One thing you think of when you imagine Borneo are its orangutans. Seeing one swinging through the rainforest canopy or hearing their calls reverberate through the treetops is a quintessential Bornean travel experience. Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the state of Sabah is one of the best places to see them, an inspiring place where orphaned and injured orangutans are brought to be rehabilitated. Its nursery offers a chance to see young ones play and eat together, while the main feeding area brings you just feet from these lovable ginger primates right in the heart of the jungle. Next door lies the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, so you could see another endangered animal in the same day. Semenggoh Nature Reserve in Sarawak, near the main city of Kuching, is another place to spot semi-wild orangutans in a wild rainforest setting. It offers a potentially rawer setting to Sepilok, but without the added bonus of the sun bears.

Bobbing like a bright green pebble in the turquoise waters of the South China Sea, Tioman Island is a wild escape off Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast. Idyllic beaches surround an emerald interior seeping with waterfalls and speckled with vivid hibiscus blooms, making it the ideal destination for both adventure and relaxation. But its collection of dive sites are perhaps its greatest asset, boasting vivid forests of coral, rusting wrecks and reefs teeming with turtles, barracudas, reef sharks and a myriad of fish.

Deep in the virgin rainforest of central Sabah, Borneo, the Danum Valley Conservation Area is a secret patch of wild most people are unaware of. But the scope of wildlife that calls it home is huge – orangutans, tarsiers, proboscis monkeys, gibbons (whose dawn calls are often your morning alarm) and pygmy elephants, to name just a few. While you’d be lucky to see them all, the area is particularly famed for its big cats and you could be fortunate enough to spot a clouded leopard’s eyes glinting back at you while on night safari drives. Among all of this, the old-growth forest they call home is a playground for those after adventure experiences to make the most of its rawness, from river tubing to jungle trekking.

Malaysia’s other Bornean state is often forgotten about in favour of Sabah’s tropical island boltholes and jungle wonders but it shouldn’t be – there’s plenty here to see! Its charming capital, Kuching, is a tumble of sleepy shophouses and colonial architecture set on the banks of the pretty Sarawak River. It affords easy access to the orangutans at Semenggoh, while the proboscis monkeys of primeval Bako National Park and the longhouses of Sarawak’s jungle tribes are a short hop away, too. If you have time, the bats and colossal caves at Gunung Mulu National Park are only a short flight away and are a staggering natural spectacle that need to be seen to truly be believed.

Many don’t regard Malaysia as a beach holiday destination but that’s because they haven’t discovered Langkawi, an emerald isle floating near Thailand’s border. Its string of luxury resorts, lush scenery and beautiful beaches make it the perfect place to combine thrills with chills. As you journey through the island, you’ll be transfixed by its wildness, the roads snaking through dense jungle and local villages. Elsewhere, Pantai Cenang is a buzzing local night spot, mangrove cruises hide an array of wildlife and it even boasts the steepest cable car in the world. At the top, you’ll get incredible views of Langkawi in all its glory.