hand, are big capital investments due to their tonnage.
 

The Tambangs

Along the way you will see brightly-painted tambangs ferrying passengers, villagers going about their everyday activities, and fishing boats and wooden cargo vessels plying the river.

These local wooden sampans boats, The Tambangs, were the usual mode of transport at the Kuching Waterfront.

Upper Sarawak River (Sungai Sarawak Kanan)
at Siniawan

Sungai Sarawak Kanan is a right hand side principal tributary of Sarawak River.
Sungai Sarawak Kanan springs from Bungoh Range of Sarawak-Kalimantan border and flows 65 km downstream before confluences with the main Sungai Sarawak at Batu Kitang.
Sungai Sarawak Kanan drains the upper catchment of Sarawak River of mountainous region and passes through the rural townships of :
1- Bau
2- Siniawan

OTHERS RIVERS IN SARAWAK

Upper Batang Lupar
at Engkilili Town
Sarawak, Malaysia

Lower Batang Lupar
at Sri Aman Town
Sarawak, Malaysia

Confluence of Kanowit River and Rajang River
at Kanowit Town
Sarawak, Malaysia

Lower Rajang River
at Sibu City
Sarawak, Malaysia

Pelagus Rapids
on the way to Belaga
Sarawak, Malaysia

KUCHING